Observations

Now that I'm home and have had a couple of nights sleep., I thought I'd take Mimi up on her challenge of things I liked and disliked on my holiday.

This isn't easy to do. I think I liked everything about Ireland so I'll just share some observations. Ireland is a different country and I wanted to go there for what made it different. Hard to say that anything should be changed since that would change the experience. Having said that, here's my offerings - in no particular order.

I especially liked:

1. The walking that is a way of life. Everyone walks. Short distances are given in walk times. The public transit in Dublin and Cork is very good - and gets good use - but you see many, many people walking.

2. All the 'green' measures that I encountered: dual or controllable flush toilets and electrical outlets that could be switched off were two outstanding ones.

3. The yogurt in Ireland is fantastic!



4. The train travel which was efficient, easy and so-o comfortable. Getting from one city to another or just riding the commuter train to the suburbs was always a treat. On longer journeys there was a cafeteria car as well as a trolley that came through the cars. The stations are clearly signed and, even though in old buildings, very clean.



5. Seeing work being done by people not machines. On the bus in from the airport, I started noticing that work which we in Canada (and the US) have relegated to bar-codes and noisy machinery provides employment. There are ticket takers on the trains and people at the stations who will help with information and directions - with a smile. I saw gardeners working with non-electric or gas-powered tools.

6. The food is almost always good. Nothing's perfect but my less-than-stellar meals were about two. I loved the soups which always came with delicious brown soda bread no matter how inexpensive the eatery.

7. The abundance of public toilets. These were everywhere and only when we were on top of a mountain or in a farmer's field did we have any concerns.



8. A fun hand dryer made by Dyson (yes, the vacuum cleaner inventor) which dried your hands in about 3 seconds flat. You put your hands in a slot and a tornado of warm air started up with the g-forces of a jet. These weren't common but were such fun.

9. That most of the cars were compact models. The delivery and work vans are small, too. I got quite fond of the little green postal vans. They were the same color as the letter boxes:



So, to things that could be improved:

1. It was often difficult, especially in Kerry, to find a place to put your litter. This was most noticeable at the beaches where we often ate our lunch. And I could make the case that we should have been prepared to carry our litter out with us. But at the beach we saw a lot of trash in the water which could have been avoided with a litter barrel. Or maybe some people will always be careless.




That's all I can think of. Really. I found more to admire than not.

Howth

Another lucky weather day. We left Dublin on the train - love those trains - and headed for Howth. We had wanted to go there yesterday but one town was enough to explore. So, today it was Howth. When we arrived it was raining and we were worried that we wouldn't be able to walk the cliffs.


This is a view from the road we walked up to get to the cliff path. We were going to come back if the rain was too much. It was so wet that I was covering the camera with my hat so Anne could take photos here.


These fishermen reminded us of Newfoundland with the yellow oilskins. I'm sure it was not too pleasant out there.


Just before the cliff path we passed a martello tower. These were built in the time of the Napoleonic wars and could garrison up to 25 men and were sturdy enough to withstand cannon fire. They also had cannons mounted on the flat roofs.

The rain dried up, the sun shone and we went cliff walking. The path was steep, steep at first and then levelled out. We tried to get a photo that would show how close to the edge we really were but it's gard to see. We are standing back from the edge of the path and with the strong wind that blew constantly, it was easy to imagine a wrong step sending you over the rocks. It wasn't really dangerous with a path that was usually about three feet wide and another two feet of ground beside it. Occasionally, the path went inland a few feet and seemed to tunnel through ferns and blackberries. Yuck! It was so humid and hot and green-smelling. I liked the fresh wind much better.

Still no puffins but we did find colonies of gulls nesting on the steep rocks. And lots of cormorants just resting on top of big pointy rocks.


We had actually intended to take a fairly short circle route along the cliffs and back to the village. We looked up and there was the lighthouse! This meant we'd taken a wrong turn somewhere. Luckily, a local man came swinging along the path with his umbrella rolled and ready. That was our clue that he was a local. He kindly gave us directions to the path out as well as to the nearest pub. Information which was music to our ears. This route turned out to be the 7 kilometer trail - our Kerry walking guide would be so proud of us.

After we left the pub we still had a long descent down to the village. We could have taken a bus but we're too tough now for that. So, we trekked down and down and down til we reached the harbor...


And here we headed for the train station where we actually found a train waiting to take us to Dublin. As we sped along the tracks, the gray clouds got darker and it was pouring as we pulled into Connolly station. Now, the sun is trying to shine again. We've had so many lucky days.

Now, it's time to start packing. This is my last post from Ireland. It's been amazing. I love this country. I'll have 12 hours of flying time to think of all the wonderful things we've done and seen. There'll be more posts about Ireland when I get home.

Newgrange

The tomb of the Hostages - no certainty that that is what it is - is an ancient ritual site on the Hill of Tara. We took a tour bus out to the Boyne Valley which is about an hour north of Dublin. The link will give you lots more information and photos.


Trim Castle is very big. We've so far been seeing smaller Norman houses and estates. I hadn't seen one this big around before. It was a defense castle with a moat. The dark line of stone at the bottom indicates how high the water used to be. It also had the vertical arrow slits which we've not seen before.


This is the entrance to the 'passage grave' at Newgrange. We went inside the mound through this narrow passage where we had to duck down as we walked.
The guide turned out the light in order to demonstrate the winter solstice phenomenon. I have never been in a place so completely black in my life. And with tons of rock piled above me. An amazing experience.



We got back to Dublin in time to have dinner with Mimi, a blogger I've been following for a while. This is the best part of blogging...actually getting to meet those people you've gotten to know online.




After dinner we walked home through Dublin. This is a view of the River Liffey from O''Connell Bridge. A long but really nice day.

Sunday wonders -Q

Q if sor quiet. The wonderful, amazing sound of a Dublin Sunday morning.

The contrasts between Killarney and Dublin are enormous. And, last night around midnight, this hotel room in Dublin is not where I wanted to be. All I could hear were cars and trucks and sirens. And mad revellers celebrating noisily - right under my window.

I wanted to hear the comforting clip-clop pf horse as the jaunting cars began their day...



I longed for the fields...


The sounds of the sea...


and the wind...


But, for now, I have Dublin. A big city. Never quiet.
Except on Sunday morning.

Last walk

Whew! What a final exam that was! It started out innocently enough with a ride in this old bus circa 1932.


We knew we were in for some weather as mentioned yesterday. It was raining when we left. We should have been tipped off to the difficulty level by our guide's footwear. Usually, he wears Topsiders and strolls along the trail. We toil behind thinking jealous thoughts. Today, though, he was in his heavy, waterproof boots AND had an extra shirt on. This was why -

We got into these traditional boats which hold about 15 people. In the old days, they would have had four oarsmen but now they have outboard motors. That's our captaiin and in a few minutes he'll be covered in a waterproof poncho and this woman will be sheltering behind an umbrella. The winds began to blow and the seas rose. We were drenched in spray for the next half-hour. Not a lot of pictures were taken on this trip due to the weather.


We stopped at an open air eatery for lunch - it took us an hour and a half to navigate two lakes, a river and one rapids where we had to get out and walk around. We thought we might have had to portage!
After lunch it was time to walk back through the mountain 'gap' to Killarney. This was a journey of 7 miles with 2 miles uphill on switchbacks. It was very misty in the mountains and the only picture we managed to get on this road was just below the big hill.


The scenery was lovely and got better the higher we climbed. Sheep were grazing all over the hillsides. Horse clopped past us at regular intervals. They were usually pulling a trap with people out doing the road the easy way. Although, the thought of jouncing around in one of those carts wasn't too appealing. Thank goodness, we managed to walk the whole way. This was our reward -



It's all over now. We're having a wind up dinner and we'll get our leaving certificates. We still have to walk into town (about 15 minutes) to the restaurant. Oh, my legs!

Rossbeigh and sheep dogs

This morning we left Caherciveen and headed in to Killarney. We were sorry to leave this part of Kerry. It is so beautiful and the pace of life is so restful. People are friendly and welcoming. I can imagine how painful it must have been for the Irish who had to leave this coast for better economic opportunities. They must have been very sad to leave especially knowing they would probably not see it again.

But, we stopped to watch the sheep dogs do their work and this banished the sadness....

The shepherd was quite entertaining and those dogs were good at their job. Here's the shepherd with a couple of the different varieties that he showed us. He had about 20 different varieties of sheep - most were actually raised for their meat rather than their fleece.


Then on to Rossbeigh which is a beautiful beach. Apparently, there'd been a storm recently and a lot of seaweed had blown in. Our guide kept apologizing because the locals don't like it - neither do most tourists. We assured him that the smell of seaweed and puddles of sea water were just fine with us.


So, he took us over a path of rocks which weren't nearly as easy to walk on as the sand. They were however the most gorgeous shades of pink, gray and green. The camera just couldn't capture them.


So, we when we realized his strategy, we quickly hopped back to the beach again. Here I am in deep conversation. I believe our discussion was theological. Good place to ponder the meaning of things.


We were heading towards the wreck of a big open boat that was named the Sunbeam. Apparently, many locals use it as a landmark whe walking or running.


We found an interesting jellyfish on the way. The beach was covered with them - most were just small translucent blobs.


And we finally stopped to eat our lunch right beside the Sunbeam. Someone had built a small drystone house from the pretty rocks. It was pretty well built and stood about 18 inches high. I loved the vertical stone in the doorway...


Tomorrow, we have our 'final exam' which involves a walk of 11 kilometers. Our landlady assured us this morning that the weather promises to be very wet tomorrow. Could she be wrong? Stay tuned...

Valentia Island

More pictures...fewer words


We took a little car ferry over to Valentia Island. This is where the first transatlantic cable was laid down in the mid-19th century, taking radio across the sea. I don't think these kids are thinking about history at all.



Here, in Knightstown, is St John the Baptist, an old Anglican church. It's undergoing restoration. This is its rose window.


Yet more uphill paths. This was steep and about 2 kilometers up to a peak called Geokaun....


the view was well worth it. ...


and what goes up must come down - sometimes that's just as hard.



We ate our lunch here on these rocks overlooking the sea. There were tetrapod dinosaur footprints. It was about a meter long and looked like a salamander, apparently. I just liked being there and listening to the waves.


Then we trekked up from the rocks - yet another steep hill - and headed to the Shebeen to have a lesson in how to play the bodhran which is the Irish drum. Edie was an excellent drummer and an even better storyteller.

We pack up to go back to Killarney tomorrow morning. See you then.

Bray Head

Mostly pictures today...

we learn how to find water lines, flow and strength...


we trek to an old Anglo-Irish ruin to try our hand at our new skills...

a view from the ruin...


the old house...


an ancient standing stone to the left of the photo. It stands on a ley line, a water line and a fault line. All found by a diviner...

a curious herd of cows. They ran for a new corner whenever we moved around their field....




the long and quite rocky path up to Bray Head...


a view from the path...


a couple of sheep off the path. We walked through cow and sheep pasture all the way. Good thing we had a path....


last stop - a pub in Portmagee...