(First Half of) The 11 days of Glorious Gallivanting!

First time driving on the left side of the road: Friday, September 28th at 1 pm :

Don't worry, I wasn't actually driving at this point, just sitting in my rental car for the first time.  Stick shift on the left hand side - bizarre!!  The hardest habit to break was looking up to the right for the rear view mirror, but driving on the left side of the road was way easier than I expected.  Overall, in 9 days, I covered very nearly 2000 km, and actually enjoyed most of the driving!!  (This is saying A LOT.  Those who know me well know that I usually despise sitting in a car for longer than 2 hours).  But yes, 1936 km, 9 days, and 0 accidents - hooray!!

First stop on Friday, September 28th was to check in to my B & B (high class for night numero uno) in Navan (multiple Irish people asked me "Navan??  Why??" and I was ready with a very rational answer "It's super close to 4 places I want to see.")  I don't regret my location for a second, it was spectacularly convenient!

The wonderfully helpful B & B host gave me a map and pointed me in the right direction for Trim Castle, only a 15 minute drive away.  Awesome!!

A fantastic day of blue sky and sunshine to explore Trim Castle (with a brief downpour while I was inside touring the keep - perfect!)  Lots of scenes from Braveheart were apparently filmed here.  Interesting.  Makes me want to watch the movie again.  Even without the movie connection, Trim Castle is, thus far, my favorite Irish castle.  =) 

Two fascinating and slightly disturbing things I learned from the tour: 1.)  they used to smear their feces on the wall of the castle and leave some in a bowl by the front entrance so people could see the color and deduce how wealthy they were by such - the darker the color of the feces, the richer the diet.  Yum!  AND 2.) they used the first known system of fumigating . . . their lovely stock of feces was kept in the bottom of a tower and was mixed regularly (imagine having that job - eesh!) and the gases would dissipate back up the tunnels which the feces came down.  The end of the journey was the windowsills, where the tunnels began at the "toilet" and where they also hung their clothes.  Voila, natural lice-killer apparently.  Don't know that I would want to wear those clothes afterwards though. 

Next up: Bective Abbey.  10 minutes away.  This was an unplanned stop for me, but very cool!

There was nobody here when I stopped, so I got to walk around this ancient abbey all alone.  It was incredibly peaceful and lovely. 

Last stop of the day was Hill of Tara.  I got to watch the sunset from the hill and it was phenomenal - a truly spectacular day to catch sunset.  Before the sun set, I got to walk around, exploring the hill and its historic and archaeological significance, and even got up close and personal with Irish sheep.  At first I hesitated to get too close, but there was a specific site I wanted to see right in the middle of a herd of grazing sheep.  It was so bizarre, the sheep were just grazing all around the Hill of Tara, no barriers, nobody keeping an eye on them . . . I was a bit wary at first, but I think they are very accustomed to people.  Most of them just kept right on munching as I walked by. 

Here are two quick glimpses of the splendid colors and views I got to see that evening.  Again, very few people were around, and I got to explore the hill almost entirely alone.  Serenely strolling in the dusky warm glow of sunset.  Stupendous!!

And my rental car in front of the B & B.  So cute!  I loved the red!!

 I'm suddenly realizing that trying to update on all 9 days in one go was way too ambitious on my part.  I need to go to bed now, but my goal will be to update 1 day from my trip, 1 day at a time.  We'll see if I manage it! 

Side note : Uploading pictures takes disgustingly long and often fails multiple times before I get a successful load.  Any suggestions?

Day 2 Update, on schedule!  =)  So Saturday, September 29th started near Navan at New Grange.  PHENOMENAL!  Completely awe-inspiring.  This is a passage chamber that dates back to roughly 3200 BC.  It is over 5000 years old and 900 years older than the pyramids.  Truly incredible.  PLUS they built it to align with the sun on winter solstice so that for roughly 6 days around December 21st, the passage is lit by the sun for the first few minutes after sunrise.  They re-created the experience in the passage chamber via the wonders of technology during the tour, but every year, 24 lucky lucky people get to witness the real thing (if the weather cooperates).  Last year over 30,000 people had put their names in the lottery.  Crazy odds!! 

And now some pics to give you an idea:

This is me impressed by New Grange and blinded by the super bright sun!  Check out that blue sky!  And the white wall you see behind me is the entrance side of the passage chamber.  They transported stones from as far away as 75 km . . . back in 3200 BC!!!  WHAT?!  Amaaaaaaaazing!  Over 200,000 tons of stones were used to create this phenomenon.  

Ta-da!!  It's actually much more impressive from the inside, but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside.  Externally, it measures  85 meters across, inside the roof reaches 15 meters tall and the passage is 19 meters long.  Wow.

The best I could do for inside was take a picture of a poster that re-created the solstice lighting of the passage. . .

So cool!  Some people are just incredibly talented and clever. 

After New Grange (I skipped touring the Passage Chamber at Knowth, and I regret that decision now, but I just didn't know how long the rest of my plans for the day and the drive to Donegal would take, so I kept it to New Grange . . . if you go to visit New Grange, I would definitely recommend seeing Knowth as well, just because it's different and I think would have been equally impressive to see.  Just my humble opinion).  To continue the sentence I started a paragraph ago . . . Monasterboice was my next stop.  Again, only a 15 minute drive away - this stop was motivated by an exhibit I'd seen in a museum about high crosses. 

Here is one to give you an idea.

ARG!! I'm having lots of technical difficulties right now, and am giving up for the night.  I had one last photo I wanted to post, but I'll try again tomorrow.  

Why do computers hate me?

Day THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!  Chugging along here.  I stayed at an HI Hostel right at the foot of Mt Errigal.  Awesome location.  Unfortunately, Errigal was shrouded in clouds the entire time I was there.

 View from my window.  Mt Errigal.  Tallest peak in County Donegal.

Since the weather wasn't cooperating, and I didn't have the proper gear to hike Errigal that day, I instead spent the day at Glenveagh National Park.  Toured the castle (Score!  Still loving the castles!) and got a lovely 20 km of walking in, between a 2 km view-point loop, 14 km round trip hike up to the top of the glen (anti-climactic) and 4 km jaunt along the lake from the castle back to the car park.  They also had gorgeous gardens around the castle, and it was incredibly enjoyable exploring those as well.  And now some pictures to show the progression . . . 

Bottom of the glen at Genveagh National Park.  

Glenveagh Castle!

Check out the outdoor pool they had built RIGHT by the lake.  Excellent.

Nearing the top of the glen.  I was really lucky with weather and only had rain while I was touring the castle.  I did have some ridiculously strong wind to battle though, and could almost lean my full body weight into it without falling.  Working against it on my way up, and had a terrific tail wind on the way down!

This was the end of my hike.  What?  Really?  Talk about anti-climactic.  No lake or view or waterfall (I usually look forward to one of these three).  I was a bit bewildered and disappointed.  Though I guess I can't really complain because I had all of those things along the course of the hike.  It was just such a bizarre way to end the hike.  A small parking lot with a sign to mark the trailhead, and a small paved road.  OK then.  This was definitely one of those 'more about the journey than the destination' type of moments.  

Overall, a fabulous, laid back day of movement, which was a splendid contrast to the previous day, where I spent 5 hours driving  to cover 262 km.  Ugh!  As ridiculous as it sounds, my overall average speed for the trip was 50 km/hr, although the speed limit most of the time was 100 km/hr on the National roads . . . after discussing speed limits with multiple Irish people, we've agreed that it's more of a challenge than anything (or maybe a way for the government to mock you silently) because there is absolutely no way to go 100 km/hr on some of those roads.  I would literally pass a 100 speed limit sign right before engaging in S curves where I didn't feel comfortable driving over 45 or 50 km/ hr.  100  - really??!!  It's such a stark contrast to the States and their conservative suggested speed limits for curves.  Here, it's like they're saying 'Well, you COULD go 100 km/hr . . . if you were man enough.'  

I digress!!

After Glenveagh, I had time for a quick exploration of a place called Poison Glen (potentially a misinterpretation of an Irish word meaning Paradise) and it was absolutely gorgeous!  My limiting factor here was sunset, which created some stupendous colors in the sky and landscapes.  

The start of Poison Glen.  I adore this church ruin.  There's something incredibly appealing to me about the  lack of roof.  I also loved the colors in the sky and light that fell on the church and surrounding hills.  Notice my little red rental car to the right?  I was so happy with all of the places my little car was able to take  me!  It permitted me to see so much of Ireland - I don't regret it for a second, even though gas is around $9 /gallon here.  Yowzers!! 

 A little further into the Poison Glen.  Got a little rain here, but more importantly, had to break out my 'wellies' to conquer the bogland. =)

The awesome green wellies I bought for work on the farms.  They've come in handy other places too! 

 And the wildlife highlight of my Poison Glen exploration. . . . I got to see a deer!   I actually heard him first.

 

 He didn't get too close, but we both spent about 5 minutes just looking at each other.  It was quite incredible and humbling.

And I finished my night eating dinner at place called Leo's....... 

Seafood chowder by the fire, fantastic!  Best part of the night however, wasn't the food, but the company. . .  Leo's is owned by Enya's father (Yes, Enya, the singer).  Her brother was working behind the bar and was really friendly. We ended up chatting for about half an hour. I learned that she comes from a 9 child family (wow) and some of her other siblings and uncles form a group called Clannad (my cousin pointed out to me that the actual band name is Clannad, not Clannard, my mistake!  Thank you, Camille!), which play more traditional Irish music.  I hadn't heard of them but they are apparently really successful in Europe.  They all got their start by playing here at Leo's.  Sweet!!  

Day 4: Monday October 1st.  Alarm for 6:30 am as I had 422 km to cover that day - with some key stops along the way......

First stop = Slieve League.  Europe's tallest sea cliffs (or at least one of them, depending on which source you check) at 601 meters, make an impressive sight.  I couldn't even see the top because of clouds.  I would have loved to spend a full day hiking along these mountains, but had a hard cut off of 6:30 pm, which was when my ferry left to take me to an island called Inis-Mor.  Still nearly 400 km away from my destination, I didn't want to risk missing my ferry, so I kept it to 2 hours here.

Ta-da! Super tall mountain cliffs.  Amazing!

Love the panoramic function on my camera, just wish I could make this picture bigger for you.  Everything around me was awe-inspiring.

And then I lost my hat!  No, just kidding, I just got hot hiking up a little ways.  Can you tell I'm excited to be standing on Slieve League?

On the way back to my car.  Absolutely gorgeous.  And notice the sun?!  He made a guest appearance.  Spectacular!

OK.  So after Slieve League I had planned quick pauses roughly every 2 hours of driving to be able to get out of the car and walk around for about 15 minutes.  All was going according to plan until my GPS, which up to this point had been a priceless tool, broke the trust I was starting to build in it.  I felt like we were building a solid relationship, me and Mr. GPS, he was making the whole "driving in Ireland" much less daunting, but then he takes me on a tiny, remote mountain road, and 9 km in, tells me to go "Off Road."  There wasn't even a dirt road option.  There was nothing.  Nada. 

So I let out a loooooooooooooong list of swear words, drive another 2 km before I find a place I can turn around, and head back to town to ask directions.  Turns out, the GPS kinda had it right, and I simply needed to stay on that remote, narrow mountain road another 21 km before getting to Rossaveal.  I was super worried about missing my ferry, and I already had the B & B booked, so I had serious motivation to catch the 6:30 pm ferry (the next ferry wasn't until 10 am the next day).  BUT, all worked out and I made it with enough time to rearrange my bags before leaving.  Phew!

Yay!  What a wonderful site to see!

On the ferry, with 15 minutes to spare.  Top notch!

(Why is this picture HUUUUUUUGE?????  Aaaaaah).  

Once the ferry pulled away, I decided to go to the upper deck for best views.  Really fun, but cold and super windy.  After about 15 minutes, we were told to go back inside and downstairs (one other lady had the same brilliant idea I had).  Still not sure about exact motivation for clearing the upper deck of people, but I am suspicious that it was because the waves got huge (by my standards . . . a local guy said it was normal and moderate, and he was actually writing as I was desperately attempting to avoid getting motion sickness).  In either case, here is the best I could do to capture it . . .

Looking out the window, I kept imaging all kinds of morbid things, like the boat capsizing and ending up stranded in the water.  Not a pleasant idea, nor a reassuring prospect with 20 minutes left until we reached the island.  But the crew got us there no problems. 

It was raining and dark when I arrived, but the B & B was supposed to be only a 5 minute walk from the ferry dock, so I set out with a purpose . . . only to fail miserably.  =)  As a side note, the whole "5 minute" distance was a topic of debate on reviews in Trip Advisor, so I wasn't positive what to expect.

Having a little bit of trouble within the first 5 minutes, I was on my way to ask a passerby until I realized she had a map out and looked confused as well.  Turns out we were looking for the same     B & B!  We set off together, which may have been a poor idea, because as we chatted away, we missed the left hand turn we were supposed to make.  After about another 10 minutes of walking, we decided to ask somebody, and here is Irish hospitality at its best.......

Instead of simply telling us which way to go (which was all we were looking for), he insisted on driving us there.  What?!  Yes.  He wouldn't take no for an answer and drove us directly to the front door of the B & B.  (only about a 3 minute drive.  This is when we realized we'd missed a left turn).  Once arrived, we chatted for about another 10 minutes in the car.  It was such a positive, uplifting experience.  It's moments like these that restore my faith and hope in human people, for those moments when I start to have serious doubts. 

I've truly had nothing but positive experiences with Irish people.  They are amazingly friendly.  It warms my heart!

Day 5!! Tuesday, October 2nd.  

My B & B room on Inis-Mor Island!  So fun!  Minus the fact that there was a terrible storm the night I slept under those gorgeous skylights, and I kept being woken up by ridiculously heavy rain and winds and what I think could only have been hail.  I started getting really worried about A.) What kind of weather I would have for my day of exploring Inismore, and B.) If I would be able to take the boat back to the mainland.  I'd been told that if winds get too strong they cancel the sailings.  I felt like the winds I was hearing all night would definitely have fallen into this category, and that led to all sorts of other worries about not getting to Galway for the hostel night I had booked, and having to pay for another night on the island.  Eeesh.

BUT!!! Not to worry, for this was the sunshine to which I awoke!  Apparently the storm blew over at night.  Excellent.

You can't see it because of the outrageously bright sun, but this was the view from the B & B I had while eating breakfast and it looked out on the ocean.  It was magnificent!  So excited to get the day started.  The plan for the day was to get a rental bike and explore as much of the island as possible.  Ready?  Go!

The classic cottage with a thatched roof, although this one was not kept up and had moss and various vegetation growing out of it.  I actually really liked the way that looked!!  The island was full of cottages in various stages of neglect.  Sometimes only stone walls remained.  I love the way these look scattered across the hills.

 I am fascinated with all of the stone walls they build to divide land.  To me, it is part of the quintessential Irish landscape.  Beautiful!  It's one of my favorite parts of Ireland.  You may also notice, in this picture, that the outrageously bright sunshine from the morning has been replaced with more fitting weather for Ireland in October . . .

Views of the cliffs on the East side of Inis-Mor.  Spectacular.  Dun Aengus Fort sits right on the edge of one of these cliffs, and has this astounding view.  Not too shabby!   

Dun Aengus Fort.  Quite the imposing structure.

Inside Dun Aengus Fort.  The walls are super thick!  That is my attempt to show you the thickness of the walls.  Astounding!

There are three different sets of walls that comprise the fort, and between one set of walls, this brilliant tactical tool called "chevaux de frise."  It's just jumbles of stones strewn around to stop horses and slow people down when attacking.  Absolutely brilliant!  Especially considering the rich store of stones to be found on Inismore!

More island cliffs.  Can you tell I was impressed?  And this is my being choosy with my pictures.  =)

You can't really tell from these pictures, but as I was exploring Dun Aengus Fort, the sky was getting darker and darker and about 15 minutes after I left the Fort the rain began.  I was on my bike, on my way to the next point of interest, and decided "Hey, this is great, it makes it even more Irish!"  But after 3 hours of non-stop rain (very atypical, in fact, of rain storms I've experienced so far here) I was less excited about riding around and getting drenched.  

I was lucky enough to get to take a picnic sans rain, which was much appreciated considering there weren't really many options for cover around the island.  My picnic lunch is sitting on another ancient ring fort on the island, and it was so fun to eat lunch amidst an ancient ruin.  Can you tell  how thick this bi-level wall is?  It was more than twice my wingspan!!

My rental bike for the day!  With a close up of all the stone walls that define that quintessential Irish landscape.  It's crazy to me how randomly they seem to be stacked and yet remain stoutly in place.

Can you tell  how dark that cloud is in the distance?  That was the monster that dumped rain on me for three straight hours.  Boooooo.  I had an hour of dry and then another 2 hours of rain before I left the island.  I was soggy and cold by the time I got on the boat to return to Rossaveal, but a hot shower can work miracles on those sorrows.  The real bummer was when I realized my poor kindle fire had gotten wet in my backpack.  The protective case was sopping.  "Nooooooooo!!!"  Thought I.  "Not my only means of communication, and store of some 100 odd books."  

I had hoped that it would be salvageable, but since I'm writing this update with nearly 4 weeks of delay, I now know that it is truly dead.  I grieved its loss.  But the 4 days in rice were not enough to save it.  (Thank you, Yitka, for the suggestion!).  The upside is that I ended up buying a smart phone and can now skype!  Woohoo!  Although talk about technical difficulties.  Eeesh.  If anybody knows how to make my phone stop automatically updating twitter and office suite stuff, please let me know!  I don't want them on the phone because each time they install themselves, I get a "running out of internal storage space" message on my phone. Stupidness.  Anyways, I digress!!

Do you see the rainbow?

And once back to mainland, I headed west to catch the sunset.  Here, yep, I was sitting in my car with the heat on because I was still so wet and cold!!  But thoroughly enjoyed the glorious sun through the windshield!!

Update and Change of Tactic!  Every day when I log in to this post to add another day's update, I become more and more nervous that something is going to go wrong and I'm going to lose everything I've already typed and uploaded.  So rather than going insane if that ever does happen, I'm going to end this particular blog post here, modify the title, and start a new post for the last 4 days.  You should be able to see that soon!  Onwards!!!