“Swede”

JEFF: The Swede? That detail is actually taken another story. Something very funny that took place on the Aran Islands… I did meet another great character on my trek, however, when I took a boat out to see the mystical Skellig islands. I’ve forgotten his name by now, unfortunately, but the trip and the conversation were wonderfully memorable. Apparently the old man was one of two people on earth who knew how to navigate the rough waters surrounding the rocky islands where Irish Monks used to live in stone huts. The other was his son. The old man picked me up along with two other American tourists at the Carherciveen hostel I was staying at and took us all out on the boat. The whole ride the man laughed and blabbed about his personal heroics. Apparently he was famous. He was the first man in Ireland to ever stand up on a surf board and was renown for his telephone wire balancing stunts. He even produced his surfing trophy and old black and white pictures to prove his prestige!

Below are some pictures of the islands and a Wikipedia link if you would like to learn more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skellig_Islands