North Channel Blog
21 August – 23 August 2013
I can feel my body becoming much more acclimated to the surroundings, as I have increased my time to around 3-hours daily (two 1.5 hour sessions) of swimming and/or ‘floating’. It has worked well for me in the past to just continue to increase the amount of time I spend in the water prior to the swim in order to get used to the cold – the number one issue. The cold – got to love it! The beach at Ballyholm is a great training ground, as you don’t really have to contend with any boats (other than the sailing classes) and is well protected along the coast in a ‘U’ shape. I have been leaving my gear along the wall (during high tide) or along one of the walls going out into the water (during low tide). During high tide, the water is deep enough to swim about 20 yards off the wall. During low tide, I have to walk out about 100 yards in order to find water above the knees. One thing about the local residents are they love dogs! They are always at least a dozen or so at any given time walking along the waterline. Again, everyone continues to be so friendly and supportive of my journey – it really is a blessing to swap life stories.
The ‘Giant’s Causeway’ was an incredible sight to see on Wednesday, as the coastline north of Bushmills (yes, the famous Irish whisky distillery; didn’t visit there yet) was just immaculate, as it was so surreal to just take in the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. Windy, overcast and a little drizzly out, it didn’t even come close to taking away the beauty of what was in front of me. I plan on taking the actual tour of the Causeway with my parents soon, so I will write more about the actual historical relevance of these protruding rocks which make up a very unique landscape.
Yesterday, I took care of some house-keeping, and make all the final purchases I needed for the journey next week. I did the pre-mixing all of my drinks – dry powder in small, water bottles which will be easily mixed by my crew in with hot water from the boat. Got all of my laundry done (no self-service over here; just take it in and they do it for you) and ate at a great restaurant which was inspired by New Orleans. They had Saints Super Bowl memorabilia around the place, and it was great to see all the ‘American-inspired’ dishes they created for the menu. I ate the spinach salad with goat cheese, cranberries, walnuts and balsamic glaze, along with breads, carnivore lasagna and an incredible banana, honeycomb, vanilla ice cream and fresh cream dessert – yeah, I might have to go back again for that meal! My typical lunch is pizza (since they have them on every corner) as today I did the picante chicken and chilli (yes, chilli) pizza with small salad and ice cream (taken off the kids menu) for a quick dessert at Little Wing’s on High Street. Breakfast has been a staple each morning at the guest house, as I have my choice of breakfast cereals, juice, coffee, and either eggs (any way), omelets (with bacon, mushroom or tomato), porridge or traditional Ulster breakfast, which consists of a type of fried bread, egg, bacon, sausage, tomato and black pudding (not really sure what this is) – it has all tasted great to me over the last week!
Today, I was in downtown Belfast, prior to picking up my parents at the train station, and took in some coffee at ‘California Coffee’. Their slogan was the ‘Best Coffee in Belfast’, and had images of San Francisco, Los Angeles as well as other pictures throughout the small shop. Beautiful! My observation of Northern Ireland has concluded that the residents love America (which is awesome of course) and wear professional sport attire, as well as various United States city attire. The main thing the younger adults wear is Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch; if I would have known, they could have had my collection from ‘back in the day’! I have never felt that far from home, wherever I’ve traveled as it has generally been American friendly.
I continue to take Lion’s Mane jellyfish stings while training, and yet am glad to be able to dodge a lot more in the water! In a way, I want to understand the effects of these creatures, that way I will be more prepared during the actual attempt. Glad to be getting a massage tomorrow, as I have been swimming ‘head up’ more in the water to try and see the jellies, and it has been giving me a stiff neck and shoulders. Ah, nothing like a good massage to relax and be ready!
As I stated, I couldn’t be happier to have company here in Bangor, as my parents and I were very excited to see each other. Dad and Mom took turns pacing the coastline as I swam today, and as usual, they were drawn into conversation with almost everyone who walked by. Where do I get it from? 🙂 Love their support. We ate at the oldest bar in Bangor this evening (dated back to 1780) and loved the hoopla surround the rugby matches locally in Ulster and Belfast. I really hope to be able to take in a match before I depart – such an awesome sport!
That’s all I have for this evening – much love from Northern Ireland!