Category: Travel

After a nice sleep in to shake off last evenings events, I was up and moving. Originally it was planned that Davitt would pick me up at 1, however 1 turned into 4pm. Finally he arrived and our adventures began. Davitt spent a few months in New Zealand at Nelson Suburbs in 2014, and when I was home on summer break in 2014, we were teammates for 4 games. Our friendship had continued and it was exciting to know that I would have a friend not too far away from me here in Northern Ireland.

Davitt turned into a tour guide, as he stated that he got to see all of my hometown, Nelson, so it was his turn to return the favor. We hit the road, crossed the border and headed to the Northwest of Ireland. Our conversations were lovely catching up on everything that had gone on in the last couple of years, but also sharing various life stories, and him telling me about all his time playing in the League of Ireland, with Derry, and with other teams. It was just fantastic.

 

For the first time since I had been here, I w

as on the coast. The sight of ocean was a pleasant surprise and wonderful nonetheless. We drove along the coast for awhile, as Davitt share
d stories about different places along the way. We stopped at a few places in our travels. First was the pier in Rathmullan, where kids were jumping of the wall into the ocean. Onwards we went, with some great cliff views over the Drognawn Lough. We came to the a wonderful look out over Ballymastocker Beach. It reminded me of both home and South Africa, golden sand,
green hills and cliffs, and of course the wonderful ocean. I was in my happy place 🙂 Our journey continued on to a very Northwest point of Ireland, Fanad Head. Fanad Head is home to the Fanad Head Lighthouse, which is made beautiful by it’s surroundings. Rugged coast and cliffs, stormy seas, and also the remains of barracks from the World War One and Two. It was just a magical place, and the weather added to it, although I’m sure it’s even better when the sun is out and the sky is blue, the drizzle and

wind sure made it magical. Our journey continued on into Downings where we had a drink at Harbor Bar over looking the beach. It was a nice spot, and of course the chat continued.
We departed Harbor Bar and headed for Davitt’s home in Kerrykeel. Of course we arrived just in time for the Euro game between Italy and Germany to begin. Davitt is currently living at home, and his family were lovely. He cooked up a nice Irish meal full of meat and potatoes which went down very nicely. Once again, we were on the road again but this time it was to take me home to Derry.

Todays excursion brought so much happiness for me. Seeing the sights Ireland has to offer, which for me has been limited due to my trial commitments, it was just wonderful. And to have had a great tour guide to have shown me around was fantastic. There was never a dull moment, lots of great memories shared, and many beautiful sights seen. Certainly a highlight of my trip so far, and to catch up with an old friend made it all the more special.

 

 

Today was the teams off day. After a casual morning in the house, I headed into the city center to meet with Assistant Coach, Donal O’Brien for lunch. We met up in the town square in front of Guildhall and then headed up the street to Downey’s Bar for lunch. Donal knows the head chef there so we chatted to him for a bit. But lunch was more about the opportunity for us to talk about my plans, my intentions of being at Derry City. It was also a chance to get to know each other a little more,

which was nice.

Donal was upfront and honest with me as he always has been, and he said that he sees quality in my play, he sees strengths of my game that a lot of other players lack. But at the end of the day, it’s about what the manager sees in me, what the manager is looking for in his squad etc. Of course Donal will be of support for me and put good words in, but the final decision isn’t up to him. This was a positive however, because it gave me confidence to keep on working hard and keep going, because at this stage of the season, where there is still approx 18 games left, having depth in the team, players challenging for spots etc. creates a good environment for the team to keep striving. Who knows what may happen in the next few days and weeks.

Once we were done with lunch, Donal headed back to work for an hour and a half while I happily wandered the city, checking out some historical sights and attractions.

As I said in one of the early blogs, Derry used to be a walled city, and the wall is still there, so I walked the full wall, that in spots, overlooks the city. Along the way there are various monuments, cannons, information boards and churches that I was able to look at and read about. After I circled the city on the wall, I headed down to the Peace Bridge to take a walk across it. The bridge itself is a main attraction as you come into the city as you see it cross the river. I took a nice walk across it and along a path beside the river, before I returned back to meet Donal as he finished work for him to drop me home.

It was a refreshing day for me, as things had begun to be challenging, and I was mentally slowing down a bit. But this was a nice day to get out of the house, explore the city, and have some faith restored in my efforts with training. Onward from here.