Despite having hauled ourselves out of bed at the ungodly hour of around 5:30 in the morning to catch the bus to Louth, the atmosphere around the place was electric. Dragging massive, over-sized suitcases into spar, nattering away like estranged couples, we were met with quizzical looks from the few customers present. Once we had stocked up on rubbish for our feast later on that night, we set off on our journey.
Upon arriving at the centre, we were made aware of the rules, introduced to the staff, given our room keys and brought almost immediately to our first activity....the high ropes xD It's difficult to even put into words the emotions of excitement, angst and utter fear that captivated the air. The look of pure horror on the faces of many as they were told what they would be doing, was absolutely priceless :P Along with the staggering heights, we also had the pleasure of rain throughout the activity. Although I enjoyed each of the challenges, my favourite yet most terrifying experience consisted of four girls, one by one climbing up quite a narrow wooden pole and pulling themselves up onto a minuscule green platform at the top....which for the record, was not steady. Once everybody had successfully reached the top, we put our arms around each other and leaned back over the edge, letting go one by one to be lowered down. I don't think I've ever loved the feeling of the ground under my feet any more in my entire life than at this moment.
For our afternoon activity, we went canoeing and also took part in some games once we reached the other side...one which meant spinning around as fast as you could ten times while looking down...staying upright seemed the biggest challenge for most, as girls were falling into bushes and people left, right and centre =)
Although it probably was the most traumatising experience I've ever had, our late-night hike turned out to be our most memorable anecdote, a story which we will no doubt be telling our grand-children about in years to come. We set out about 7 o clock in the evening..for what we thought was a rather leisurely two-hour hike up in the mountains....now I cannot help but smile at how naive we were. xD Trudging upwards, nearing the half-way mark, moaning like 5-year-olds in a supermarket, we assumed the worst was behind us....how foolish. With night closing in, the wind picking up, rain starting to fall and mist forming around us, thicker and thicker with each step, it felt like we would never get home. Alas just as we thought the night could not possibly get any worse, the rain strengthened, each drop feeling like spears tearing into our flesh and what felt like gale-force winds blowing us off course. Girls were dropping to the floor, weak and hungry, cursing the other half of the year who were at this point sitting in front of the toasty fire, shoveling Chinese into their mouths. Through some miracle however, in the end, we managed to return home, chanting Christmas carols in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood.
The next day was spent orienteering and practising archery...a seemingly easy task, but proved harder due to our aching limbs and severe lack of sleep the night before.
Overall, I had a truely fantastic time at Carlingford. The staff I must admit were legendary =P ....such as Pablo (aka Eoin)...the comedian/musician who liked to share with us his most atrocious jokes and prod us with branches when we fell behind the crowd, Peaches, a slightly sadistic being who enjoyed throwing us out of our canoes into freezing cold water, and Gordy...the evil man who dragged us up the hike on Monday evening.
That's it for now,
Emma x
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