This morning, while walking Inishbofin’s westquarter loop, I overheard the following exchange (paraphrased below):

Ashlee: I’m so tired. All my muscles are aching.
Brenna: But are you having the time of your life?
Ashlee: I’m so tired, my muscles are aching, and I’m having the time of my life.

We’re thinking about the confluence of effort and discovery. We had to work hard for the views we had this morning: students trekked past the ferry pier, plodded up a grassy summit, and even stepped around sheep, and by the end, they were ankle-deep in icy water on a completely secluded beach. The day was exhausting, the way it’s exhausting to seek out the new, to venture out of our comfort zones, and to demand to see something you’ve never seen before.

We also had to work together: “No writer left behind” isn’t always easy, especially when there are panoramas to shoot in every direction. (Sheep dogs wouldn’t be a bad idea.)

After a long day of exploring the island, there are fewer more heartening prospects than a warming lunch back at the hostel, and a team of teenagers cheerfully washing and drying the entire group’s dishes. We’re lucky to find ourselves among a group as cooperative as they are energetic, and I know we’ll all be a little sad when our remote retreat ends on Saturday morning.