August 18th. Midland Route To Galway

We have been on the road for a week already and have covered exactly half of the coastal Ireland. We really enjoyed the ride but some thing are starting to get repetitive in the Northwest and we were happy to head out to the capital of music, Galway.

In the morning we took a stroll down on the beach hoping to use the low tide to walk over to the neighboring island that has some interesting ruins. But the tide was not low enough yet so we headed back for our breakfast, just as good as at the Knock B&B's.

As we set out on our way we barely had made half the mile before Dan had to swerve to avoid the incoming car whose occupants did not have their coffee yet. Our car hit a stone and we got a flat tire. Kids were very uncomfortable when we asked them to get out of the car for Dan to change the tire. After we got back  on the road they both went to sleep at 10am for the next two hours as we drove to our next destination, Carweel, high in the mountains. The site there featured some more of those interesting passage tombs we saw in Knowth and Newgrange.

These ones were also 5000+ years old. They looked like huge piles of rocks on top of the turf hills. They did not overgrow with grass for some reason. We were able to crawl inside the two of them.

They were much smaller than those we saw earlier but featured the same architecture of the overlapping slabs that could support incredible weight for literally thousands of years. It was amazing site - to see all the beautiful scenery below and to be able to explore cairns at our own pace. There were not guides, displays or the ticket office. And there was just a handfull of tourists.

After that we decided to head straight to Galway to get oriented and find tire replacement places to reach out to tomorrow since everything was closed today. The navigator had picked the most unscenic of roads. We passed one dead town after another. Everything was closed. Galway was such a welcome change - everything is open. It is a lively city. Music is indeed playing everywhere. It is very beautiful. We got a room at Jury Inn for a few days. Found a few dry cleaning places and got the list of phone numbers of the local mechanics. And also reserved a tour to Aran islands tomorrow. This time we do not want to deal with booking ferries and worrying if they would return us back. So tomorrow morning we will drop off the laundry and hopefully the car and enjoy something different.

Forgot to mention that we drove past Donegal castle in the morning. While the kids were asleep I stopped in inside. The interesting features about this castle was the fascinating election process owners for the first 400 years had used: O'Donnels elected the most capable clan member to rule. That person had to stand in the footprints of the first clan member barefoot and listen to the rules being read. He has to leave his weapons behind and hold the white staff symbolizing his purity. And when the rite concluded he had to turn three times clockwise and counterclockwise to show themselves to their people and see their people and lands. The other cool thing was that the bathroom shaft was built above the river and it was angled to avoid being speared in the sensitive parts. There were also holes in the bathroom benches to allow in air with the "fumes of ammonia" said to have antibacterial properties.

Some other observations. Palm trees grow everywhere, even in the North. We saw some run over foxes on the roads but otherwise it does not seem likely that any other predators survive on this highly developed island. Even mini islands accessible only during low tides are sometimes developed. All the Russians only hang out in the cities. We saw noticeably many of them in Dublin, Belfast, and here but none during our other travels here. They are not like palms.

August 17th. The Northwest Circuit

We woke up from a good night sleep in our Steeple View B&B. Breakfast was not as nice as in Knock B&B. Clearly the hostess has served many of them and though key items were the same: coffee, Irish breakfast, cereal, yogurt, it did not taste nearly as good.

We did a lot of driving today. First we tried to get back to Letterkenny to get some good coffee and put up the blog since the B&B last night did not have the internet. But equally importantly we wanted to get a glimpse of the hotel availability for today to see if we are in for the same busy evening as last night. To be fair, even though it took a long time, kids were OK watching cartoons in the back, and we had a fresh supply of buns, cheese, and salami, and a tankful of gas. But everything was still closed at Letterkenny so we kept going.

We passed Glenveagh National Park - closed until 10am if you could close such a thing, Glebe Gallery also closed. On the way we've stopped in a little town before Horn Head and had some coffees. Finally, the first stop where we could stretch our legs was not to far from Malin Head yesterday but on a different penincula. It is a beautiful viewpoint on the North coast of Ireland.

It was incredibly windy there. One could lean into the wind and we held on to kids lest they would be blown away. They liked the wind. There is a cement hut on the top of the mountain. The windows are long blown away but it offers some protection. There are remnants of the fireplace inside.

Next we drove back for a long time finally stopping right on time to catch a ferry to Arranmore island. Dan navigated the car inside a 6 car ferry and on we went. Supposedly it was the island to get a better glimpse into the "real" Ireland. We got a very good idea on the beauty of nature negotiating narrow roads between the various combinations of cliffs and turf bogs.

The nature is indeed breathtaking but it is a very lonely place. And if we are experiencing the warmest days of the year that has got to be a pretty tough place to live in. That's why many inhabitants emigrated to Beaver Lakes of the Great Lakes region as one of the signs we saw stated. We had originally planncd to stay overnight. Then decided to go with the 6pm ferry and ultimately worried sick that we won't get the place on the 3pm ferry. Fortunately we did and so we continued our journey to Narin.

On the way we've stopped at Leo's tavern, run by Enya's parents, a fact that is broadcast for miles around, hoping for some lunch but that does not start until 1pm so on we went.

At Narin  we did the first check of hotel rooms and were fortunate to get two double rooms for 100 euros at Carnaween B&B. The place is a dream come true - amazing beach views, stylish white decor, and gourmet food. We checked in and ran out to cover the remaining sites. And soon realized that the guide was just trying to be nice - Assarancagh Waterfall is but a mountain spring that Georgia accidentally spotted. Other travelers searched aimlessly for the same thing. Even locals are hazy on what it is and where to find it.

So we came back and had one of our best dinners on this side of the pond and then walked along the beach in the evening. Kids, happy to finally do some walking had boundless energy. It was great!

We are through with exploring the Northwest and are ready to hit some musical areas. As clarification note turf is a top level of soil, very rich and dark. Locals cut it, dry it, and use it for fuel here. It like dried up soil in log-like chunks.We saw it at Knock hotel but until seeing it cut up and drying up in the fields today did not connect what it was.

We keep trying to understand why there is so little hotel space availablity and still have no idea. This area is not that populated. And we barely see any tourists to the places we go to, but still even today, we were able to get our rooms only due to the cancellations.

August 16th. Nature's Playgrounds

This morning we had a great breakfast. The hostess had really outdone herself pampering us with freshly made Irish breakfast (that tasted much better than usual because of the very nice components), awesome coffee and warned up buns for Isabella and I. Her oldest son, the 8 year old (she has 4 children) lit up the fireplace in the living room for us. She also gave us some helpful tips for going to the Giant’s Causeway site: to park near the hotel on the property to avoid the unnecessary parking fee and to skip on visiting the visitor center and head over straight to the site. She also gave us the map. Staying at the hotel was great.

The Giant's Causeway site was incredible. In addition to having the usual beautiful coast line it also featured sections of the rock shaped like hexagonal columns pressed together. There are local legends explaining the phenomena and scientific explanation suggests that this was due to the unusual combination of factors during the volcanic activity. But the end result looks fantastic.

We were almost the first ones on the site and so enjoyed ourselves walking up and down those columns. It was like a giant playground. When people started to arrive brought over by a completely unnecessary bus from the visitor center 1km away we did a walk around the site encountering more of those fantastic rock formations along the way.

After that we moved over to Bushmills to grab another cup of coffee and visit the distillery.

The distillery looks like a big shop. And the selection is pretty much similar to what is in the store so it was not interesting. The town was interesting. Since it appears that most of the business was brought on by the distillery the town seems larger and more developed than others around it. However distilling business may be moving elsewhere because now and then they have abandoned shops in town that have very realistic looking photos of the shops that used to be there on the doors and windows.  This looks kind of creepy.

Here is the green grocer store, the shoe repairs shop, the court building. What are they going to do when the last shop tanks? However there is one shop I hope does not disappear. It is called Ground Expresso Bar and it is located in the old bank building that was redone in a modern way. In addition to having great coffee in appropriately sized containers, they also make nutritious confections by mixing molten chocolate with cereals. We had our coffees at the vault. I also had cornflakes with dark chocolate. So good! There is also a playroom for kids to enjoy themselves while parents are having a quiet moment. Only our kids were also enjoying healthy sweets :)

The next stop was White Rock beach nearby. It was drizzling a little but we are used to it. However we were not used to groups of families swimming in cold water or playing beach sports in full rain gear. I guess vacation is vacation and when you are on the beach you do what you are have to do. We picked some shells and kids and I ran up and down the giant sand dune. Some kids were sliding down it on the boogie board.

Then we headed North for Greencastle and stopped for lunch at Kealy’s Seafood Bar. It was recommended very highly in the guide and had signs around indicating how special it was. Other than the presentation we did not notice anything a typical restaurant in US won’t be able to beat.

So we headed down to the North most point on the Island: Malin Head. It is just a rocky outpost with abandoned cement viewing tower. There we saw the largest number of tourists we saw on any of the nature sites. The nature this far North seems less lush and more stern. However as we took the shortcut through the mountain bog we saw a wide selection of plants – just some really short ones. 

We took a walk down the path winding through the bogs to see the Hell Hole, a gap in the mountains where water hits the shore with particular violence. But the waves were quiet and there was nothing hellish about it. We walked back through the bog to save time. Interesting experience. Some places feel solid but have water underneath. Slate and quartz rocks mixed in in the middle as not very reliable as footholds.  

The next stop was at another playground. There is a beach nearby where one can find semiprecious stones like jasper. We headed there through some narrow gravel farm roads. The beach was filled with pebbles and those that were wet indeed resembled shiny richly veined green and red pieces one would see in the store. For the next 45 minutes we felt like we were inside the Alladin’s cave. Those beautiful pebbles were all around us. Could not stuff our pockets enough. Isabella helped us a bit, but then she got tired of it and picked some shells instead.

When we got to the car (for a while I actually doubted we would have it in us to part with this place) we had a fool’s gold moment. All the stones that dried up looked just like regular pebbles. Gray and uninteresting. I guess if we get a polishing machine we would be able to see which ones are indeed semiprecious but for now they are just a pile of rocks.

   

 Next was the most challenging time in our journey today. We did not book a hotel hoping to catch something on the way. The problem is that today is Friday and there is a music festival at the nearby Derry. Big enough festival to completely close the hotel and B&B market on the perimeter between Malin Head and Donegal. A pretty damn big perimeter. We were really starting to worry having checked everything and not having found anything on our route from 6pm through 9pm. Finally we got lucky – there was a cancellation in Steeple View B&B and we were able to get in. It is not as fine as the one yesterday and there is no Internet but it was so great to finally check in, put kids to sleep, and take a shower and get down to wring the blog!! The bad thing about B&Bs is that for security reasons they would not let one in after 9pm so we really got lucky with this one.    

Some logistical things. Should have brought the rain boots for everyone. It would be fitting for when we have to go through wet muddy places. Also I find myself doing laundry every day. I had been hoping to keep our luggage small by wearing some things twice but we are moving so much that clothing does get dirty very fast. Then, when I wash it it does not have the time to dry and we have to have it spread out in the car and in the trunk during the day to dry.

Speaking of the B&Bs.. even though they bring great benefits to the owners – they are able to rack in about 100 euros for every room they have available every night, but it is kind of weird to let absolute strangers stay in your house every day. 

August 15th. The Northeast Circuit

 Last night I could not go to sleep for a long while. As I sat in bed writing the blog I suddenly smelled warmed up pillow - it smelled of old pee. Maybe it was in my head, but Dan and kids had nodded off I could not get myself to lie down. Finished my blog, responded to all work and outside emails, and finally researched and booked hotel for tomorrow. It is called the Knock Hotel. It was the only one available and they were so new that there were no reviews for them. And hopefully no one peed on their pillows yet. So much for the spontaneity. Good old fastidious me. And then I could sleep somewhat.

In the morning the breakfast was served by a really sweet middle aged woman. She was very nice as was the rest of the staff and I felt guilty for some reason.

We did a walking tour of the city suggested by guide book we were using. It completely focused on exploring the bitter war between Protestants who wanted to unite with the UK and Catholics who wanted to split, a war that lasted for 40 years.
It was kind of strange to be reading about it. I still have to learn more but this kind of war seems typical for the Middle Ages but to have this in our times just sounds crazy and barbaric.

The tour consisted of the long walks across the town to see respective neighborhoods and their murals. Murals were interesting at first but got old after a while. We also saw 6 meter wall that divided the town for 40 years. What seemed clear was that each side was equally poor and for whatever reason, driven by whatever leaders those people just went on killing each other.

The tour did not cover any of the interesting areas of town, including the churches with some really fascinating architecture. The largest city hall I've ever seen. Luscious Art Nouveau Harlem coffee was so inviting. It seemed that the town froze in time a long one ago and is only beginning to recover now. But after the murals those other things not seem that interesting.



With a sigh of relief we picked up on our journey and got out of the city. The first stop was Glenariff forest. It is a beautiful location in the mountains overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The most scenic Red Fountain trail was closed so we just walked several km downhill to the horseshoe waterfall. On the way we saw lots of raspberry bushes and helped ourselves. There were other people on the trail too and they too ate the berries. Isabella managed the whole trip without any complaints. She is starting to sport some serious calves.

Next we headed to Cushendum. Spent some time on the beach collecting colored wave beaten glass. There are beautiful caves on the beach that were formed by erosion of volcanic rock. One of the caves functions as a private driveway to the villa on the beach. The gate on the other side of the cave was locked so we could not see where it goes. We got ice-cream from the convenience store. If you get a pack of four, it is one pound for the whole thing.  If you get just one, it is 1.50-2 pounds of just one. Don't know how this works.

Next we drove for a number of miles on the serpentine road that ran along the coast enjoying the incredible views. Every time we think - this is it - the most amazing view in the world, ... only to see the next one even better a few miles down the road. The grass in so many  different shades, dark waters, and bleating sheep that resembled mini maggots from afar looked out of this world. It was very fortunate that hardly any cars were on the road at this height of the tourist season and we were able to negotiate narrow one lane paths with a great degree of comfort.

Carrick-a-Rede, a rope bridge above the  30 meter precipice between the main island and tiny uninhabited tiny one was the highlight of the trip. It is tortuous to those afraid of heights but the views are some of the best here.

After a brief stop at Dunsany castle, we arrived to our hotel at Portstewart. Contrary to my worries today it was everything we had hoped for. Now that we are done with dinner at the nearby uninspiring York, and kids a asleep in a large comfortable room upstairs, we are sitting in a living rooms downstairs enjoying the coffee and burning fireplace set up by hospitable owners. This was a good day!! I am about to collapse in the armchair. Good night!

August 14th. Scenic Route to Belfast

Dan brought us fresh morning pastries and coffee and we got on our way. The first stop was Trim castle. We thought it opened at 9:30 and so to pass the time followed the signs to Kileen castle. Irish signs for places of interest differ from those in the UK. Great Britain probably has so many sites that it starts warning you about a mile from the actual site. Kileen castle signs went up about 15km before the sit and then stopped suddenly. We drove on for 10km, passed the gates for Dunsany castle, and started to look for a suitable driveway to make the u-turn before turning into Kileen castle driveway by accident.

The castle looked locked up and picture perfect. It is not defensive but rather appears like a very large castle-like house. It is located on the golf course and other than some expensive looking cars driving through to the club house there were no signs of life. After walking around and glancing inside walled  garden also in pristine condition we got back on the road and went into the service driveway of Dunsany castle on account of the main gate being accidentally closed. They probably did not know we were coming.

We passed some old stone service buildings that looked like they were still in use and parked by the similar lookjing castle that was equally "indefensible" but much larger. There was a Ford SUV parked next to the castle and another one driving around a herd of sheep on the nearby field. We walked around taking pictures as well and before leaving stopped by at the ruined church in the overgrown meadow next door. There we wandered around the cemetery trying to spot the oldest grave. Then we spotted the newest, with a simple cross and still without a gravestone. It said "Edward C. Plunkett 20th Lord Dunsany 1939-2011. Check out the link above and also Wikipedia. It is pretty amazing to accidentally run into an ancient dynasty. As we were pulling out of the driveway someone else had come in. We are glad we did not have to explain ourselves to the descendants, 21st must be the Lord now.

Trim castle looked more like ruins than what the guide would have us believe. They must have rebuilt it quite a bit for Braveheart. We walked around taking pictures again and as we sighted several people walking up the castle roadway we had joined them as well. However it was the castle staff. And a very mean staff member Brenda had shut the gates in our face stating that the castle does not open until 10am. I've tried to tell her that it was not very nice to do but she said that shut gates means the site is closed and we should have known.

We had another 15 minutes and we walked around town before turning back in. As we were deciding whether to get the tour to get to tower, Brenda appeared again. Dan had tried to explain to her that she was unprofessional but she was interrupting and continuing to be rude. Another woman Susan has joined her and together they refused to give us the book of complaints. We got their names and the name of organization and overall this power trip probably did not end to their satisfaction but we lost interest in staying there longer and got on our way. In their defense I can say that spending their life in a dimly lit cell and communicating with the world namely the tourists through a tiny barred window can bring one down sometimes.

Next we went to the hill of Tara. A place of some Neolithic burials, pagan king crownings, and an entry point to the world of fairies. It looked like a large field filled with mounds, stone protrusion for the crownings, and some crosses for the even measure. We liked it. It was peaceful. Georgia ran around barefoot.
The highlight of today's trip Bru Na Boinne was next. It is a huge Megalithic complex 500 years older than the Stonehedge and 1000 years older than pyramids. They do an amazing job preserving and presenting the place. This alone is worth the trip to Ireland.

There is excellent visitor center that presents very good overview of the place and even recreates one of the passage tombs in its entirety. There are separate bus trips and guided tours to and within Knowth and Newgrange sites. Those places are awe inspiring. For the planning purposes, to explore these sites, given the limited number of busses it would make sense to arrange the trip in advance or get here the first thing in the morning and book suitable tours and then explore the surrounding areas.

Artist drawing beautiful Celtic
 designs @ Bru Na Boinne

After that site we could just barely cover Monasterboice, a site of an old Cisterian monastery but currently a cemetery featuring the most striking examples of Celtic crosses, and the round tower, but also, disturbingly, a large number of child and infant graves some of them fairly recent. Perhaps burying children in such a place gives more comfort to their parents?

The last stop before Belfast was a pleasant town Carlingford. It features several attractive ruins, including one of an old mint. We walked down the boardwalk to John's castle and walked through the pretty and tiny historical center before getting in the car one last time. Oh, and we also checked the pricing and availability of a local hotel - they had triple available for 100€. Made us feel better about the rest of our journey after tonight since we do not have any hotels reserved moving forward.

We noticed that we are in Northern Ireland now only by the change in speed limit units back to miles like in the UK.

Our B&B, Botanic Rest, seems to be close to the university area in Belfast. When we arrived the staff seemed to be in emergency operations mode. It looks like Booking.com did not provide updates to them about bookings and they had double booked the hotel to local inquiries. And there is rock concert in town tonight. Despite the panic mode, they offered kids apple juice, freed up a great spot next to the hotel, and kept making sure that the stack of hotel business cards on the counter is absolutely perfect, a little bit of company-related OCD I found enjoyable. They ultimately gave us a room the second floor. It does not have a bathroom or shower - those are in the hallway downstairs. But the room is very clean, all furniture is new and Internet is working. What else can you ask for for $200 per night. The kids were asleep in 5 minutes after talking to their cousin Sasha on Skype.

Tomorrow we will explore Belfast and then will head out to the Northeast. Isabella said a few funny things:
M - Isabella there is a bathroom here, lets all go
I - I don't want to go
M - We don't know when we will find another one
I - If I have to, I am going first!!

And another one:

M - I found 7 cents, I gave them to Georgia but if I find another 7 I will give them to you
I - That's not enough for me. I want 5.