Cape Clear

I’ve found that trying to leave cities like Dublin and Cork is a lot like trying to leave the mafia.Every time I attempt it, they GRAB me and pull me back in. I’ve somehow landed myself in Cork three times in less than two weeks, and for some reason, each time I end up there I see this same guy named Andy (I think) and each time he laughs at me for not making it out yet. The most recent time was two days ago when I was just supposed to transfer in Cork, but missed my bus. This time I’ve made it out though; I’ve cut the damn umbilical cord, and I’m not going back to Cork…I think.

Yesterday I took the bus from Cork to Skibereen and from Skibereen to Baltimore, which is a giant city of roughly, ooh, 250 people. To give it credit though, it is supposed to get packed in the summer time, and is apparently famous for its scuba diving. It was here in Baltimore that I caught the ferry over to Cape Clear Island. For some reason during the ferry ride, two high school girls adopted me and basically told me their (short) life stories, after which they also told me about the small island and informed me that at the dock, I’d be able to catch the bus up the hill to my bed & breakfast. Upon disembarking, I found the “bus” to be a woman named Mary who drives a silver van around the island, and will take you where you need to go, for €2. I spent most of the 10-minute ride talking to a guy from El Salvador who was elated to find someone else who spoke Spanish.

The family who ran the B & B were fantastically warm and, after I dropped off my bags, my landlady put a flashlight in my hand and sent me out the door to find the pub. You see, Cape Clear only has 120 people, so during the winter there is only one pub/restaurant open which serves as the social centre for the entire island. Another woman named Mary runs the pub and can tell you about EVERYONE’S business on the entire island. She was amazingly sweet, but given her vantage point, I’d imagine that this is not a woman you’d want to cross if you plan on staying in Cape Clear for any extended period of time.

Cape Clear is absolutely beautiful; I don’t think I could spend more than a day there. Cape Clear is absolutely beautiful; I think I could spend the rest of my life there. I’m actually not really sure about how I feel about the place, I just know that I’ve never been anywhere like if before. The smallest place I’ve ever lived in was 50,000 people. At 120 people, Cape Clear is just slightly smaller.