Irish Pubs

Irish pubs are a real thing...as well as the colorful blokes that inhabit them.  After the shell game of ports, we finally had our 36 hour adventure in the Town of Cork and the Port of Cobh.  Ireland’s ports are ruled by the ebb And flow of the tides...if you are a Mussel lover (or the garlicky broth), you should be doing a happy dance.  So, our arrival at the industrial port of Rinkaskiddy(hello, home of Pfizer Drug Manufacturing) we were meet with low tides.  Guess that we were there, as it was a Deep Water Berth (according to Frank’s Channel 2 weather GPS)...and the drug business must be good, as they were dredging and placing piling for another berth...bang, bang, bang...quite the alarm clock as the pile driver started at first light.  The Admiral was not amused. 

As first shuttles started at 8:00, Eddie and I decided to be lazy and wait until 10:00 to get the shuttle into Cork...guess that was not the most original idea he has had.  Math problem of the day...physics can also be applied.  How long does it take to get 3,000 passengers and assorted crew members off a ship when there is one (as uno-happy Cinco De Mayo, y’all) gangplank at a 45 degree angle, uphill, two-three deck levels when more than 40% had medical assistance issues-walkers, wheel chairs, scooters, canes, oxygen tanks or bad knees.  Your answer?  Well, we waited in a line that started in the Martini bar, circled through the casino-needless to say there were no powder puffs available for fast track of Suite people.  Powder puff squad was busy carrying the various folks uphill.  A side bar, not related to the math problem -  we are not sure of if it was the seaweed, the dredging operation, drug company waste, or ship sewer issues, but Eddie look one sniff and declared this a Phee U port...as the smell was not the green grasses of Ireland and was two steps below the methane from the cows.  So, at 10:30 we boarded the bus, 35 minute to Cork ride and by 11:05, we set off for our self guided, walking tour of Cork.  Easy right?  In the Good ole days of cruising, before cell phones, app crap, and all, the paper fairy would visit you at night and delivery the daily activity sheet and a information guide to the port with a walking map and points of interest.  Nope, not even if you ask...and the local Rinkaskiddy Chamber of Commerce or Pfizer employees were not on deck to hand out maps. Since I had previously inquired, I had downloaded a walking guide on my cell phone the night before.  As we set off, I opened the app to a “Sorry, your cell company does not play well with our cell company” statement.  No text about additional charges will apply, just a No Service scrolling on the upper left hand corner of my phone.  Guess Verizon is not everywhere you want to be.  So, our self guided map/appless tour became an Admiral Eddie special-historian and never in doubt kind of guy that he is.  We did what the early pre-Viking settlers did, follow the River Lee.  Yup, good old Celtic/Viking common sense.  Build your town/churches on the river edges.  So, for 3-4 miles we made our way through town exploring the churches (3 old ones) lighting candles and praying for a dear friend who is a cancer warrior continuing her battle  along with Lauren and Drew’s dog, Cali who is in the sunset season.  

By this time, the Admiral was jonesing for a pint of Guinness....as there were far more pubs than churches, it was not a difficult task.  The Admiral is always waxing poetically about the Irish pub mystic, so I let him pick as there were lots to choose from....on Sober Lane...seriously, pubs on Sober Lane...there is that witty Irish humor and all.  He selected the Charles Pub with an exterior that said “I have been a pub longer than the US has existed”...the Europeans always seem to have such attitude about us young upstarts in the US when speaking of history and tradition.  So, we opened the door to Charles and found it was only slightly larger than our suite on board.  The bar area was covered in old church pews, and an assortment of chairs and tables were in the window and what little floor space there was.  We saddled up to be bar, and were promptly offered friendship with James/Jimmy the resident Pub Fly.  James was already several pints into the day, he flattered the ladies, sang Irish pub songs and basically was waiting for the next tourist to buy him yet another pint.  As we watched him reel in his mark, the wife of said mark (also a cruiser) shared that this bar, small and “historical” (read grimy) as it may be...it is considered Trip Advisor’s 4.5 star #1 Pub in Cork...really?  Apparently, on Friday and Saturday nights this 350 sq ft becomes the number one place to be because of bands that are booked....and there are over 100 people crammed in....smoking, drinking, dancing...Fire Marshall, anyone?  And I thought our ship was crowded, particularly at the bars.  Go figure...the Admiral went to the bathroom before we departed and remarked that it has probably not seen a mop or cleaning for decades as there was a fine patina of bodily fluids.  Despite James best effort for pictures and songs with us, The Admiral decided not to be featured on James Facebook page.  We gathered our things and made the slow trek back on board ship...As they say, what goes down must come back up.  The math problem still held and we were as long getting back on as off only the ramp went downhill..  Guess we won’t be going back for the band at Charles Bar later tonight even if we are here overnight.