I think it's my favorite of all the seasonsToday is the first of OctoberThe leaves are falling The colours are beautifulIt's cold enough to wrap up in warm jumpers and scarvesLove it all!September was a month of highs and lowsI finished workI celebrated my birthdayThenOn the 17thI traveled three hours away to Westport for a little holiday I've been talking about this holiday for quite some timeIt's a package where you stay three nights in the hotelAnd the manager of the hotel also owns stables so you can do a mountain trek one dayAnd a beach trek the next dayI brought my parents with meAnd treated themIt felt so good to be able to pay for themAnd it felt even better to organize my very own holiday And do exactly what I want to doI've gone on holidays in the past But they were other people's holidays that I tagged along This holiday was all me!
We arrived Sunday afternoonChecked in I handed over the guts of a grand in cashThat I worked hard all summer to saveI actually felt like a proper adult paying that billAnd to treat my parents was just greatWe had two rooms Myself and Mam in oneAnd Dad in anotherWe settled in Then headed up for dinnerWe actually stayed in this same hotel about ten years agoAt Christmas timeI was strung out at the time And didn't brings enough drugs or methadone with me And promptly went in to a severe withdrawal I'll never forget that night I thought I was going to dieAnyway Here I am ten years later Ten years older and wiser A long way away from that girl Michael The man who owns the stables Texted me to tell me he would pick me up the next morning And we would do the mountain trek first I woke up the next morning Full of excitement and nervesI forced down a breakfastGrabbed my hat And went to wait for MichaelHe soon arrived And we headed out to the stables First impressions were not goodAs Micheal was shouting at all the staffAnd there was a very tense atmosphere I actually went outside and rang Mam I wasn't sure if I even wanted to continue As the whole place felt very hostile AnywayI decided to give it a second shot I was shown what horse I was riding A massive boy called Pepper I mean he was enormous!I was introduced to my guide Atulla Who was from Hungary And two others called Zena and CynthiaAtulla brought me out to the outdoor arena And went over the trek etcI decided I didn't want to canter that dayI said I would wait until the beach trekA rare moment of restraint for me
SoWe all saddles up and headed outWe were going to the foothills of a mountain called Croagh Patrick Which people climb in pilgrimage It was quite a long trek at three hours in allIt was just beautifulThe day was lovely Weather was greatWe did a lot of trotting and walking A lot of chatting And of course lots of photosAtulla was quite the character And kept us all entertained The trek up the mountain was quite precarious at times Drops either sideRocky groundBut I thoroughly enjoyed itWe got back to the stables And Atulla gave me a lift back to the hotelI was so glad that I didn't pull out I was so glad perseveredIt was well worth it
I got back to the hotel Tired but happy I had a shower Changed my clothes And headed down to the harbor with MamI was really on a high And couldn't contain myselfThat evening we had dinner And then went for a couple of drinks And to listen to the music I swear I was the youngest person there by about three decadesI was wrecked So went to bed early enough
The next morning I was sore but not too bad Today were going to do the beach trekAnd there was another lady coming with usWhile I waited for Michael to pick me up I tried to figure out who she was Michael arrived And I met the lady called JoShe was bright and bubbly And I liked her immediately We headed out to the beach Where Atulla was waiting with the horsesWho had been transported from the stables in a big horse boxJo was riding Pepper todayToday I was riding a little cob called Charlie But what he lacked in size He made up for in personality He was full of characterI hopped up on a rock And on to his backStraight away I could feel how keen he was to get going We arranged ourselves in to a line and headed outAtulla was riding SylvesterAnd also riding with us was InajaWho was riding ImpThe beach was vast and completely desertedAgain we were lucky with the weather From the start The craic was mightyJo was full of the joys And Atulla also kept us all entertained with jokes and taking the piss out of us But I must also sayWhen he needed to be seriousHe most definitely wasHe had the balance of fun and safety just rightWe trotted the length of the beach Went through the water Up on the dunes On the rocks Then we came to a sort of circular area of beach And Atulla asked us if we wanted to canterI did But Atulla said he would do it with meSo we cantered together around the circle Charlie was a total pocket rocketGod bless him he could moveJo tried tooBut it didn't quite work out for herThe weather was starting to turn So we began to head back We had to wade through the water again And the tide has come inSo because Charlie was so smallI was up to my knees in sea water Which the rest of them thought was hilarious I was soaked and the water was feckin' freezing But it was all part of the funWe made it back to the trailerDismounted Led the horses back in Then we all piled in to the cab And headed back to the hotelThe trailer was ancient But we had the best of fun on the way back Chatting about the trekIf it was even possible It was better than the mountain trekOur little holiday was over all too soonBut I thoroughly enjoyed itAnd it gave me a fire in my belly to do more and more riding I left with precious memories And some beautiful photosAlso the knowledge that I made this happen It couldn't have gone better
I have a lot more to writeBut I think I will leave it there for today And try and post some photos to go with this post...
