Friday Sept 22/23

 This morning we woke to rain! Jan and Muriel had not slept well…..hearing the rain pounding down all night we were concerned about the mud. We knew a lot of todays hike would take us through fields and it had been raining heavily for a few days.  

After breakfast a driver took us to the drop off point….where we had stopped yesterday. The weather was a cool 14^which is perfect for walking.  It rained briefly quite hard, we stopped to put on pack covers and rain gear.  The path was quite good to begin with, it was narrow and there was the occasional vehicle.  Soon we were on paths that crossed fields and were also used by cows and sheep.  Because of the heavy rain there had been, it was muddy,wet, soft, and littered with cow pies!  These cow pies looked like black rocks and we had to be careful not to step on them!  None of us were 100% successful! 

There were many stiles to climb up and over, little creeks to cross but the rain was short lived which helped with our disposition.  We stopped in one field to sit and eat our packed lunch. We had a great view of the patchwork of farms below and the Atlantic Ocean.  

We arrived in Dingle at about 3:30 and followed the instructions to our hotel……which is a guest house with 6 rooms.  Just time to shower and and walk back into the town for our dinner reservation.  The restaurant, named Land to Sea is a Michelin starred restaurant.  They offer a starter menu, your choice of two courses for $35 euros.  We each chose a starter and we all had steak.  We finished up by sharing two desserts. 

Next we walked a few doors down to The Dingle Pub.  We had heard it was good for music. …..as are most if not all in Dingle.  The Dingle had a couple of bands that played traditional Irish pub music, which often has the patrons singing along. Very lively and on this night packed!  It was advertised that the local boy who had won many world titles for dancing, would be there.  The Dingle pub is own by his father. We were told it would be 10pm before he would perform.  It was only 7:30 when we arrived so we were going on the slow, drinking Guinness! 

We were lucky to find seats…..and met a young couple from Poland, an older couple from Dublin, and a family of siblings from different parts of America.  They all made for interesting and entertaining conversation. Meanwhile the pub continued to fill up with more and more people.  By this time we were well into the mood of the place. The band turned over….one left, another set up and the singing went on.  Then the long awaited dancer arrived and set up his platform very near us.  He was unbelievably talented! 

We stayed for his performance which was about half an hour and then we wished all our new friends goodbye.  We walked home just after midnight.   We have a rest day in Dingle tomorrow and will undoubtedly find more music in pubs.

Leaving Dublin to start the hike Sept 20/23

 This morning we were taking the train to Tralee via Mallow.  Our train departed at 11am.  We had coffee and a bun in our hotel lobby.  Sandy and Joanie went off to a nearby pharmacy to find a brace to support her ankle.  Our cab to the station had been booked the night before. We soon discovered it had been booked and then actually cancelled……apparently they were too BUSY! We re-booked a cab.  The trip to the station was about 10-15 minutes.  Soon we were seated and enjoying the ride.  The route took us through the Irish countryside, sheep, cows and lush greenery.  It’s easy to see why it is referred to as the Emerald Isle. 

We were picked up by taxi courtesy of our tour company, for the half hour drive to our destination, the very small village of Annescaul.   We were staying at one of the local guest houses and after depositing our baggage we met up with our tour guide Peter at a local pub, where he treated us all a drink…..Guinness all around! 

Annescaul’s claim to fame is that it is the hometown of a young man by the name of Tom Crean.  Tom Crean was a participant with Major Ernest Shackleton on the expedition to the South Pole.  In this town there is a restaurant called South Pole Inn.  The story of the men and their expedition is well depicted on the walls of the restaurant.  

Since it is really the only restaurant in town we had our evening meal there.  We were disappointed to find there was no fish that day as the fish man didn’t come.! 

We retired soon after as the hike started the next morning. It rained heavily most of the night. 

September 21/23

We were up and downstairs for breakfast by 8:45.  Breakfast menu had been chosen the night before and packed lunch choice as well. 

There was a table of American ladies in the dining room and they regaled us with their stories of the mud they encountered….and fell in! Not something we wanted to hear.  

We started off in sunshine and good spirits. Our route was mainly ascending and quite a bit of tarmac. The scenery was easy on the eye, plenty of patchwork green field to look down on as we trudged up! The usual farm animals, cows, sheep and goats. 

Quite a few nice houses, some very old Croft cottages abandoned. There were lots of old stone walls, no mortar to hold them together., but most still standing the test of time.  The road we travelled was very narrow and we quickly got into single file when we heard traffic coming.

At about the halfway point we came down a little hill and could see the Atlantic Ocean the ruin of  Minard Castle., which is a huge structure looking out at the ocean. There was a field of daisies and a bench which would have been a perfect place to eat our lunch……already occupied by two ladies. We ended up sitting on damp grass leaning against a farm gate. 

Only a couple more kilometres we reached our end point of the day and called our host to pick us up. 

We are being transported back to Annescaul ….where we started our day as our accommodation is there for a second night.  We went to a local pub for a Guinness and a game of Farkle. 

Dinner afterwards was again at the South Pole Inn…..but the fish man had been so it was a better dinner! 

A short walk by the river ended our day.  Tomorrow we will be on the road again🎶🎶🎶 we will be at Dingle. 

 Tuesday sept 19 joanie decided to stay at the hotel and rest her ankle. On our way to meet our bus to Belfast yesterday she tripped on the uneven cobblestones and twisted her ankle, and unfortunately smashed her ph screen. 

Sandy Jan and me (muriel) figured out our walking route and made for the Immigration museum (EPIC) 

The day was warm and sunny.  The museum tells the story of the people who left Ireland in search of a better life. Conflicts, the potato famine, economic problems and religious persecution drove the Irish from their beloved homeland. Many did not survive to their new destinations and the stories of such immense hardships were very disturbing! The stories of why people left and the influence the Irish had throughout the world was told in 20 different rooms.In each room you could stamp your museum passport before moving through to the next. 

As you progressed in the rooms information about the various and numerous contributions Irish people made to the world were documented. Many well known. George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Maureen O’Sullivan, Oscar Wilde. Twenty three American presidents claim Irish descent. Writers, inventors, . Movie stars.  There was even a room where you could put in your surname to see if you had Irish ancestry. 

We spent most of the day at the museum.  If you are ever in Dublin you shouldn’t miss both this museum and the Guinness brewery.  Highly recommend both! 

Our next stop was Sweney Pharmacy, which is not a pharmacy at all.  It was recommended, quite highly we thought, by our tour guide on the bus to Belfast.  It wasn’t far from the immigration museum.  We arrived and were quite surprised by how small it looked.  Inside seemed even  smaller! It was probably a space about 10x10 and crammed full of books. Books from floor to ceiling along with many paintings of James Joyce. His books  were also prominent along with George B. Shaw and other Irish poets and writers. The old man who ran the bookstore/pharmacy seem to be a perfect fit to run the place.  We didn’t want to stay too long, Sandy bought a book of short stories about Dublin. As we bid our farewell we were invited back for 7pm when there would be a ‘reading’. 

Back at Hotel Marlin we met up with Joanie who had searched out some restaurants for the evening. We made a reservation at Davey Byrnes, again not far from our hotel.  We had a cocktail called James Joyce Choice. James Joyce figures prominently in a lot of establishments! It was delicious.  I did note they also served Guinness ……but imagine most if not all places in Ireland do!  Dinner for joanie and I ( muriel) was a wagu burger, Jan had chicken, Sandy had lamb stew…..which wasn’t very good.  The waiter took her meal off our bill. Nice!  

We finished our night off with Gelato at an ice cream shop on our walk home. 

 Belfast sept 18/23

We were up at 5am for the bus at 6:45. Pickup was outside Starbucks where we bought coffee and breakfast pastries. The route was along the coast with snatches of the Atlantic Ocean, green fields of sheep and cows. We arrived in Belfast after 90 minutes. We stopped to buy food and snacks.  We were told No hot food as the odour may disturb other passengers. 

There was two choices we could choose from …..a visit to the titanic museum. The museum is in the shipyards. Belfast shipyards was the largest in the world, (surpassed now by China) a recently built building.  The second option was a Black Cab ride.  We chose the cab ride and “Brendan” our driver, was 60 years old he had first hand knowledge of the “troubles” of 1968-1998. He was living on the catholic side of town as a seven year old boy. 

Our ride took us through both the catholic side and the Protestant side. These two areas are separated by the peace wall.  The peace wall is locked each night at 7pm and opened again at 7am. During the 20 years of the “troubles” there were 3,600 killed and more than 30,000 wounded. There are many memorials, painted posters and words written on walls.  Arguably they are the most famous murals in the world. 

Along the wall that separates; some houses are so close to the wall that they have extra protection from missiles that can be thrown from the other side. 

At one of the walls we were invited to write a message with our name, alongside many US presidents, and famous people who had visited.  Our cabbie told us they paint over it every three months! Not sure if he was joking or not. 

It’s very sad that while there is a form of peace the two sides are still very separate today. 

Later in the afternoon we met up with our bus and the titanic group.  

Driving further north, to the top of Northern Ireland we visited the ruins of Dunluce Castle, very dramatic, rising high above the sea. The castle was used in filming Game of Thrones. 

. The Giant Causeway is a 5.5 mile loop near Bushmills, Antrim, a moderately challenging path . On the route there are some 40,000 basalt columns rising out of the sea, we walked the coastal path, it was muddy in places and rained and I hailed off and on. The basalt columns are a major sight to see. 

 At the restaurant at the causeway , called the Nook we had lunch …..seafood chowder.  There is also a visitor centre, hotel and restaurant.

We arrived back in Dublin at 8pm. We stopped at McNeils pub for dinner and some lively Irish music which we always enjoy. 

Pilgrims Four are in Dublin Ireland

 We arrived in Dublin on Sunday September 16 after a long westjet flight from Abbotsford/Vancouver bc. 

We are only in Dublin for 3 days after which we will take the train to start our coastal  hike ….The Dingle Way.

As we usually do, we like to maximize our time and see as much as possible.  We booked a tour of the Guinness museum for the afterNoon.  It is within a walkable distance from our hotel, so we were off.  Our booked viewing time was 4:15 but we thought we’d try and get in earlier. It was clear that a lot of other people had the idea to visit the brewery also. ……a lineup at the entrance told us! 

We showed the printout of our booking time, the young man handed us four tickets just like that! The tickets entitled us to a pint of Guinness..  to call this  building a museum is not overstating it! The whole process is explained with great graphics from the water source to the grain, to the barrels, and to the history of the Guinness family who still run the business today.  On the second to last floor the group of about 60 or so people were given a shot glass of Guinness and told how to “taste” it.  Next we go us to  The top floor which I think was number 7.  This floor is the Sky Bar and what a bar it is! Floor to ceiling windows all around the circular building with views in every direction of Dublin.  There were quite a few bartenders “pulling” pints.  We managed to find a table and four seats.  I’m addicted now…..at least while I am here.

We stayed about an hour in the bar and left to find a pub with music.  That’s not too hard anytime in Ireland.  We ordered Guinness all around and four orders of fish and chips.  A young fellow soon arrived with his guitar…..or it may have been a ukulele and he played some foot tapping finger slapping tunes.

A fun first night in Dublin. We called it a night as the next morning we are booked on a bus trip to Belfast. 

3 day bike trip Nov 11/19

We left our home in Carefree about 9:30 am.  It was already warm.  First stop was Starbucks which was really busy, but eventually we got our drinks and got back on the road.  The plan was to make our way to Yuma.
Jeff had plotted the journey keeping us off freeways as much as possible.  We went through Surprise Az, then on past Buckeye Az as well.  The countryside turned from desert scrub to agriculture.  Most of the time the fields looked various shades of green, and at 50 miles per hour it was impossible to tell what was growing.  Beside the road were man made canals, irrigation for the crops.  At one point we saw a small group of adults and a couple of little kids standing at the edge of a canal, they appeared to be fishing.....in the canal! Oh well, I thought, maybe the kids just wanted to go fishing and this was the nearest water?  Further on down the road we saw a large pipe that was gushing water into the canal......and two birds who were watching this water with interest!  We realized there was most likely fish in this canal......the river  suppling the water obviously was throwing up fish as well!
Soon the fields were full of cotton.  I had no idea cotton grew this far north in America.  I really wanted to stop and pick a ball of cotton!  There were acres and acres of it.
There is one thing that I particularly dislike on these little road trips is the lack of somewhere decent to eat!  We had been on this stretch of road before and had stopped at a little roadside bar called Desert Rose,  we were hungry and disappointed that it was closed.  It may have been closed for lack of business or because it was Veterans Day.  We had no choice but to push on.
Our next stop was Gila Bend, where we succumbed to Macdonalds!  I don't know how many years it has been since we dined at Chateau Ronnies.....too many to count.
A couple of hours later we were approaching Yuma.
My school friend Ruth and her husband Jim RV in a park just outside the city and were expecting us around 4pm.  We rolled in to sit in the shade drinking cold beer and snacking on nuts and popcorn .


After an hour or so we continued on into our Historic Coronado Hotel in Yuma.   Historic means old
and generally from a different era!  Not really up to our usual Best Western but it was decent and clean.  We settled in and Jeff went off to find some beer. .Ruth and Jim arrived just before 7 and we all drove in their truck to Da Boyz restaurant in the cute little downtown area.  There was an important football game on the tv in the restaurant and loud roars were sent up pretty regularly, Jeff and Jim .....most interested. Food, drinks and chatter was lots of fun, all of us having lots to talk about.  Ruth and Jim being very familiar with the surrounding area gave us lots of ideas on places to go.  We parted a little while later......and I should mention.....when they arrived at the Coronado Ruth gave me a gift.....a super shopping bag with a large colourful picture of Frida on the front.   She knew I was/am a fan of her art.
The next morning we headed out to the little town of Julian, which is at the end of a very twisty road that also went up to 4,000 ft elevation, quite a change from Yuma at 150 ft.  Julian is a cute small
tourist destination, famous for Apple growing and many businesses selling pies.   We spent an enjoyable time there then hit the road  towards a Borrego Springs.   Not quite sure where we would
spend the night, we passed through Braely and Westmoreland.......nothing looked remotely suitable! So we rolled into Borrego. .......we went out of town several miles to the Borrego Springs Resort and Spa.  Spa was closed but pools were open, and we were tired and not into driving at night in the desert.  It seemed the hotel was quite occupied but we got a nice room.  As we were a good few miles from town we decided to stay at the resort for dinner.......I made a reservation for 6:45.  After a bit of r and r at the pool we walked out for dinner.  There were two separate dining areas with a bar in between.  In the smaller area there were two, large tables filled with women....16 as it turned out.  In the large dining area, there wasn’t a soul! , except for us!   A bit odd to be there let me tell you! Anyway we made choices from the menu, only to find out they were out of this or didn’t have that! Finally we chose out of the limited things they did have.....disappointing.  One surprise was the glass of wine I ordered came filled to the very brim!

I’m sure I was asleep before 9 o’clock , all that fresh mountain air.  We heard the coyotes howling through the night.   Borrego Springs is one of a few places in the world that is a designated dark
community. This means they don’t have lights after dark so that the magnificent sky can be seen.  Of course no one could make the full moon disappear , but it was a beautiful sky.
This morning, we were making our way homeward. We decided after our experience last night at dinner, not to chance breakfast.
We drove into town, Jeff had found at least 3 coffee shops.  We went to all three and none had proper espresso machines, at each one we were directed to another......finally the 4th was just perfect, great coffee, fun owners and hot cinnamon buns fresh from the oven.
 .....blog is giving me trouble......so I’m signing off....ride home was basically uneventful, arrived at 5 pm and hit the hot tub......sore riding 3days, but fun.