Prime Living: Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains

Hi Everyone! I am getting around to write about our recent trip to the Wicklow Mountains and the famous 6th-century monastic settlement Glendalough (pronounced Glen-da-lock). My fellow students in the program and I left around 8 in the morning for this trip, which I soon found out would contain much, much more than I had originally thought...

Since my studies of Celtic Christianity, I have been dreaming of experiencing the wonderful culture and spirituality that I fell in love with 8 months ago. Needless to say, I had been anticipating this encounter with Glendalough since I first set my heart on studying in Ireland. When we arrived at the Glendalough site in the Wicklow Mountains (an hour outside Dublin), we were greeted by the fact that we first had a 10 mile hike through the mountains before we were going to the monastic site. I was like, oh no problem. I bet it is just a stroll around the lake and then we'll be on our way. We set afoot on our journey and about 30 minutes into it, I realized that this was going to be no small stroll...

Although it was tough during it, the accomplishment after I finished is one of the greatest I have ever felt. And, all the shots and wonderful beauties that we experienced highly overcompensated for the tiredness we felt at the end.

Here are some of the shots I got:

First Glance

We were excited

These were scattered throughout the mountains

Stairs through the woods

First mountain-top stop

The girls.

Gangstas of Ireland

"I'm flying! "

What we walked on

Roommate :)

Still had a long way to go

We went so high, we encountered snow

As we descended into the valley, this stone walkway was our companion for a couple of miles

These were massive

So worth it.

We finally made it to the lake-side!

My friends

FINALLY, we reached the main attraction for me. Glendalough far exceeded my expectations on the beauty and spirit-filled atmosphere it possessed. I experienced something that I never had. My beloved professor Dr. C. of my Celtic Christianity class discussed moments that could be characterized as "thin spaces," in which heaven and earth are almost touching; only a thin space separate the spheres from overlapping and a glorious moment occurs. Glendalough has been the most touching and beautiful thin space I have ever encountered. It was truly remarkable.