Letter from Camp: Glenveagh National Park

Dear Mom and Dad:

Yesterday we had our last excursion to Glenveagh Naitonal Park. It was our longest day yet! Glenveagh was first built as a hunting lodge for John Adair in the 1800s and after his wife died, it went through various owners, including two Americans. In the 1980s, the last private owner, Henry McIlhenny, sold the estate to the Irish government and it opened as a national park in 1984. We went to the castle and to explore its famous gardens. We didn’t get home until 11:30 PM because we then had a night in Dungloe to have dinner and then go to another long Irish music jam session.

And we attempted to sing “Galway Girl”:

Listen to some of our thoughts about the day! (The other campers were busy finishing their phonetics class with Ramón).

Glenveagh Castle

Eugenia: Yesterday (Wednesday) we left our houses and went to Glenveagh National Park. It was a cloudy day, but the sun was sometimes shining. We visited the castle and we also had lunch in one of the gardens. After we did a photo contest in the gardens in pairs. I was with Javi, we took a lot of photos; the views were amazing. Then we went shopping to buy some presents for our families. We stopped in Dungloe, we had dinner at the Stepping Stone, and we ate ice cream. We went to the Irish concert and we sang an English song, but it was horrible. At half past eleven we came back home and we went to bed.

Jorge: Yesterday we went to Glenveagh National Park and visited the castle. Then we did pairs of people and we went to the garden to take photos. Then we went shopping and we bought presents for our families. After we went to Dungloe and there we had a dinner in a restaurant. Finally we went to Geraldine’s concert and we arrived at the cottages.

Marta: On Wednesday morning we went to Glenveagh by bus. The road was very windy and because of that some of us were dizzy. We saw the castle and a man told us the history. There were perfect views from the castle. After that, we had lunch and we took pictures for a photo contest in the gardens. We left very early because we needed to go to Dungloe to a concert. When we arrived there we had a very good dinner and later we saw the concert. We sang “Galway Girl.” It’s very beautiful but we sang it very horribly. At 11:30 we went back home. It was so late and we went to bed at twelve o’clock. We were very tired! 😦

María: On Wednesday we woke up at 8 o’clock and we went to Glenveagh National Park. The we visited the castle and ate sandwiches and juice. After we took photos around the whole park. Then we went to Dungloe, had dinner in a restaurant, and went to the concert.

Nacho: We went to a national park and we played a game to take photos and follow the numbers. We visited a castle and we went to an art gallery. In the afternoon, we went to town and we got dinner. Then we saw the concert.

Álvaro: I got up at 8:30. I had breakfast at 9:45. I went shopping. I went to Glenveagh. I went to Dungloe and I had pizza for dinner in Dungloe. I went home. I went to bed at 11:30.

We can’t believe that we’re coming home on Sunday, but we can’t wait to see you!

Love,

The Younger Campers of the Maghery Summer Course 2014

 

Letter from Camp: Irish Dancing

Trying out shoe the donkey

Dear Mom and Dad:

Our last Sunday in Maghery was a banner day. We went to an oyster farm (but some of the other campers already told you about that), but we finally had one of the highlights of our time in Ireland: our Irish dancing class!! Irish dancing is really different from the other types of dance that we know, but we really enjoyed learning something that is so important to Irish culture. We were really lucky because we had two fantastic instructors: Mikaela and Karl, who are world-class dancers. Mikaela is a 2014 World Medalist! There are two different types of shoes that are used in Irish dancing: hard shoe (that kind of sound like tap shoes) and soft shoe. We learned a partner dance that is usually done with hard shoes and then a step combination.

Here are our thoughts about class!

Elena: The dance class was really funny! The best dancers, Karl and Mikaela, came to the cottage to teach us the typical irish dance. They were very nice and they explained to us all the movements slowly. Finally, we learnt everything about the arms, the corporal positions, and also, the steps. Then we danced all together. It was a very good experience for us. I’m waiting to have another class!

Javi Serrano: Yesterday we had a surprise before lunch. Two Irish dancers came to give us some dance lessons. Their names were Karl and Mikaela. I met them last year so I already knew them. Both of them are top Irish dancers and they have won several prizes. In fact, Mikaela had just spent a few days in London due to a competition. After having introduced ourselves we started with the first dance. It was very easy to learn because it only had one step. We did it in couples. It was so funny! Later, we began with another dance that was more difficult because it had more dance steps than the first one. We were practicing it for nearly half an hour. It was an amazing time!

 

Javi Nieto: The dance class was very good but I didn’t learn anything because I’m too bad at dancing but it was very funny even though I have forgotten it but I liked the Irish dance.

Mikaela and Karl were our teachers we started the class dancing in circle after that we danced with another person. When it finished we learnt Sevillanas.

Víctor Buitrago: On Sunday afternoon, we had an Irish dacing class in our house. The teachers were a girl called Mikaela and a boy called Karl. They were very polite and kind and they were World Class dancers. I was dancing very well, but as a whole, we were bad. We learned two dance steps, and we wee thing to learn them but, when the dancing class finished, I forgot it all in spite of that it was a very fun day. 

Víctor Camacho: It was very good because two professional dancers came. Their names were Mikaela and Karl. She is a world medalist in Irish dancing. They taught us the basic steps. One was in three-time in pairs and the other in four-time, but this step we did alone. It was easy but for some people was too difficult. It was so funny but unfortunately they had to go so we stayed dancing and practicing the steps. Later, Marta taught our Irish friends and us how to dance Sevillanas. It was funny but too difficult and I couldn’t do it.

Pablo: Yesterday we had a dancing class with two of the best dancers in Ireland. They were Mikaela and Karl, both very funny and kind. We started with the easiest steps, all of us took turns dancing and then we did it together while Calum recorded us.

Finally, they had to leave and we were practicing for a while. Later we started with Marta’s ‘Sevillanas’ class.

Testing out the crossback step!

Even thought we’re not world-class dancers like Mikaela and Karl, we were able to enjoy dancing. It doesn’t matter how good you are; it’s all about trying something new!

 

We can’t believe it’s already our last week here in Ireland! We’ll write again very soon!

 

Love,

 

The Older Campers of the Maghery Summer Course 2014

Letter from Camp: A Visit to the Oyster Farm

Dear Mom and Dad:

 

Our last Sunday in Maghery was a banner day. We had two really awesome activities in the afternoon, and then of course we all watched the World Cup final together. We, the Younger Campers of the Maghery Summer Course 2014, are going to tell you all about our visit to an oyster farm. The Hunters, Javi Nieto’s host family, have an oyster farm here in Maghery and they were gracious enough to invite us to visit. Seamus (Mr. Hunter) took us all out on the trailer into the water to look at all of the oyster and mussel harvest. We even got to take some home with us to make some paella before we go back to Spain!

 

Here are our thoughts about the oyster farm!

 

On the trailer at the oyster farm

Marta: Yesterday, we went to an oyster farm. We arrived there very early by car. We went into the sea on a trailer. We were jumping all the time. Seamus (Mr. Hunter) showed us the oysters and some people tasted them. And they also picked mussels from the rocks for a paella we’re going to have later. Also, the views were very exciting! This day was very fun because I had never seen this before. I want to repeat it!

 

Seamus shucking some oysters

María: On Sunday morning we went to the oysters farm and we got into the water with the trailer. It was very dangerous and we jumped all the time.Some people ate the oysters. But I don’t try any one.

 

Fresh out of the water!

Jorge: Yesterday we went to the oyster farm. We saw oysters and mussels and we went into the sea on a trailer. We caught mussels on the rocks. Then Javi Nieto’s host father showed us the place where they harvest the oysters. Some people ate them. Then we came back to shore with some mussels and oysters.

 

Starfish

Eugenia: On Sunday morning we went with Javi’s farmer family to see the oyster farm.It was a very interesting experence.We got into the water with a trailer and we were jumping the hole time but it was a little dangerous.I hate when the men ate the oysters; it was very disgusting.I also caught mussels. It was very fun but I couldn’t eat it; it was really gross. At half past one we came back home. I enjoyed this morning a lot. Best wishes- Eugenia.

 

Picking mussels

Nacho and Álvaro were working on a special project.

 

Even if some of us don’t like oysters and mussels or are allergic to them, it was really interesting to see how they are caught and what it takes for them to be eaten. We even loved when Ramón tasted them raw fresh off the trailer:

 

We can’t believe it’s already our last week here in Ireland! We’ll write again very soon!

 

Love,

 

The Younger Campers of the Maghery Summer Course 2014

 

Letter from Camp: Our Day on Arranmore Island

Dear Mom and Dad:

 

On Thursday we went on an all-day excursion to Arranmore Island. We had to wake up really early after a late-night listening to a traditional Irish music jam session in Dungloe. Let’s just say that it was really hard getting up and out when the sky was all rainy and gray. We were a large group; there were 26 of us: 12 campers, our camp directors (that’s 2), our two main teachers (an Irishman and a New Yorker), four of our young Irish friends, and then seven guests visiting us from Dublin! And don’t forget Martin, our bus driver. We had to drive a half-hour from Maghery to Burtonport, another small town where you catch the ferry to Arranmore. From there it was about a 15-minute ride.

 

If you want to see what Arranmore looks like, take a look here at the map!

 

We went by car and bus on the Ring Road throughout the island to see the most important sites. Sometimes we would get off the bus to spend some more time at different sites; that we way we were able to snap some AMAZING photos.

 

Since the blog posts about camp are for all of us (not just that Kate writes them all for us), all of us campers (and two of our Irish friends) have each written about the day. Please enjoy our thoughts about this wonderful excursion!

 

Ciara: Yesterday we had a great day at Arranmore. We travelled from Dungloe to Burtonport and got the Red Ferry to the island called Arranmore. The day was beautiful with the lovely blue sky and clouds and the sun was out most of the day. We took lots of great pictures and who looked at the beautiful viewings of the island. We stopped off at lovely places but one that struck me was the lighthouse. Then we had lunch beside the lighthouse. We did a bit more sightseeing and then we got the red ferry home.

 

Álvaro: I got up at 8:45 and we went on an excursion. I looked at sheep and they had lots of wool and their bottoms were all different colors. I loved the landscapes, but it was very sunny and I needed the umbrella to rest. Connor and Conor tried to take my umbrella and I wasn’t happy. We saw a lighthouse, but we couldn’t go inside. At the end of the day, I was very tired!

 

Nacho: We went on a ferry to Arranmore Island. I liked the lighthouse, but we couldn’t see the inside. We saw sheep near a cliff. We were 26 people. We went to the café to eat chips and to the beach to go for a walk. It was a nice day! I liked all the day things that we saw on the island. I want to go again.

 

María: Yesterday we got up early, had breakfast and went to Dungloe. We went to Arranmore in a ferry. We visited the island, took photos of cliffs, walked…and had lunch. After we came back home, had dinner, and we went to bed at 12 o’clock.

 

Conor: It was a cool day because we went to Arranmore. It was very fun. We went to the bar first. Then we went to the lighthouse. There we saw a beautiful landscape. I would like to go back to the island. We went to the beach too. The bus name was Duddy’s bus. There was free wifi in the bar. When we came back on the boat to Donegal the TV didn’t go on..I looked at sheep.

 

Marta: Yesterday, we travelled to Arranmore on a boat. We saw many beautiful views. When we arrived at the island, we started to see Arranmore. It was very exciting! We saw many cliffs before we had lunch. We ate two sandwiches and then we continued to see the island. We stopped at the beach because the other car was lost. After that, we went to the pub. At five o’clock we left the pub because at quarter past five we needed to board the boat. The trip was very short. When we arrived in Dungloe, we went back home to have dinner. We slept at twelve o’clock because we saw the photos that we took of the landscape. I really love these photos!

 

Jorge: Yesterday we got up really early and we went to Arranmore Island. First we went to the boat and we took it to the island. Then we went to the mountains and we saw the cliffs and the lakes. I love the landscape of the cliffs. After we went to the lighthouse and we ate sandwiches with the sheep. Finally we arrived in Maghery and we had dinner.

 

Eugenia: What a day on the island! Yesterday we went to visit Arranmore Island. The sky was beautiful, there were a lot of clouds and the sun was shining almost all the time. To get there we went by ferry. When we arrived there, we went to a pub and after we went up the mountains; the landscapes were amazing. We walked around a lake next to the Beaver Island Monument, that has two flags, one of the USA and an Irish one. We also went to see the cliffs’ views, I loved it and we took a lot of photos. In the mountains there were a lot of sheep with the bottoms painted in different colors. We visited the lighthouse and we had lunch near the sea. We went to a little port and threw rocks there. After we went to a pub to chat with our family and our friends. And later we came back home.

 

Javi Serrano: Yesterday I woke up earlier than usual. Conor, Ciara and I went to Dungloe at nine o’clock but the bus arrived half an hour later. We reached the pier at quarter to ten and at ten o’clock we got on the ferry. The first thing we did on the island was to drink a coffee at a pub. Then we headed up to the beaver monument in a lake. After that we went to the cliffs and we took some amazing pictures. Then we went to the lighthouse and there we had our lunch. Later we went to the small port where we could throw some rocks to the sea and make them jump. At the end we spent some time at the beach until the ferry was leaving. It was an amazing day and I hope to have another one like this.

 

Pablo: the Thursday 10^th of July we got up earlier than usual, because at 9:00 we had to leave. We were preparing all of the things we would need. We got to the port by bus, here we took a ferry to Aran Mór. Now on the island, we could see incredible landscapes like the high cliffs, the fields and the lighthouse. After having lunch we returned to the bus, and some of us to the car (there weren’t enough seats for all) which got lost. Later we met at the port to take the ferry back. Later on, at home, we had fried eggs and chips for dinner. After that some of us decided to went to the pub to with our families and friends. We came back home and Colum was playing piano, and a few minutes later we were asleep.

 

Víctor Buitrago: On Thursday, I got up the earliest than all of the other days. I had a shower and then, I had breakfast very quickly because the bus arrived at nine o’clock.

We went to the port and we took a red ferry to Arranmore Island. When we arrived, we took the bus again, and we saw a lot of landscapes, such as, a lighthouse near cliffs, two beaches and a lot of sheep and turf. We had lunch at midday on the mountainside, then we went to the beach. There, I listened to music and I bought an ice cream and cookies. At five o’clock, we took the red ferry and came back home. After that, I watched TV and we had potatoes and fried eggs for dinner. At night we went to the pub and I played pool with Victor and I spoke with my mother.

Later, at eleven o’clock, we went to bed.

 

Javi Nieto: The Thursday 10^th of July we got up early because the ferry was going to leave at 9 45 at nine o clock we took the small bus and we went to Dungloe to pick up Javi after that we went to the port. We started the trip when we arrived at the island we took the bus and we went to the mountains we saw cliffs, sheep, and lakes it was a nice day

 

Víctor Camacho: On Thursday, we woke up a quarter to eight. We had breakfast and then we took a bus to the port to take the red ferry at ten o’clock. We went to Arranmore Island. When we arrived, we went to see some amazing cliffs and after we went for a walk around the lighthouse. We had lunch and we took some photos of the landscape. Afterwards we went to a small port and we threw rocks into the sea. Then, we went to a beach and we stayed in a pub with WiFi chatting with our families, because the ship didn’t leave until half past five. When we finally arrived, the bus took us to the cottages. After we had dinner, the boys went to the pub and Victor and I were playing snooker while the other guys were talking with their families for one hour. It was a long and a fantastic day.

 

Elena: On Thursday 10^th of July we got up early, we had breakfast, we got dressed and then we prepared everything for a long day on Arranmore Island. We caught a red ferry, which took us to Arranmore. We were there 20 minutes and we took advantage of the situation to take so many photos of the rocks in the sea and of the sea’s cristaline water. When we arrived there we went by car or by bus to the most amazing views. The landscape that we could see is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. I could say that it looked like a mix of the views in Galicia and Asturias with all the different blues in the sea, the amazing cliffs and the beautiful green grass. We had lunch while watching nature and then we were going to come back, but first we stopped at a beach and there we threw lots of stones into the sea. Finally, we arrived to a pub and we chatted with our friends because there was WiFi. A few minutes later, we caught the red ferry again and then we arrived back to our houses. I was so tired and I went to bed really early.

 

Some of the gorgeous cliffs on Arranmore Island

Can’t wait to write more soon! Next up, Irish dancing!

 

Love,

 

The Campers of the Maghery Summer Course 2014

EXCURSIONS

By Javi and Álvaro

On Monday we went to Dungloe we played monopoly in the streets and we could buy clothes and other things it was a very good day. We bought ice cream it was so nice and delicious. The town is very small. We could walk from the very bottom to the very top in ten minutes. After that we went to the bus to return to Maghery.

The weather was sunny which meant we could have a good time.

MAGHERY, WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE!

A view of the beach in Maghery. Photo Credit: Kate Estabrook (our American English teacher!)

By Víctor Camacho, María, and Nacho

Maghery is one of the most beautiful places that we have been in our lives. The landscape has nothing in common with Madrid. Here are lots of lakes and too many plants. Around the village there are some pathways with some amazing views where you can take incredible photos. There are too many animals like cows, sheep, goats and also crabs too!

The village is next to the beach. It has some seaweeds but the place is beautiful. Also there aren’t many people so the houses are very separated. And some houses are very big and with awesome gardens.

We want to suggest this place because is very quiet and is the perfect place to relax, for holidays or to look for an inspiration.

Maghery 2014: FOOTBALL WITH THE IRISH

By Jorge and Pablo

 

 

 

On our first day in Ireland we were walking on the beach when we crossed with a group of five locals. We were talking to them for while and we noticed that they wanted to play football against us. So that is how it all started, we played our first match over the sand, Spanish team- Irish team!!! Even though they were cheating every time we beat them! Cause we are Spanish, kings of football nowadays (well…more or less).

As we were very motivated we started to associated our player with the Spanish team, so that Alvaro was Iker Casillas, Javier S. was Ramos, Victor B. was Xabi Alonso, Victor Camacho was Busquets, Javi was Iniesta and Pablo was David Villa. A few days later we decided to have rematch with them, but this time on the pitch. And again, the Spanish team won easily. The scored was 9-15 more or less. Even though we have been playing with other rivals we are waiting for them to played the third match and show them that Spain is the best at football.

GAELIC FOOTBALL: WHAT IS IT?

By: Javier and Ciara

“Gaelic Football” by Martin Brückner – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaelic_Football.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Gaelic_Football.jpg.

Last Sunday has been the first time I’ve ever seen gaelic football. Do you know what this sport is? Let us explain it to you. The first thing you have to know: it is not soccer. It’s true that it looks similar but there are some differences. For example, the players have to carry the ball with their hands. Also, they have to bounce the ball every four steps and solo it.

The objective in this sport is to score the ball between the two posts (that’s 1 point) or a goal in the net (that’s 3 points).

The local pitch is located in the town of Dungloe, just 15 minutes from Maghery by car. That day the two teams that were playing were Dungloe, the local team, and Ardra. We watched the game and found it very interesting. We hope to see another match soon.

HOW’S THE WEATHER TODAY?

By Marta and Víctor Buitrago

Hi! We are going to talk about the weather here.

It’s very crazy because it changes quite suddenly in comparison to Spain. So, we aren’t used to it.

Usually, it’s cloudy because most of the days it’s raining.

We had very good weather when we arrived in Maghery, but now it’s cloudy and cold.

Also, it’s sunny but with no frequency.

 

On Monday, it was a cloudy day.

In the morning, we stayed in Maghery and the weather wasn’t good, because sometimes it was raining and sometimes it was sunny. It was a strange morning.

In the evening, we went to Dungloe and the weather was far better. It was sunny and warm.

When we left the village, it started to rain a lot.

LET’S GO TO THE BEACH, BEACH, LET’S GO TO THE WAVE!

By: Elena and Eugenia

Hi guys! We are Elena and Eugenia. We are going to talk about the beach with the different things that we did our first Saturday in Maghery, Ireland.

The weather was really good and we took advantage of that situation to take so many photos there. We only had an hour but we could take all the photos we wanted.

We could see the best and the worst things over there. The views are amazing and we can see the different blues that the sea has. It was like a dream for us. The sun was shining and the sand was the perfect place to take photos. But we could see also seaweed and jellyfish. It was disgusting. The landscape was perfect so the worst things didn’t ruin the photos. We had a lot of fun.

The beach in Maghery

We jumped, we laughed, we shouted and we observed all the beach’s details. We collected seashells, we made a wish, and we threw them into the water. We hope that our wishes come true.

Eugenía, Elena, Marta, and María

The hour went by really fast so we were late and Inma was waiting for us to have dinner. We wanted to spend more time on the beach. We will go another day!

With all our best wishes. We hope that you like it. xx