Ireland Day 4

Monday March 15

What a life! Waking up in a luxurious spacious room in an Irish castle! The plaque on the door says “Johnny Cash” and we are told that he indeed slept here! Dinner and breakfast are served in what must have once been a glorious ballroom. Markree Castle has been owned by the Cooper family for over 350 years.



Markree Castle dining room

Today we are exploring western Ireland – the province of Connacht and Connemara National Park. First stop this morning is Westport, Co. Mayo. We want to exchange some $$ for Euros, but the first bank won’t take our $100 bills because forged bills have been a problem in Ireland. The next bank says OK, but only $500. Then we go sweater-shopping for Bob – it is very cold here, and he’s been borrowing our driver’s leather coat for the past 2 days

On the road again, we stop at Croagh (pronounced croak) Patrick – or Mt. Patrick, named for St Patrick, of course. According to legend, he fasted for 30 days on the top of this mountain (back in the 5th century), and folks have been making pilgrimages to the site ever since. We don’t take that hike, but we do check out the National Famine Monument across the street. When the potato crop failed between 1845 and 1850, this part of Ireland lost about one million people to starvation or disease and another million to emigration. This sculpture commemorates that episode in Irish history. http://www.croagh-patrick.com/natfamine.html National Famine Monument


We meander across hardscrabble terrain and stop to take pictures of some obliging, photogenic sheep.











Near Oughterard in Co. Galway, another photo opp. is the famous “Quiet Man Bridge,” so called because it was featured in the movie by that name starring John Wayne, whose photo is posted near-by.

Quiet Man Bridge









Galway city itself is a vibrant university town, and the pedestrian streets of the “Claddagh” area are filled with people


Galway










There are many colorful signposts all along our way, and we finally ask Kevin to stop so we can snap a picture of one. From this one it was only 16K to the fascinating village of Lisdoonvarna, which is known for its annual matchmaking festival!



Matchmaking in Lisdoonvarna











Almost to our destination for the night, we enter Co Clare and the area called the Burren – meaning “rocky land.” We arrive in Doolin and our B&B, aptly named Sea View House. We enjoy dinner and a pint in a great little pub nearby, complete with live music, looking forward to the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow


View from Seaview House

March through Ireland

OK – finally got it figured out. Jet-lagged, we had to sleep, then barely had time to select and edit photos, then realized the learning curve on this thing was steeper than expected. Anyway, here's the beginning chapter, with more to come later.

DAY 1
March 11:









Ready to go at Monterey Airport, thanks to Peter and Louise!






Afraid to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, we're doing Ireland with a private car and driver, arranged through Ireland Chauffeur Travel, a family-run company based in Tiperrary. http://www.irelandchauffeurtravel.com/


Kevin, its founding father, met us at the airport in Belfast and took us to the Hotel Europa in the heart of the city. It's where the foreign press used to stay during what the locals refer to as "the troubles."

There's a suite on our floor named for Bill Clinton, because he apparently played a significant role brokering the peace process between the IRA and the government here. And across from our room a plaque on the wall commemorates a recent visit by Hillary! I don't know why she didn't stay in the Clinton Suite....

Kevin and his Mercedes saloon car, "Elvis."

The Crown Liquor Saloon across the street is among the oldest in Belfast and was a “no man’s land” for meetings between the press and the IRA.

DAY 2
March 13:

The Irish tour begins --- Heading N from Belfast we explore the “Antrim Coast” through Carrickfergus, Carnlough, Ballycastle to the Giant’s Causeway.

Carnlough harbor scene



Harvesting seaweed along the Antrim Coast

Basalt pillars of the Giant's Causeway

According to legend, this “8th wonder of the world” was built by the giant Finn McCool (the Irish version of Paul Bunyan) to bring his lady love from the Island of Staffa to Ireland. The Giant’s Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage site and consists of about 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns 12” in diameter and up to 40’ high.

Giant's Causeway

Going up was the easy part...

We topped off this very cold day with a visit to Bushmill’s distillery. http://www.bushmills.com/

Irish whiskey taste test at Bushmills.





Then down the road to our hotel, the Bushmills Inn, a “living museum of Ulster hospitality.” You can click on the link and read all about it one of the best hotels we’ve ever stayed in! http://www.bushmills-inn.com/

DAY 3

March 14—Mothers Day in Ireland

Breakfast at Bushmills Inn

Kevin (our driver) gave me a long-stemmed red rose this morning in honor of Mothers’ Day!

Working our way from E to W, today we’re in Co. Donegal in NW Ireland. First stop, Dunluce Castle – a well-preserved ruin, if that’s not an oxymoron. With a beautiful setting, formidable to would-be attackers, it played a small role in history of British/Scottish/Irish power struggles.

Wall at Dunluce castle

Next stop, Londonderry - as the N. Irish refer to it. (The Irish from the Republic of Ireland to the south call it just plain Derry.) (London)derry is the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland and was a key site in the struggle between the Protestants (i.e., England and its allies) and the Catholics (most of the Irish, aided by Jacobites from England plus the French and Spanish). During the Siege of 1689, Derry lost more than 1/3 of its population to starvation and disease. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A45561134.
During the more recent “Troubles,” (London)derry was the site of “Bloody Sunday” in 1972, when anti-UK passions were fueled after British soldiers shot 13 civil rights protesters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972). To this day, Londonderry is a divided city, with Protestants (UK loyalists also known as Unionists) on one side of the river and Catholics on the other.

(London)derry city wall.

Sign in (London)derry.

After (London)derry, we leave N Ireland (UK, British Pound Sterling) and enter the Republic of Ireland (European Union, Euro). We drive through Glencolumkille, Carrick and Killibegs, with occasional photo stops for Atlantic Ocean views and the black-faced sheep, which seem to be everywhere. Kevin tells us these are called “Jolson” sheep… Ireland has had severe winter weather this year, so everything is brown, rather than green. Everyone tells us they’ve never seen it so brown. Nevertheless, the Slieve League Mountains are beautiful. Black-faced sheep, Ardara, Co. Donegal


Thatched-roof house in Slieve League Mountains





At the foot of Ben Bulben (a mountain), we reach Drumcliffe cemetery, where WB Yeats is buried. He wrote his own eptaph: “Cast a cold Eye on Life, on Death. Horseman, pass by.”





Celtic crosses in Drumcliffe Cemetary





Tonight we stay in a castle! Markree Castle Sligo – Check it out: http://www.markreecastle.ie/

Getting ready

Well, getting ready for the "big trip" has taken on obsessive proportions as D(eparture)-day approaches. Leslie: making arrangements for pre- and post-"Expedition" travel -- hotel reservations in London and Vienna, "oyster card" for travel on the tube, etc. in London, flights from Dublin-->London and London-->Frankfurt, learning how to set up a blog! Bob: getting the right camera gear and figuring out how to carry it all, getting familiar with "Lightroom," the software he'll use to manage the thousands of photos he plans on taking! Both: luggage choices, clothing choices -- the first 8 days in Ireland will be chilly and probably wet, then Mali - the first stop on the Nat'l Geog. tour - is supposed to be up into the 100s! -- medications for the duration, and of course the shots and the visa applications. Just got our passports back yesterday! Checklists!

Bob + camera = happy traveler