Finally I was out of internet contact in Ireland. The whole place seems so wired, but in a village, even my well honed internet nose couldn't sniff out a place!
I came to Glengarriff last Wednesday and stayed in Murphy's Village Hostel, in honour of my former boss. Main street right by the bus stop. The first afternoon I took off for some local walks. First in the nature reserve where I climbed up Lady Bantry's path to get a glorious view over the bay and mountains. Then a longer path that took me past forest and a lake and bog. Felt like I was walking near Kumara except that the tree kinds were different and there were stone walls in places. Next I took the walk around part of the bay and came to Seal Point where I got to watch a few seals on the rocks.
Second day in Glengarriff I walked on the road towards Castletownbeere for a few hours. The rocky mountain landscape and the views of the bay were magnificent. Third day in Glengarriff I took another road walk, this time on the Kenmare road as far as the first tunnel. The views were even more spectacular. Then the following day when I took the bus to Kenmare I realised I had actually walked quite a distance. I will miss all this physical exercise when I am back in town working!!!!!
Last night I stayed the night in Kenmare. I had intended to come right through to Killarney but it was booked out on Saturday night with a big game in town. Kenmare was worth some walking as well though. I sat by the pier and watched the river/sea for a while. There was also a stone circle with a dolmen near the centre of town. I also saw Our Lady's Well. There are lots of similar wells in Ireland apparently and they were probably originally used by the Celts, but then were Christianised. In the years of the Penal Laws when Catholic worship was prohibited, the wells became a place where Catholics could gather in some way. I have heard a few things about the Penal Laws but there is a lot more about the repression I am gradually learning.
Now I am in Killarney, the tourist mecca. (So I am using the internet!) Quite crowded here as expected. Walked to St Mary's which is a magnificent ne0-Gothic building with beautiful stonework in the arches. Tomorrow I will be a proper tourist and see something of the National Park.
I came to Glengarriff last Wednesday and stayed in Murphy's Village Hostel, in honour of my former boss. Main street right by the bus stop. The first afternoon I took off for some local walks. First in the nature reserve where I climbed up Lady Bantry's path to get a glorious view over the bay and mountains. Then a longer path that took me past forest and a lake and bog. Felt like I was walking near Kumara except that the tree kinds were different and there were stone walls in places. Next I took the walk around part of the bay and came to Seal Point where I got to watch a few seals on the rocks.
Second day in Glengarriff I walked on the road towards Castletownbeere for a few hours. The rocky mountain landscape and the views of the bay were magnificent. Third day in Glengarriff I took another road walk, this time on the Kenmare road as far as the first tunnel. The views were even more spectacular. Then the following day when I took the bus to Kenmare I realised I had actually walked quite a distance. I will miss all this physical exercise when I am back in town working!!!!!
Last night I stayed the night in Kenmare. I had intended to come right through to Killarney but it was booked out on Saturday night with a big game in town. Kenmare was worth some walking as well though. I sat by the pier and watched the river/sea for a while. There was also a stone circle with a dolmen near the centre of town. I also saw Our Lady's Well. There are lots of similar wells in Ireland apparently and they were probably originally used by the Celts, but then were Christianised. In the years of the Penal Laws when Catholic worship was prohibited, the wells became a place where Catholics could gather in some way. I have heard a few things about the Penal Laws but there is a lot more about the repression I am gradually learning.
Now I am in Killarney, the tourist mecca. (So I am using the internet!) Quite crowded here as expected. Walked to St Mary's which is a magnificent ne0-Gothic building with beautiful stonework in the arches. Tomorrow I will be a proper tourist and see something of the National Park.
Great to hear from you - wondered you had been up to in that gap of blog time!
ReplyDeleteNo, I am definitely still here! Just un-wired in a village for a few days. May be unwired in the next village too though you never know as Ireland is very connected to the internet.
ReplyDelete