Time is hard to grasp while being on Inis Mor. “I made that apple pie yesterday, right?” “That was two days ago.” At times I can see the mainland of Ireland in the distance, but I feel no need to go back to a place where life is fast and demanding. Spending my time with the work in the hostel, exploring the island while walking or biking, playing with huge cards, watching reruns of friends for the 3th time and drinking cider in the pub is doing me good.
The first days on the island were rough, because letting go is not easy. I spend time alone on a small beach I discovered with a view of to ‘The Twelve Bens’ in Connemara and cried. Just because I felt I had to. I walked around the village of Kilronan and felt the peace of island life come over me while looking over the water and seeing a ferry leave the island.
My colleagues in the hostel are all travelers with their own reasons for traveling, but being here together creates a connection. Together we create a small community in which we can be ourself and respect each other. With jokes that nobody else gets, homemade dinners by our amazing chefs, talks about the important stuff in life and nothing important at all, laughing with each other and our own danceparty in the kitchen at night.
Whatever reason everybody had to come to this island and work in this hostel I am glad they did. It feels good to be part of this group of lovely and all in their own way inspiring people.
One of my reasons for being abroad for a while was I like the person that I am while I am traveling to integrate in the person I am at home. But being in this group and on this island and not feeling all that different made me realize that I must already been doing a better job at this than I thought. I still have my insecurities, but I am already good at listening to myself and acting on this.
Yesterday I went walking along the west coast of the island and all I saw was rocks everywhere. Still I wanted to keep on walking. Although walking this way was not easy and looked impossible at first, I managed to keep on walking and ending up where I wanted to. By taking one step after the other the path formed itself and all I had to do is follow it.