WHAT ABOUT GETTING TO KNOW SLIGO, ITS NATURE AND KITEBOARDING WITH PAUL ARMSTRONG?

Paul, one of our language assistants, comes from Ireland. Well..., from the west of Ireland, where the landscape is even greener and the blue ocean invites visitors to enjoy the wildest nature. By the way, do you know what kiteboarding is? If the answer is no... now you have the chance to get to know kiteboarding with Paul. Have a glance on these beautiful images and enjoy them feeling like sitting in the lap of nature.

Sligo

I come from a place called Sligo, in the northwest of Ireland. It's a small corner of the country with a nice town with a population of about 20,000 people. The surrounding country-side offers some spectacular scenery of mountains, lakes and beaches.

The mountain of Benbulben (pictured), known for it's striking shape, inspired the poetry of W B Yeats, one of Ireland's best known poets, who lived in Sligo around the turn of the 19th century.  

The many beaches of Sligo make it a very popular place for watersports, especially in summer when the water is warmer ( or at least slightly less icy cold! ). There are schools for kids and adults where you can learn to sail, surf and kitesurf. ( ten points if you spot me crashing in this kitesurfing video below! )

Sligo is also home to some of the biggest waves in Europe, attracting big wave surfers from all the world.

Here's a pretty cool video of showing all the kinds of adventure sports you can do in Sligo:

The last interesting I can think of, apart from a great local music scene and the ever friendly locals, is Sligo's ancient history. We have a large density of megalithic tombs. These are ancient cemeteries, made by placing a huge cap stone on top of four smaller stones, similar the famous Stonehenge in England. The most of famous of these in Sligo is Carrowmore, a collection of tombs nearly 6000 years old. On top of a mountain overlooking these is queen Maeve's tomb, the supposed burial place of a warrior Queen who was said to protect the land from invaders from the north.

So that's Sligo, my hometown. Maybe someday you'll have a chance to visit and practice some English with the lovely locals!

Cheers,

Paul