By Christine Mc Cafferty

Shannon and Christine， our two backpacking adventurers were on the west coast of Ireland， in the Republic of Ireland， in the beautiful little port city of Galway1. They were staying with none other than the harbourmaster2 of Galway himself. Frank had many， many friends， including Sean who invited the girls on a sailing trip on his wooden yacht to the Aran Islands3 out to the west.

The next day Sean fetched us. We went with him， and his friend Ryan， through some rough Irish countryside known as the Connemara Coast4. I never will forget the stone walls crisscrossing5 the green fields. The fields were rocky and the farmers poor. They cleared the lands of stones and packed them one on top of the other without cutting them or using mortar6 to build the walls.

We reached Castle Bay， a bay with nothing much but boats moored7 on the water. We set off from there on a flimsy-looking rubber dinghy for Seans yacht，8 named Sullivan John. It was moored on a rather angrylooking stormy Atlantic ocean， about a few hundred metres offshore. Shannon and I looked at each other； we were worried but the two old men assured us that everything would be absolutely fine. They had hardly said that when the dinghy ran out of fuel. Sean and his elderly friend paddled and puffed away desperately.9 Despite being nervous， we could not help laughing.

在戈爾韋市逗留沒多久，不安分的Christine和Shannon再次背起行囊，登上通往遠離塵囂的小島的船只，去探訪那里的考古遺跡和早期的基督教遺址，開啟屬于她們的大航海時代?？墒沁@次航海的經(jīng)歷卻不像她們設想的那樣瀟灑，甚至還有些狼狽……

We eventually got to Sullivan John， which was a two-masted10 timber sailing yacht. It was about 40 feet long. With the inboard motor going， we set off for the biggest of the three Aran Islands. I was so SEASICK—it was HORRIBLE！ Sean and Ryan were battling outside but we lay on a bed inside and refused to move. They were struggling to get the sails up. Eventually Ryan shouted， “Come girls. Come see her. Shes in full flight. Shes beautiful.”I looked at Shannon and rolled my eyes. We could not even reply； we were feeling so sick. By the time we arrived at Inishmore， it felt like I was about to die. The ocean was still rough and it was raining heavily. As we attempted to moor the yacht， Ryan dropped the rope and it got caught in the propeller11. I continued to lie on the bed and declared I would NOT be setting my foot outside to help.

I got myself off the bed though and back onto the dinghy when we were told that we would be heading ashore. I couldnt wait to get my feet on dry ground. I was shaking and dizzy when I finally put my feet on wet muddy ground. We headed straight to the first pub we saw called The Oar12. When we got there， the barman could barely believe that we had made it over. It had been so stormy， and the conditions so dangerous， that the big daily ferry had been cancelled， yet somehow we had made it alive in a little yacht. Shannon and I looked at each other. We were very angry with the two old men， who looked sheepish13 and kept very quiet！

The three Aran Islands are quiet and rugged14. Most of the people still speak the old Irish language， Gaelic15. There were a few pretty slow-speaking guys at the pub. They seemed quite desperate for our attention. I guess young women seldom visited these islands， even ones who looked as unkempt16 as we did after the rough day on the water. It was interesting to meet these people， but by the end of the evening I felt quite ready to head home and， by home， I mean back to Galway and dry ground！ I was imagining being rescued and taken home by airplane. But we were to stay overnight on the boat—and there was no shower aboard and it was so cramped17.

I decided that boating was NOT for me. “I HATE sailing，” I wrote in my diary. Shannon and I didnt mind Sean， but Ryan annoyed us no end； he drove us quite mad. That night， as we headed to our cramped little shared bed， Ryan tried to kiss Shannon good night. I promptly went to the galley and picked up the bread knife， and walked past him with it visible.18 He asked me what on earth I was doing， I replied， “You never know who might come into our room！” The poor old man looked quite stunned19. He was probably completely harmless but I was feeling very grumpy20.

All night long we were tossed and turned on a choppy ocean.21 But we werent going to head back yet. In the morning we got back in the dinghy and headed to the island again. We spent a day seeing the island that almost made the agony of the trip worth it.22 I say almost. First we went to see a famous prehistoric hill fort called Dún Aonghasa.23 It lies at the edge of a 100-metre high cliff with a spectacular view over the ocean to the west. Excavations24 at the site show that it was first built around 1100BC. Its name means “Fort of Aonghas”which most likely refers to a pre-Christian god of the same name which is described in Irish myths. The original shape was either oval or D-shaped， but parts of the cliff and fort have since fallen into the sea.

Next we went to a site named the “Seven Churches”25 which dates from the eighth century. It is from the time that Christianity became significant in the area. The churches and other buildings were made of beautiful stonework with impressive arches and altars.26 Old gravestones and other markers with beautiful carved stone Celtic crosses were dotted across the site.27

We ended up relaxing beside a perfect natural pool in the rocks. It was unbelievable how much it looked like a swimming pool， but the water felt freezing cold. We walked with Seans friends through fields， as they spoke Gaelic. It was incredible that this ancient language was still alive on these remote islands. Other than that， we went into pubs all day to warm up and socialise. Then it was back to the Sullivan John for another rough night. Shannon and I did manage a laugh though when we found a rope tied in the shape of a noose.28 We joked that if the seasickness got too bad， at least we had a way out.

The next morning early we set off home. The water was not as rough as the journey there， but going back was just as unbearable for us. Shannon hung over the side retching29 and I was on the bed wishing for death. We were too worn out and sick to appreciate that wed been given the adventure of a lifetime！

When we moored up in Castle Bay， we were offered the opportunity to scrub30 the deck of the yacht for 20 Irish pounds each. All we wanted to do was leave but Shannon and I needed money， and this was our first chance to make some in quite a few weeks.

We finally got back to Franks home in Galway late that afternoon. It was fabulous to take a bath and put our clothes in the wash.

Shannon and Christine spend one more night in Galway. Frank and Sean are determined to take them out so that the two girls can find some “decent-looking Irish guys”. Would they or wouldnt they？

1. Galway： 戈爾韋，愛爾蘭共和國（簡稱“愛爾蘭”）西部港市，被譽為愛爾蘭的“文化首都”和“西部之都”，亦作“高威”。

2. harbourmaster： 港務長。

3. Aran Islands： 阿倫群島，是位于愛爾蘭西海岸的戈爾韋市海灣口的一個較大的群島，由伊尼什莫爾島（Inishmore）、伊尼什曼島（Inishmaan）和伊尼希爾島（Inisheer）三個石灰?guī)r島嶼組成。

4. Connemara Coast： 康尼馬拉海岸地區(qū)，是愛爾蘭西海岸的原始山區(qū)，這里的土著居民至今仍使用愛爾蘭語。

5. criss-cross： 縱橫交叉，形成交叉線。

6. mortar：（砌磚等用的）砂漿，灰漿。

7. moor： 停泊，系泊。

8. flimsy-looking： 看起來輕而薄的，不結實的；rubber dinghy： 橡皮艇。

9. paddle： 劃槳行進；puff： 喘息，喘氣。

10. two-masted： 雙船桅的。

11. propeller： （輪船上的）螺旋槳，推進器。

12. oar： 船槳。

13. sheepish： 羞怯的，局促不安的。

14. rugged： 高低不平的，崎嶇的。

15. Gaelic： 蓋爾語，一種源于蘇格蘭、愛爾蘭等地的古老的語言，此處專指愛爾蘭蓋爾語（Irish Gaelic）。

16. unkempt： 未梳理的，不修邊幅的。

17. cramped： 狹窄的，擁擠的。

18. promptly： 立即地，迅速地；galley： （船上的）廚房。

19. stunned： 震驚的，目瞪口呆的。

20. grumpy： 生氣的，壞脾氣的。

21. toss and turn： 翻來覆去，輾轉不能入睡；choppy： 波濤洶涌的。

22. 我們花了一整天的時間參觀這座島，這使得旅途上遭的那些罪還算值得。agony：（極度的）痛苦，創(chuàng)痛。

23. prehistoric： 史前的；hill fort：山丘堡壘；Dún Aonghasa： 愛爾蘭語，意為鄧昂哈撒城堡（Fort of Aonghas），阿倫群島上最大的史前遺跡，也是愛爾蘭最知名的古跡之一。

24. excavation：（考古性的）挖掘。

25. Seven Churches： 七大教堂，早期的基督教遺跡。

26. stonework： 建筑物的石造部分；arch： 拱門，拱形結構；altar： （教堂內的）圣壇，祭壇。

27. gravestone： 墓碑；marker： 紀念碑；Celtic cross： 凱爾特式十字架（十字交叉處有圓環(huán)）；dot： （星星點點地）布滿，點綴。

28. 盡管如此，當我和香農（在船上）發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個系成絞索的繩套時，還是設法找到了樂子。noose： 絞索，套索。

29. retch： 干嘔。

30. scrub： 擦洗，擦凈。