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Pain growing, ominous dark sky of Gannets, sand fleas rocketing themselves at my tent

October 1, Day 110

Wow October first. Such a gorgeous sunrise in the tiny harbor, it was bright orange in the sky and was a very fitting pumpkin looking orange globe on October first. Mick brought me back early so I could be on the water to catch the tide leaving Achill Sound, and as I went for it to do the island trifecta of Clare, Inishturk and Inishbofin. Fun little spin of current coming out of the sound and then to Clare in nice calm and glassy water. Really enjoyable. Lunch and pee on Clare, and the admiration of crystal blue water. Ireland is amazing when the sun is out. Still feeling the pain today and with every twist, I really feel a weird ping of pain, sure, but like more so just weird and random discomfort. Like I have to kind of "keep something in" which is not a great feeling. Im trying to ignore it enough but also keep dibs on how much worse it gets and if something drastic happens, that I would need to call the coast guard. Inishturk was very nice, such a cute little harbor. Irish islands have such charm and sometimes you feel like you're in Greece or something. The crossing to Inishbofin was less than ideal. Saw some boomers kick up which now always makes my hair raise and the sea suddenly got very intense again. Higher wind than before, and short and steep waves coming from my back right. The sky darkened and all I wanted was to be in calmer seas. It took quite a bit to remain calm and remind myself that this is "normal" swell and conditions. Suddenly too I realized over head that there was the most massive flock of hundreds of gannets that I had ever seen. It was like..a warning almost, which didn't help with the nerves. It was so wild, all of these gorgeous birds circling around in big patterns and swooping down every now and then. If it weren't for the sea that I had to pay more attention in, I would have really enjoyed it I think, and had the time to look up, but instead it was like the sky was filled with this great, dark force of large white birds circling in that span of 10 minutes for some reason. It was really very amazing.

Landed on Inishbofin, more food and break and decided on a final landing point on the mainland with a beach that would be easy for Donal to get me in the morning. Set up my things and felt the nostalgia as this is one of my last camp spots on the trip. Its really very cold though, so maybe I don't mind as much. Using my winter camping skills to be comfortable. The sky is amazing though, I got out to pee and the stars are unreal, you can see the milky way and everything. Okay but the sand fleas are going insane. It literally sounds like its raining but its because the hundreds of sand fleas are absolutely rocketing themselves all over the place and hitting my tent so often that it sounds like rain. It's kindof hilarious but also they are climbing all over the mesh part of my tent so when I get out to pee, I have to shake the whole thing vigorously to knock them off so they won't get inside when I unzip. Cheeky bastards. 





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