I have finally found time to just sit down and catch my breath. WHEWWWW. It has been ages since my last post...my apologies. I didn't mean to keep all my adoring fans waiting. Anyway, today's post will actually NOT be about Ireland. From April 1st to April 8th I found myself in a different country. A place where there is actually sun, heat and sand. PORTUGAL. I embarked on this journey for one of my classes actually, a field course that entailed studying the ecology of the Algarve. SO COOL.
This trip was a big deal for me on several levels. First of all, I legit knew NO ONE prior to this class. The only time we met was the week before our trip for a few de-briefing lectures. Walking in and not knowing a single person was only slightly daunting but I was excited because shockingly enough I had not had a single class with all Irish students before then. All of my other classes had majority international (American) students with an occasional dabbling of Irish students. That was the number one thing that frustrated me all semester. I'm supposed to be studying in IRELAND so where all my IRISH STUDENTS AT?! Well, with this Portugal trip my question was finally answered as I was the minority and the majority of my classmates were Irish. YAAAAAASSSS GAGA. Secondly, I had to fly again. I legit have such plane anxiety and I'm not the biggest fan of flying across oceans....too many bad memories from watching "LOST" for years.....
Ummmm....NO THANK YOU.
Needless to say, prior to the trip I was a ball of nerves. "What do I pack?!", "Will I make any friends?!", "Oh god, what if they all hate me?!"....standard nervous Bridget...over analyzing EVERYTHING.
So the day finally came to leave and I arrive at Cork airport with my luggage and backpack and we all eventually board the plane at around 10 am. I didn't mess up at security or anything! YUS. POINTS FOR ME. The flight from Cork to Faro Airport was about two and a half hours which wasn't too bad, but it still felt like an eternity to me. The flight there I think was the worst experience of the whole trip. We hit massive turbulence coming in to Portugal and it only slightly alarmed me when the stewardess reminded us to check where our nearest exits were. ESCUME WHAT??!!
Insert a mini-heart attack and white-knuckling of my seat.
The woman behind me was also getting sick and I heard EVERYTHING. Oh happy day....
*Keep yourself together girl*
I was never happier to see concrete ground before in my life. After the flight we all get in a bus that takes us to our hotel called "Alvormar". Although it was raining and kind of stormy when we arrived, Portugal was beautiful. Through the bus window streaked with raindrops I could see a landscape that was very green with bright tan and orange splashes of dirt roads and all kinds of shrubs and citrus trees. Absolutely stunning.
Each day we set out to a different location and worked on various projects dealing with the ecology of the land. I think the second day was probably my favorite.
Day 2- We set out to do rocky shore ecology. YAAASS. MARINE LIFE. DAT'S MY JAM. We get to the tidal pools and split up into groups of three and we look at the zonation of the area. There were all kinds of urchins, anemones, barnacles and some people even found an octopus. I was as happy as a clam (ayooo, see what I did there?)
After we studied the tidal pool ecology we then meandered down the road to where we studied sand dune ecology and how they form over time. We had two guest lecturers on the trip, Matti and Monique (I apologize because I KNOW I'm butchering their names) and they were honestly two of the most brilliant people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The amount of knowledge they possessed, particularly on plant ecology blew my mind and never ceased to amaze me.
MY FACE EVERY TIME THEY SPOKE
The sand dunes
Day 3- We drove out to an area called The Salgados which again, was STUNNING. On this day we worked on our 'Habitat Mapping' project in which we divided into groups of six or so and went all around the area and differentiated the ecology of the land, between sand dunes, scrub land, fig tree plantations, etc. It was such a beautiful day and so warm too!
Day 4- We went back to the Salgados but worked on a bird ecology project. This was a lot of fun because we were able to study the different bird species that reside/migrate to the Algarve. We saw species ranging from regular ducks to gulls, purple herons and even flamingos.
After we spent a few good hours looking at the birds, we boarded the bus again and for the second half of the day we went down to the Ria Formosa to observe fiddler crab behavior. We spent about an hour or so observing male and female fiddler crabs and their differing behaviors.
Later that day, one of my roommates, Ciara and I ventured down to the beach that was only a five minute walk from our hotel and we just walked along the beach and dipped our feet in the water.
Day 5- Back in the bus we go! This time we went to a place called Monchique and we looked at the landscape of the Algarve as a whole. We rode all the way up the mountain and Matti lectured us for the whole day which I was totally fine with. PURE KNOWLEDGE. This day, above all other days, he truly blew me away. He provided so much information on the land and ecology and I nearly got carpel tunnel just trying to write down every word he said. BRILLIANCE.
We saw all kinds of ecology at work. We saw an Oak forest, scrub land, Eucalyptus forest and the top of a mountain...all in one day.
Not the top, but still a beautiful view
Beautiful Oak forest which is used to make cork
This was definitely a long day for everyone so Ciara, myself and a few others decided to grab dinner that night and to live up the night in Portugal. It was actually hilarious how many Irish pubs there were in the area where our hotel was. A few of us hit up a Rasta bar along the main strip and we stayed there for most of the night. Pretty sure we were the only ones in there for a while. Singing along to "Footloose", Shakira, the Black Eyed Peas...the usual suspects. CLASSIC.
b52 shot that was literally ON FIRE
Reggae bar
Ciara, myself, Aaron and Conor...what a crew
Day 6 and 7- These two days were designated project days and everyone was put into separate groups depending on the projects they would be part of. I was in the rocky shore ecology group and we studied the 'fouling' of shore areas along the water. We basically looked at the different species of barnacles and other larger fauna found near the shore. Luckily for our group, we finished early in the day and so a few of us ventured down to the beach near our hotel to explore and enjoy the time off. Both days were absolutely stunning and oh so warm. I MISS THE HEAT!
The last night we were in Portugal we all went to a traditional Portuguese restaurant that was right near the water and celebrated a really great week. We had olives (SO DELICIOUS), bread, salad, potatoes, sardines, mackerel (mind you the fish was prepared whole so the head and everything was still attached) and Portuguese red wine....ok, so the wine was my favorite part...don't judge! I don't usually like the red wine but man oh man...that was the BEST wine I have ever tasted. Every time the waiter passed by with a new pitcher I was like:
AYYOO...right here big guy. My boo's got me.
It was kind of bittersweet to leave the next day because I had such a blast in Portugal and as excited as I was to get back to Ireland, I didn't want to leave behind the amazing week I had, sunburns and all. The flight back wasn't as bad as the flight coming in though. I was sitting next to Ciara (haha...that was a mistake) and I don't think we stopped laughing the entire flight. Hell, we didn't stop laughing the entire week. Such fun. But getting off the plane and smelling the fresh scent of grass and having a cool gust of wind blowing through my hair reminded me how much I truly missed my home away from home: I'M BACK IRELAND!!!
All the warm and fuzzies
I was honestly initially nervous before leaving because I legit knew NO ONE but I met some really great people on this trip and I wish I had more time with them. I learned so much and it was amazing taking in a whole new country and culture. I would do this trip all over again in a heartbeat if I could because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Obrigado!
Bridge
