Hitchhikers Guide to Galway

So I broke my hitchhiking virginity (for a lack of a better way of putting it) on April 27th, 2015 in good ol' Ireland. I (and hopefully not too many of my hostel roommates) woke up in the morning from my alarm clock at about 7:00 and hit up the all you can eat/drink breakfast in the hostel kitchen - soooooo much cereal and toast and coffee. I said goodbye to a few roommates and hit the road super caffeinated - first stop the bus stop to make my way to the outskirts of the city where it would (so I heard) be easier to hitch a ride. I took the 25B bus direction Adamstown 9 stops all the way to Lucan Road (The Oval) where the highway seemed to start, direction West. I asked the driver to let me know when the stop was, but he didn't seem to be all too familiar with the route, so I counted the stops on my fingers and got off when it seemed to make sense. I walked along the highway a little ways and stuck my thumb out at exactly 11:00AM. I stood there for a good 20 minutes with no real luck and started to have second thoughts about this whole idea. I figured maybe if I walk back a little bit in the direction of the gas station I would perhaps have better luck. This was exactly the case. Within about 5 minutes of having my thumb in the air, this Irish lady stopped and asked where I was headed. I told her Galway, but anywhere closer to that destination would help. I was hoping to make it to the next town/city on the way which I thought would be Kinnegad. Luckily enough she lived there but told me I would have better luck catching a ride from this one truck stop where traffic didn't travel to fast and where lots of people drove through. We got there in about 15 minutes and she let me off at the stop where a Russian gentleman named Nicholas took a lot of interest in my travels and offered me a free coffee. I spoke to Nicholas for about 15 minutes about life, travel, politics, work and food before sticking out my thumb again to try and make it further along my journey. I stood there for a little while and one car stopped - which ignorantly enough I thought was for me - but alas the guy was only stopping for one of Nick's coffees and sandwiches. A couple of minutes later another fellow stopped and again I had high hopes it was for me. Originally he had stopped for grub as well but he asked me where I was headed and told me if I was willing to wait for him to eat he would definitely take me to the next town on the way to Athlone. I gladly obliged and the kind gentleman took me to a decent spot where he thought I would have better luck catching a ride. He was an electrician of sorts and was actually on the clock, so him giving me a ride was fantastic! He even mentioned something when driving through one small town that one of the Jonas Brothers was from there, I told him I really couldn't care less about that - it just kind of came out of my mouth and I was afraid I had maybe offended him. But he chuckled and told me that he didn't either. 

My hitchhiking route

My next piece of ground I stood on with my thumb out was a slightly smaller road than all the others so far, and it seemed that it had gotten a lot colder and windier. Luckily enough, however, this was also the place where I probably got picked up the fastest from all of my spots. My next chauffeur was a Latvian woman who said she was happy to see me stand next to the road because it reminded her of her hitchhiking days and told me she totally understood what it was like. She was very friendly about it all, and told me that if it wasn't for the fact that she had children and a family as well now, she would still love to hitchhike again.She wasn't entirely sure where to drop me off and what my best bet would be, but she told me what she did know and gave me walking directions to where she thought would be a good spot. Although she was right, it was indeed a good spot, I think she underestimated how far away it really was. I had to walk along the highway with traffic zooming by me for about 40 minutes with both of my backpacks and my records I had picked up along my travels in my arm. This wasn't really so bad, but I didn't really know how much longer I would have to walk. I eventually reached Exit 13 which was the one she told me to go to. I didn't even bother trying to hitch on the main highway because traffic was going much too fast, and there were several signs I ¨blindly¨ strolled past that said that pedestrians were not allowed alongside the highway. This would be the part where if I got stopped I'd pretend to only speak Dutch and really hope the officer isn't also a Dutchman or Dutchwoman. Regardless to say I was never stopped and eventually made it to the little town that Exit 13 led into. The directions the Latvian woman gave me weren't exactly accurate but I was able to make sense of it all. I decided that just in front a gas station would be my best choice to try and catch a car ride. This was one of the points where I was really starting to wonder what the hell I was actually doing here. It took some time for my next driver to stop, I was hungry, my coffee was starting to wear off, my hands (especially my thumb) were getting numb, I was tired, my shoulders hurt from the weight of my backpacks, and I didn't really know exactly where I was. But I was not giving up! I had come too far. 

Still going in the right direction

..soon enough a very kind Irish gentleman stopped and offered me a ride to the next town I was headed which if memory serves me correctly was Ballinasloe. I'd also like to take this moment here to mention that when people driving in their cars indicate that they are continuing on and not actually giving me a ride by pointing forward, to be extremely confusing. Several times I thought somebody was stopping up ahead (hence why they were pointing), and I would turn around with a big smile on my face because it seemed like my next ride had finally arrived. However like 5 or 6 people did this and just continued on. Maybe they were just messing with me in which case that's just not very friendly at all.
Where was I? Oh yes kind Irish gentleman giving me a ride. So this man's accent was quite thick and he talked at altered volumes and speeds which made it slightly difficult to always understand what he was saying, and at one point I had him talking about country music which I don't know the first thing about. Not that I necessarily have anything against it, or that I don't respect the genre of music, I simply just don't know anything about it other than that I like a few Johnny Cash songs. Anyhow, he keeps asking me if I know any of these Canadian country singers and I felt kind of bad saying no like 4 or 5 times in a row, because he was getting quite excited simply talking about them, so I just started saying things like ¨oh yeah that name rings a bell¨, or ¨I know the name but not really his/her music¨. I figured that I could just start being super pretentious about 90's hip-hop music or 50/60s jazz musicians, but I did after all enjoy the fact that I had a free ride and didn't want to do anything to spoil it. He was also very opinionated about the Irish government and politics and once I got him going on that, all I had to do was sit back and listen to him rant, which saved me from doing any of the talking. I also think I should mention that this was without a doubt, the messiest vehicle I had ridden in, not only just in my hitchhiking day, but probably in any ride ever that I have gotten in my life. But a free ride's a free ride right?
Come to think of it, I don't think he dropped me off in Ballinasloe but it was another small town/city/area/suburb/whateveryouwanttocallit which was along the way and this would be my last location where I had to stick my thumb in the air. I was getting so close, but I still had a ways to go to Galway. I waited around for a little while but not all too long before a Polish man named Lucas picked me up in his car. I opened the passenger door and out came the sounds of Notorious BIG. I knew right away this would be a good ride. Lucas and I spoke a bit about what we were currently doing for work and school and all that good stuff. Lucas had studied music/sound engineering or something along those lines and this was exciting for me because it is something I have been glancing at as a potential future study subject. He was telling me that it was hard for him to find work in this area, and was saying that if I do go back to school when back in Vancouver that I should take courses as opposed to general studies. Say what you want about that, everybody has their own opinions, but I think it is good to hear what different people have to say, and this was one of the reasons I came on this trip in the first place. And I feel that only the individual can really know what is best for him/her. Anyhow I talked with Lucas some more, and he was telling me of his current work which was kind of being a salesman for this very good alternative energy drink called John Lemon (loving bad puns, I already liked this drink before trying it). He gave me one to try (which was very good) and told me that he would take me all the way to Galway if I was okay with him stopping at a few locations along the way to go into some cafes and restaurants to deliver some of these drinks. I told him that was fantastic and also much too generous of him, but he insisted. He later told me that he was 29 years old and just had a baby girl who is currently 3 months old. Lucas was just in general such a genuine friendly human being and a very good final chauffeur to have on this whole experience. As I was getting out of his car in Galway, he noticed that I was carrying around some vinyl. This seemed to impress him, and he told me of his collection before saying, ¨keep it real brotha¨ and giving me a firm handshake. I simply replied with, ¨heck yeah man¨.
So quick summary. 1) took bus from Dublin to Lucan Road (The Oval). 2) walked around for a bit trying to find optimal hitchhiking pickup spot then got a ride to somewhere close to Kinnegad. 3) got a ride to Kinnegad. 4) made at least halfway to Athlone. 5) made it to Athlone. 6) veered off of my planned route little and made it somewhere close to Ballinasloe. 7) got a ride which I forgot to write about beforehand to somewhere outside of Athenry. 8) got my final ride to Galway. 9) arrived at my hostel at about 6:30PM (18:30). I've already gotten the order of events and the exact locations and names mixed up a little bit, but that pretty accurately describes my day.
What did I learn from all of this? Well let me just start by saying that I was very nervous to try hitchhiking, especially in a foreign country where I did not know the bus routes at all. But this Europe trip for me is all about trying new things and pushing the limits of my comfort zone. I don't think I would have done it, but several people I know really pushed me to the idea (respectfully of course - for the most part :p) and I can't say thank you enough! It really opened up my mind a lot, and it made me realize certain things about myself and others. Not that I am a cynic per say, but I am often not very fast to trust people, or not when it comes to them driving me places where I ma not be able to get out if I need to. Thus I sometimes catch myself making very unfair judgments about people before really even giving them a chance. So if this can at times be my state of mind, how can I expect anybody to stop for a complete stranger on the road who is carrying a load that is much too heavy? How is that fair? But having hitchhiked, it really put me in check - it was a good reminder I guess you could say. The reminder that I need to be more open minded and not really care that much what other's perceptions of me are or what my perceptions are of others, because when I let go of all of that, magic happens. This may sound corny as all heck, but really though, I do mean it. It has also taught me and really solidified the idea that it is okay to get out of my comfort zone more often. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to look like a complete fool. It is okay if things don't happen right away. It is okay if things don't happen the right way. Things are okay. Sometimes all I need to do is just slow down and take it all in. Slow down talk to the truck stop guy selling coffee and sandwiches. Slow down and find a square foot of shade to eat lunch in because my feat are sore from walking. Slow down and look at the sights. Slow down and listen to the sounds. Slow down and smell the smells. Why are we always in such a rush? I could have taken a bus to Galway and been there in about 2.5 hours - if that. But would I have experienced the same things I did when hitchhiking? Absolutely not (or I highly doubt it). Then again, maybe I would have met a good friend on that bus ride, but hey this way I met at least 7. What I'm trying to say is, do things differently. Try things, but be responsible. I have been letting myself get stuck in cycles for a while and it is, in my opinion, more often than not, not a great thing to be in. Go do things, go life life! Even if it means inconveniencing yourself or your pride, or your honour. I guarantee you you will learn and experience something phenomenal.