Day 7

Today’s adventure required protein…we were climbing Croagh Patrick, St. Patrick’s sacred mountain which has been a site for pilgrims for over the last 5,000 years. During pagan times, people gathered there to celebrate the harvest, and after the time of St. Patrick, the faithful climbed the mountain as pilgrims and penitents, following in the footsteps of the saint who is said to have spent 40 days fasting on the summit. Back to the protein…our cottages have kitchenettes, so it was fairly easy to whip up some scrambled eggs with cheese (1 egg shy of a dozen), along with some Irish bacon and sausage, and the students made their own toast and cereal as part of the meal.

After a near 2 hour ride to the mountain (yep…you guessed it—during which many of us slept), we met our guide Michael, who makes the climb an average of three times per week. (As a boy, he used to climb it 5 days per week…whether 5 then or 3 now, it’s impressive because up and back on the Croagh Patrick is no easy task).

I suffered briefly from the delusion that I could make it at least half-way with the students at the pace set by the guide (there and back in roughly 3.5- 4 hours…when others of us discover we need the advertised 6), and I was quickly disabused of that notion. I did do some climbing (to my dismay, I discovered this term was VERY literal), and made it a third of the way up and back down, with nothing more injurious than a few midge bites (the Irish version of mosquitos) and a fall which bruised only my dignity. (I was in sizable company with the falling thing.)  And I actually had a ball, walking at my own pace, saying the prayers, meeting other pilgrims—but the best story is the students’ story…which I’m telling because we’ve run out of nights to assign students to composing the blog, and none were up for a twofer during our trip.  

They all set off with Michael after we took our picture with St. Patrick’s statue at the base. Having rented the necessary walking sticks, and all having received a pocket collection of prayers to pray along the journey, I saw them quickly disappear into the distance. At some point the group developed two sections, one following a little behind the other as the climb grew more difficult. Our students, at times, stopped briefly for prayers, pictures, drinking in the scenery (which included sheep close enough to touch—though some of our little band had to stop J.C. from touching them), and speaking with other pilgrims.

 And the climb was HARD…some parts of the path were simply large outcroppings of rock, not over or under or near the path—the rocky outcrops WERE the path.

 The walking sticks, for some, saved the day. Even with the help of the sticks, the walk/scramble up was exhausting and some of the students truly thought they could only make it up to the Ridge, a flat half-way point that from the lower third of the path appears as if it might be the top. J.C., Claire, Elisabeth, were encouraged not only by other pilgrims to keep on going, but also by our very own Heidi, who cheered her brother and sister pilgrims on in taking the next step. Others felt pretty good at the halfway point, but began to tire in the higher elevations. Bella used a strategy which I too found useful, after a while, not looking at how far one had to go, but concentrating more on where she was. All the students encountered obstacles of weather (it rained) and fatigue, but they pushed through…all determined to reach the church that stood on the summit. After pushing forward for so long, then came the blessed news that the top of the climb was only a few minutes ahead! This was especially a victory since the last section of the 'walk' is incredibly steep, as well as slippery with all loose rock. Alex, Ben, and Bella were the first to reach the top, with Elisabeth, Claire, Heidi, and J.C. following soon after. They all did it, covering a route 4.3 miles long which ended at an elevation of 2,507 feet! Yay and Amen!!! At the top, our students prayed, rejoiced, and some left stones from the sacred site visited on yesterday's pilgrimage path. Others also left stones given to us by fellow parishioner Susan Harvey, who brought them home from sacred sites in England, and wanted them left at sacred places in Ireland. Thank you Alex for getting mine all the way to the top!

 Some students received the gift of seeing the inside of the little chapel erected in 1905, which stands at the top, a structure which has seen mass for as many as 1 million pilgrims per year the last Friday and Sunday in July. From there, our students had a magnificent view of Clew bay and the nearby islands.

On the way down, the fatigue really hit, with arrivals at the little gift shop that marks the start of the climb, fairly staggered. (Ben came in at first, saying coming down was waaay easier than going up). But everyone made it in, tired but triumphant! Whoo hoo!! 

After thanking our tour guide Michael (he was especially touched that some of our students gave him little pilgrimage gifts in gratitude…he told me that in all his guided tours, no one had ever done that for him), we boarded the bus with our pilgrimage guide/driver, Owen and headed back to the hostel for dinner, reflection, and prayers. Excited by the day’s events, there was some brief conversation at the beginning of the ride ‘home,’ but yep…again, you guessed it…we were soon asleep again, this time dreaming sweet dreams of our time on Croagh Patrick!  

Mo. Nikki+