Day 2 - Orientation and the Tour of Athlone. At 11am we gathered in the computer lab to begin our orientation for the program. We went over some basics of what we would be doing, how the timing would work and some behavior reminders. Basically the behavior boils down to...hey you are all adults, be courteous and don't be stupid. Great advice I think!
After the orientation we broke for lunch and then began our walking tour..Barry had told me the night before that it would be about 3 miles. 3 miles...like the 3 hour tour of Giligan's Island, a Myth! More like 5 miles all told maybe even 6..must start wearing the pedometer! However it was a great day, overcast with moments of beautiful sunshine. We walked through the center of Athlone where Barry pointed out all of the historical landmarks, the good pubs, the bad pubs, the stay the HELL out of there pubs etc.
We made it to the Shannon which was beautiful and is the largest of the rivers in Ireland. The Shannon runs from the mountains of its source in the north and empties into the Atlantic. Significantly important from a tactical, political, religious and story point of view, the Shannon has alot of history that surrounds it.
One version of the myth of the Shannon goes like this: The goddess SINEND teaches us an important lesson regarding the seeking of knowledge. Sinend herself, was a mortal woman who sought the well of knowledge. She was careless and suffered the consequences. The waters of the well rose up and drowned her, and the river Shannon was born.
After our long tour was over, we scattered off on independent errands. I returned home to find that I had acquired a beauty of a blister on one of my small toes..ouch. Birthday celebrations for one my fellow students (Happy Birthday Faye) and then to bed..exhausted at the end of day 2.
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