Inis Mor to Dundalk



 The day started early so that I could be up and packed to walk into town and catch the 8:15 ferry. I woke to a perfect sunny, windless sky. What a beautiful day to cross the sea to Galway.



As I load and sit on the ferry, I hear the languages of Gaelic, German, French, and English.


On the island, I learned that there is a commitment to caring for each other and the island. There are 750 people on the island, and according to our bus driver, everyone knows everyone and their business! Every day, something is picked up for recycling. Monday is food, Tuesday is plastics, Wednesday is paper, Thursday is cans, and Friday is glass. They have a recycling center on this 12-mile island. Local fish is served at the restaurant. To get a bag at the grocery store, you have to pay 70 cents, but they are heavier than our bags and can be reused. I learned that they would like windmills for energy, but the government has not allowed them because they are so unattractive. Many people do have solar. For the island life to survive, they have to ensure fish will not be overfished and that they can dispose of garbage and reuse that which is disposed of. Maybe if we all lived on an island, we would be able to see the impact of our resources and disposal.


I am in Dundalk tonight after riding a ferry, a commuter train, a train, and a taxi. I give thanks for the help along the way and for the beautiful countryside. 


Tonight, I am having dinner alone, thinking of my new friends on my Inis Mor pilgrimage and missing them.  But I am having a sweet end to my evening with this delicious desert!❤️

Prayer

Thank you God for the opportunity to share the sweetness of life with new friends and old. Thank you for the beauty of this planet that sustains our lives and blesses us with it’s fruit and it beauty. As this day comes to an end may I rest in the comfort of this blessed life and remember that God is always holding us and giving us care.

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