An American Polio Survivor’s Travel Log
One of our US based members visited Ireland last summer and kindly wrote a travel log of his experiences – this will later appear in The Survivor magazine. Thank you to John & Sue Britt.
Part 1
Greetings to Irish Polio Survivors! This story is to share with you some recent experiences from my Irish travels, from the perspective of an American tourist, and a polio survivor too. Polio struck me at the age of two in a small town in North Carolina. I use crutches and a KAFO brace with a built-up shoe when I walk, and a battery powered scooter when I have to walk far (over 75 feet) and longer. I have learned to make many adjustments, for my travels. I love traveling! International traveling especially! (I always start by emailing the airlines to let them know that I have to travel with a power scooter).
I arrived last June from Holyhead to the Dublin ferry port and drove through the city with the help of GPS. I had previously bought a used automatic car (1997 Vauxhall Corsa) while in London. I don’t like to travel with tour groups on buses. I prefer my own schedule, since I need more sleep, rest and just more personal time to get my days started. We had several places to stay, booked ahead at Airbnb homes all around Ireland. Most of these Airbnb places were fine or awesome, but a few were not good for polio survivors (stairs to climb). Our first Airbnb was very disappointing….we had quite a laugh when our GPS instructed us to turn at ‘Cowpasture Road’! The town had few accommodations and the house looked very dismal. Our room was upstairs, ensuite, but with no working shower and no toiletries. Climbing stairs is okay one time a day, so we made do. The house was unclean, the garden overgrown with weeds, and the room itself needed cleaning.
We toured a wonderful castle nearby. We drove to Castletown; a busy little town with few parking spaces available close to the castle, but much history! We toured the lovely castle, with a handicapped entrance and mostly-working elevators. I was able to be included with the small tour group and rode my scooter all the way through the elegant castle. My charge was FREE! We enjoyed a hot lunch in the tearoom and spent the rest of the day exploring the nearby path that followed the river and the beautiful hiking meadows. (Read on below gallery)
From Castletown, we next drove through the Ring of Kerry. We planned to enjoy a picnic lunch at the waterfalls, but there were no picnic tables to be found. Lunch was eaten in the car while enjoying a view of the beautiful lake. I tried to walk up the path to see the waterfall, because a scooter could never go up the steep slippery path through the tree roots and rocks. It took a few days to recover from that adventure…back aches and leg cramps. The rest of the trip around the Ring of Kerry was spent in the car. Our Airbnb for this part of our travels was much more accommodating. I would have dearly loved having a bathtub for soaking my back and legs, but instead we had a shower. I had to request a plastic stool to sit on in the shower. No standing up in a wet soapy shower when only one leg functions. Most shower stalls are too small to use a plastic stool, but I was lucky with this one.
No trip to Ireland is ever complete without a visit to Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher. We arrived at the cliffs a little too late to enjoy the tourist attractions inside, but the sunset was incredible! Because there were few people around at that time of day, we almost had the whole place to ourselves! Our Airbnb was lovely, immaculate, comfortable and on the ground floor! We loved it! It was also located on an L- Road, accessible only by car! Good thing we had one! Just couldn’t indulge in too much Guiness…driving was treacherous to us!