May 29^th, 2012

Day 9: Cape Clear, Co. Cork, Ireland

Today was our big trip to Cape Clear! We woke up and got started on our ‘chores’ of sorts right away so that we would have time to shower & pack before we all hopped in the car.

After a quick breakfast of toast and fruit, the whole gang piled into the van and started the trip to Baltimore, which is a port on the southern end of County Cork. There was a 2pm ferry that we were to catch to make the 45 minute trek out to Cape Clear. We cut it kind of close, but made the ferry just in time!

After a semi-bumpy 45 minute ride and some beautiful scenery along the way (see below), we finally arrived!

Leaving Baltimore

On the boat!

Upon arrival in the Cape Clear harbor

Our primary motivation for coming to the Cape is to see Ed Harper, a local goat farmer on the island. Zoe is planning to do her senior thesis on animal behavior- in particular the relationships that form between humans and animals and wanted to interview Ed. Ed is a blind goat farmer who has been on the island for years, making goat’s milk products (cheese, ice cream, yogurt) and breeding his goats. He seems to be a really interesting guy, especially due to the reliance on senses other than sight that he needs to employ when working with his animals and processing the products. He lives with his son, Duncan, and constantly has WWOOFers help him out, as well!

Anyway, we got to the island and wandered near the harbor for a bit, and then started the trek up the 45 degree street that would lead us to Ed’s house. We took a few detours along the way into plots of land that had ruins of old houses and sheds as well as breathtaking scenic views.

Some of the natural flora!

A view from the middle of the hill

Some beautiful scenery :)

An old, broken down house along the coast!

Tourist photo!

More views from the crest of the hill

The ruins of the house, from above

Once we got to Ed’s house, we met the man himself, as well as his two WWOOFers, Sandy and Gayelan. Sandy has been here for a few weeks, and Gayelan arrived rather recently. We got started right away helping them both with their primary task at the time- making goats milk ice cream! When we arrived, they had just finished a few batches of rum raisin and were moving onto the next flavor, which was mint. Yum! I’m not really an ice cream fan, but if it’s mint, I want it! We were also joined by another woman by the name of Hanna, from Switzerland, who had arrived with us on the ferry and wanted to meet Ed (she too had wanted to WWOOF with him, but he was booked)!

5 batches and over 100 mini-cups of deliciously rich and creamy ice cream later (and some snacks here and there, of course), we were finished with the ice cream making for they day. Ed had prepared a fresh pot of stew while we were working, and we sat down to a delicious dinner of stew and toast- perfect for an overcast rain shower filled day.

Welcome to Cleire Goats

Ice creammmmm

After dinner, we went to get the goats! They had been grazing in the south pasture for the day and we stood by and watched Sandy, Gayelan and Ed herd the goats out of the pasture and back into their pen in the back of the house. It was awesome to watch ed whistle and speak to the goats, coaxing them out of the pasture and into the street. The followed him and his voice as if they were dogs! It’s also quite a sight to see a herd of goats walking in a straight line down the street!

We spent some time hanging out with the goats down in their pasture, and then wandered in the back area for a bit. The land is in several ‘layers’ of sorts, and Gayelan and I wandered through some of the fields to look at the view.

By this time, the sea mist was covering the land and we couldn’t see extremely far out, but we had a gorgeous view of the cliffs in front of us leading down to the beach, as well as some islands shrouded in mist a little ways off the coast. It was a very serene experience- it literally felt like I was the only person in existence at that point in time. I was looking out over the sea and could see nothing but natural land- absolutely nothing that would suggest there was another human being in the world around me. It felt so peaceful and so incredibly liberating to be so close to nature at that point. I’m really glad that I had that opportunity; living inland doesn’t have the same perks as living on an island, and it’s an experience I will surely not forget.

After spending some quality time outside, we went in for some tea to warm up. Shortly after we went back out when it was dark to put the goats in their pens for the night. That was a project in and of itself, particularly with one of the goats, Lavender. She’s a beautiful 11 (or so) year old goat. She’s missing some hair on her head and back, a condition left behind from some sickness she suffered when she was younger. She’s my favorite, and seems to be the ‘special’ one of the herd. I paid extra attention to her, but also spent some time with Baby (literally, the youngest of the herd), Anton, Teenager, and some others whose names escape me for the moment. Spending time with these animals makes me wish I had more time to WWOOF and go to a farm with livestock!

After we came in for the last time, we again sat down for some tea and snacks. We had some rice cakes, fresh cheddar cheese and honey. Don’t knock it til you try it- it’s actually incredibly delicious! Gayelan and I sat around the table with Ed chatting about all things under the sun- drugs, drug regulations, politics, the referendum vote in Ireland, our generation’s lethargy, etc. He’s a great man to talk to, and I really enjoyed hearing his opinions on a plethora of things. One of my favorite quotes from him tonight has got to be the following, though:

Irishman’s definition of ‘a gay’: a man who prefers his women to his drink.

After some great chats, I’m headed to bed J I believe milking starts at 10am tomorrow!

Favorite part of the day: Spending some time with the goats :) They're very lovable creatures, each with their own personality, and I can't wait to get to know them by name!