I can’t believe this is the last blog I’ll write from this trip. I know it sounds cliche and dramatic, but it is strange how fast something becomes routine. At the start, everything felt new and slightly overwhelming—now it’s just life. Wake up in Dublin, go to work, hang out with people who’ve somehow gone from strangers to some of the closest friends I’ve made. And now we’re almost done.
Because it was our final weekend and our only scheduled free weekend, we figured we might as well end things with a proper getaway. When we got to Dublin we didn’t have a real plan—just the vague idea of sun, water, and a break from work. Enough friends from home recommended Mallorca that it felt like the obvious choice. We booked it pretty last-minute, maybe 2 weeks after arriving in Dublin, but it worked out better than expected. The island was unreal—clear blue water, quiet beaches, small towns that felt untouched.
We got lucky with work and managed to take Thursday and Friday off. Our flight landed Thursday evening, and within an hour we were out walking along the beach with frozen cocktails. On Friday, we woke up with one goal: tan. We hit the beach early, chasing that high UV like we knew what we were doing. Turns out we didn’t—we forgot sunscreen. By 3pm we were all bright red. The rest of the weekend was spent nursing sunburns and pretending it wasn’t that bad, but yeah… it was.
Saturday we still made it to the beach, just not for as long—our sunburns couldn’t really handle another full day out there. Instead, we mixed it up a bit. I went for a four-mile run along a trail by the beach early in the morning, which ended up being one of my favorite moments of the trip. The path ran right along the water and was super quiet, just waves and sun and not much else. Later, we wandered into town to explore more of Colonia de Sant Jordi. It’s a small place, but there’s something really relaxing about not having a plan—just walking around, grabbing food, and not rushing anywhere.
Sunday we went full tourist and rented a boat. Somehow Aidan became the captain, while Price, Ellix, and I rotated between pretending to help and actually helping. The weather was perfect, the water was clear, and for a few hours everything just kind of clicked—no plans, no phones, just us floating in the middle of nowhere. Probably my favorite day of the whole trip.
Monday we had a night flight, so we squeezed in one more slow day—breakfast, ice cream, beach (but this time, shade only), and dinner before heading to the airport.
Now it’s our final week in Dublin. There’s a weird tension between wanting to go home and not wanting this to end. I’m excited to see my family, sleep in my own bed, drive a car, have some proper air conditioning, and drink ice cold water. But at the same time, I already know I’m going to miss this place and these people more than I realize right now.
I totally agree! It is crazy how much I’ve gotten into a routine here, and Dublin just feels like normal life when at first it was so different and new. I’m going to miss it!
The sunset looks so beautiful! Hoping your sunburns heal quickly…