Another wild day to follow up yesterday's amazing adventure (regarding that...you will probably have to wait until my return back to the States for that story..it is a long one, and definitely worth telling. It ranks as one of my best days of travel, and that is saying something).
Today was spent in County Donegal, Ireland's northernmost province. We started the day in Derry, in Northern Ireland, where we ended off yesterday. Before leaving town we took a quick walk down Rossville Street in an area known as the Bog Side, site of the Bloody Sunday Memorial (Blood Sunday, for the uninformed, took place in Derry, or Londonderry (the official name, but Republicans, or those who want to unite with the rest of Ireland, like to drop the "London") when British Paratroopers opened fire on unarmed protesters) and some really neat murals related to The Troubles. From there, we hopped back in the rental and pretty soon we had crossed back into Ireland proper and into County Donegal.
First order of business was to stop at Grainan of Aileach. The Grainan is circular, stone structure that apparently was built by pagans, probably to sacrifice animals and do other unspeakable things. The site itself wasn't much, but it was located on a hilltop and gave good views of the surrounding areas. Donegal is not heavily urbanized, and hosts some wonderful countryside. I read that it remains the most untouched by tourism, and gives the best feel for rural Irish life.
From there we drove the half-hour or so into the heart of the county to Donegal's large Glenveah National Park. There on of our more intrepid adventures awaited us: hiking Mount Errigal. Errigal is the tallest mountain in the county, standing at about 751 meters. However, it is considered the island's most iconic mountain. So there you have it. So, dressed as warmly as we could make it, we parked our car at the little spot at the mountain's base, and set off into the clouds. You basically had to march through a bog at the base, so right off the bat our feet got a bit wet, but eventually things got a little drier, albeit steeper. Eventually we reached a rock-strewn point that seemingly offered no route to go further. Thinking we had done all we could, we began to descend, but we saw a lone hiker above us, an older gentleman, and he shouted in his sing-song Irish accent- "Not going to the top"? Indicating our ignorance, he pointed us to a path, and then we were on our way. It was really a path in name only-a steep slope made of mainly loose rocks meant you couldn't just stroll up. At some points you get..let's say a little too close for comfort to the edge...as in, you slip and your afternoon is going to end very, very poorly. Either way, huffing and puffing, we made it to the top of this bloody mountain. Initially, the clouds that you are standing in (yes, that high up) limited visibility, but, because our luck is similar to that of the Irish, the wind cleared the clouds, and the spectacular views of the surrounding areas opened up. Several bodies of water dotted the land below...and they looked so blue and clean that they may have not been real. We also met up with the Irish dude at the summit, where he kindly offered us some biscuits and snapped a photo of us. Desmond (or Des, as he liked) typified the friendly Irish disposition, and he gave some advice for other spots to check out in the county. Though older, he was much fitter, and made the (rather harrowing) descent down much quicker than we could.
Already well into the afternoon, we changed out of or wet and muddy clothes and headed southwards. We really only had two destinations in the County, but I had us take a little detour. First though, driving through the County gives one an outstanding look at Irish countryside-I just had to take a couple shots from my seat, riding shotgun. On the other hand, the roads are incredibly narrow and twist this way and that...so the driver's experience might not be that relaxing. Joe didn't seem to mind though, and I give him all kinds of credit, he has taken to driving on the left like a champ. So far only he has taken the wheel, and I think being on the left wouldn't bother me so much, but the absolute tightness of some of these roads would have me white-knucklin'. Tip of the hat to Joe, he doesn't seem too bothered. Anyway, I had us stop in Glencolumbkille, a tiny little village that I had heard was kinda neat. It worked out well, since we were hungry. Well, sort of. It appeared that all food places we closed up, so we had to settle with buying sandwich-making materials from a little convenience store. The old guy running the cash register seemed nice enough, but I could barely understand his accent. Lucky for us, we had parked in a small, gravel area that had, get this, picnic tables. There enjoyed a dinner of sandwiches and chips in this quaint little town. Before moving on though, we took a quick drive through and found a thatched-roof cottage (thanks to the cashier's barely intelligible directions), one of my main things to see. Check that one off.
Last site was the Slieve League, some of Ireland's tallest cliffs. Luckily, we could drive up to a view point and look over the cliffs. It was essentially a one-lane rural road leading the way up, so passing oncoming traffic got kind of interesting, but we made it unscathed. We enjoyed the awesome views, along with some daring sheep, chewing grass along the edge. Soon though, tired, cold, and with darkness setting in, we made our way back to the main road and drove the Sligo, in, well, County Sligo, where we will bed down for the night.
Hope that was enough for you, cause I'm whipped. Here are some shots of today's action, hopefully more good stuff will come from tomorrow:
Today was spent in County Donegal, Ireland's northernmost province. We started the day in Derry, in Northern Ireland, where we ended off yesterday. Before leaving town we took a quick walk down Rossville Street in an area known as the Bog Side, site of the Bloody Sunday Memorial (Blood Sunday, for the uninformed, took place in Derry, or Londonderry (the official name, but Republicans, or those who want to unite with the rest of Ireland, like to drop the "London") when British Paratroopers opened fire on unarmed protesters) and some really neat murals related to The Troubles. From there, we hopped back in the rental and pretty soon we had crossed back into Ireland proper and into County Donegal.
First order of business was to stop at Grainan of Aileach. The Grainan is circular, stone structure that apparently was built by pagans, probably to sacrifice animals and do other unspeakable things. The site itself wasn't much, but it was located on a hilltop and gave good views of the surrounding areas. Donegal is not heavily urbanized, and hosts some wonderful countryside. I read that it remains the most untouched by tourism, and gives the best feel for rural Irish life.
From there we drove the half-hour or so into the heart of the county to Donegal's large Glenveah National Park. There on of our more intrepid adventures awaited us: hiking Mount Errigal. Errigal is the tallest mountain in the county, standing at about 751 meters. However, it is considered the island's most iconic mountain. So there you have it. So, dressed as warmly as we could make it, we parked our car at the little spot at the mountain's base, and set off into the clouds. You basically had to march through a bog at the base, so right off the bat our feet got a bit wet, but eventually things got a little drier, albeit steeper. Eventually we reached a rock-strewn point that seemingly offered no route to go further. Thinking we had done all we could, we began to descend, but we saw a lone hiker above us, an older gentleman, and he shouted in his sing-song Irish accent- "Not going to the top"? Indicating our ignorance, he pointed us to a path, and then we were on our way. It was really a path in name only-a steep slope made of mainly loose rocks meant you couldn't just stroll up. At some points you get..let's say a little too close for comfort to the edge...as in, you slip and your afternoon is going to end very, very poorly. Either way, huffing and puffing, we made it to the top of this bloody mountain. Initially, the clouds that you are standing in (yes, that high up) limited visibility, but, because our luck is similar to that of the Irish, the wind cleared the clouds, and the spectacular views of the surrounding areas opened up. Several bodies of water dotted the land below...and they looked so blue and clean that they may have not been real. We also met up with the Irish dude at the summit, where he kindly offered us some biscuits and snapped a photo of us. Desmond (or Des, as he liked) typified the friendly Irish disposition, and he gave some advice for other spots to check out in the county. Though older, he was much fitter, and made the (rather harrowing) descent down much quicker than we could.
Already well into the afternoon, we changed out of or wet and muddy clothes and headed southwards. We really only had two destinations in the County, but I had us take a little detour. First though, driving through the County gives one an outstanding look at Irish countryside-I just had to take a couple shots from my seat, riding shotgun. On the other hand, the roads are incredibly narrow and twist this way and that...so the driver's experience might not be that relaxing. Joe didn't seem to mind though, and I give him all kinds of credit, he has taken to driving on the left like a champ. So far only he has taken the wheel, and I think being on the left wouldn't bother me so much, but the absolute tightness of some of these roads would have me white-knucklin'. Tip of the hat to Joe, he doesn't seem too bothered. Anyway, I had us stop in Glencolumbkille, a tiny little village that I had heard was kinda neat. It worked out well, since we were hungry. Well, sort of. It appeared that all food places we closed up, so we had to settle with buying sandwich-making materials from a little convenience store. The old guy running the cash register seemed nice enough, but I could barely understand his accent. Lucky for us, we had parked in a small, gravel area that had, get this, picnic tables. There enjoyed a dinner of sandwiches and chips in this quaint little town. Before moving on though, we took a quick drive through and found a thatched-roof cottage (thanks to the cashier's barely intelligible directions), one of my main things to see. Check that one off.
Last site was the Slieve League, some of Ireland's tallest cliffs. Luckily, we could drive up to a view point and look over the cliffs. It was essentially a one-lane rural road leading the way up, so passing oncoming traffic got kind of interesting, but we made it unscathed. We enjoyed the awesome views, along with some daring sheep, chewing grass along the edge. Soon though, tired, cold, and with darkness setting in, we made our way back to the main road and drove the Sligo, in, well, County Sligo, where we will bed down for the night.
Hope that was enough for you, cause I'm whipped. Here are some shots of today's action, hopefully more good stuff will come from tomorrow:
Paradise found...near the top of Mt. Errigal (maybe paradise would be a bit warmer)
Snapshot of rural Ireland from the front passenger side
The main street in Glencolumbkille (basically the only street)
Thatched-roof cottage!
Yeah, don't mind the, ya know, imminent death that awaits you if you slip
Your Humble Correspondent with his lovely sister, Slieve League in the background
With the Slieve League again, this time different angle
No comments:
Post a Comment