Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery

A covered tomb at Carrowmore.

One of the joys of traveling is finding the out of the way spots you really want to see.  Carrowmore Megalithis Cemetery is such a place.  To put the location into BiB, Bill pulls up the road map, then touches the spot nearest to where we think it might be.  Most of the time it works fairly well.  This time it worked perfectly!  Also helped there was a sign when we reached the marked crossroads.   The South is a wee better organised about signs, although they may be in Irish instead of English. 

Cool and windy, but we enjoy the walk up the hill.  Several of the graves are not on the National property, but the landowners seem to be farming around them.  The don't mind if you walk the fields to have a look, just don't let the cows out.  These stone cairns match any fancy burial monument we seen.  Even Napoleon's tomb!  The dead were cremated, then placed here.  More than likely, they were folks of some importance, as there were not a lot of remains found.   There were women and children as well as a baby, so eveything is just speculation.

The biggest tomb is the one they are most proud of.  Very well preserved and on top of a hill, it is impressive.  One oddity, though.  Any of the other tombs whose rocks I touched, the rock was warm.  However, all the rocks on the big tomb were cold.  Same cold wind and location, no sunshine, why the difference?  Bill suggested that no one was there anymore. 

Back on the road, there is a Vista Point for Lough Key.  Now we had to stop because this is the only marked Vista Point we have seen in all our traveling around.  There is a huge metal sculpture of a Gaelic Chieftan on his horse.  Impressive.  The Lough is long, narrow and famous for it's fishing.

The Gaelic Chieftain on his horse.

We stop at the first B&B that is off the highway in Mullingar.  The hostess was at the door before I could knock.  The master of the house is a terrier mix, Buddy.  We were told, after Bill had given him a good rub, that Buddy doesn't like men.  Maybe it's just Irish men?  The next morning as were we loading the car, Buddy was sitting outside their side door, barking.  I walked over until he could see me and start talking to him.  He stops his barking, sits down and proceeds to wag his tail and listen to me.  I can hear the owner through the open door saying, "Would you look at that?  He's stopped barking and is sitting for her.  Amazing!"

Bulmer's Irish Cider with lunch.  Yum!

Our bedroom at Pettiswood House B & B in Mullingar.

A Visit to Ardara

Semi tropical plants growing in the front yard of a house on the main street of Ardara.

Ardara is on the coast north of Killybegs.  It is the weaving capital of Donegal; even the visitor's center is in a weaving shop.  The pubs are known for their traditional music, and there are lots of pubs.  All the road signs in the area are in Irish, most without the English subtitles.  Good thing the map we have has the towns labeled both ways.

The Diamond.  There are lots of tractors in Ireland.  Many of them are John Deere, but not this one.

With the help of a lovely girl at the Triona Design Shop, which doubles as the visitor's center, we have a room at the Brae House B&B for euro 70.  Walking around the town didn't take very long, although we did find a great photo exhibit of local people from 1920 - 1970.  It was a treasure.  We spotted an internet cafe, but their computers weren't working.  While sitting in the diamond, we watch a car pull up with 3 nuns and a very elderly priest.  They help him out of the car, then walk very slowly down the sidewalk, before trying to cross the street so he can go to the Pharmacy.  It was comical to watch, as the priest's footsteps were only 4 inches at a time.  Why they didn't park closer, we'll never know.  We went our way before they tried to cross.  I guess they made it ok, we never heard any sirens.

A hotel on the main street, which was built in 1814.  Hope they have updated the rooms.

I  offer to buy Bill a beer, so it's to the Corner House pub for a pint of Smithwick, which has a silent W, Smithick.  The pub is set up for a music night this evening.  Bill is impressed by their Bose speaker system, which is easier on the ears than some others.  We wander on down the street to another pub, this time for a Guinness.  After getting our pints, we realize this place serves food in the back.  While walking through to find a table, we also spy what we will have for dinner.  I go for a huge bowl of mussels steamed in wine sauce, while Bill has the broiled crab claws.  Both were delicious, when we finally got them.

The remains of my mussel dinner.  Yum!

We had to wait for the waiter.  He was an older man, who always seemed surprised that there were people sitting at the tables wanting to order.  He never came to a table with his pad, "Oh, you want to order something?  Give 2 minutes, I don't have my pad."  Most of the time is longer than 2 minutes before he appeared again.  Since most everyone in our litle room was on holiday, none were in a hurry.  We all ended up laughing about him.

On either side of our table were a couple from Germany and a couple from France.  The Germans had been coming to Ardara for 15 years for the music.  He had even learned to play the Bohdrum, a soft sounding drum, and would be at the Corner House this evening.  The French couple were entertaining themselves by reading the sugar packets.  They were similar to fortune cookie sayings, only with an Irish twist, written both in Irish and English.  When they had finished reading their bowl, he asked if we would trade so they could read our packets, so we did!   Dinner took a long time, and not because we were lingering over our food.

A visiting singer  on holiday from Dublin.

The fiddler.

The music at the Corner House started about 10:00, by 10:30 the place was packed.  We arrived early enough to get a good seat.  The band had a fiddle, 2 guitars, a slide dobrow guitar, bass guitar, tin whistle and the drum.  Everyone but the fiddler, tin whistler and drummer, also sang.  Throughout the evening, they were joined by another drummer, a replacement bass player, and several different singers.  One young couple played a couple of songs as a flute and drum duet. 

Most of the band.  The German drummer had gone for another Guinness.  His bohdrum is to the left of the stool.

The most fun with a song was Turkey in the Straw.  They started out at a nice tempo, then through 7 or 8 different time changes until they were literally flying.  The tin whistle lady was the best.  She played with the whistle to one side of her mouth, fingers moving so fast they didn't appear to touch the whistle, head bobbing side to side and then her left foot bouncing up and down to the time.  We kept waiting for her to become airborne!     We left at 12:30 and they were still going strong!

I've always heard folks say, "She has the voice of an angel.", but it wasn't until this evening that I truly knew what they meant.  A 10 year old girl was called up to the microphone.  I had seen her earlier running around with her younger sister, acting like a 10 year old.  When she started singing acapella, the entire pub went silent.  She sang 3 very traditional Irish songs; no show off, no trying to sound like a rock star, just a  sweet, clear voice:  the voice of an angel.

A Girl in Tipperary sang my song of Killybegs.

Boats in the harbor at Killybegs.

Thanks to The Chieftans' song we had heard of Killybegs, a thriving seaport, with huge shipbuilding and repair facilities, and lots of fresh fish.  Killybegs supplies fish to Ireland and the UK.  The town is built on a hillside rising out of the bay.  The tide was out when we arrived in mid-morning, with the fishing and tour boats gone for the day.  An abundance of tourists; so very different from the North.  (Maybe it's the random  pipebombs and police station bombings that keep them in the South?)  We walk the main streets and wharf area, then we are on to Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Europe.

Boat on the hard getting worked on.  It's a lot bigger than it appears.

Fishing boats and sail boats.

Our map is in kilometers, but we are still thinking in miles from having lived in the North, so we pass the turn and end up at Glencolumbkille.  A quite little village nestled in the glen at the edge of the sea.  What a beautiful place to end up by accident!  As we retrace out route through the bogs, Bill has to stop for a picture of the harvesting of the peat.  Very different from cutting firewood. 

Looking down on Glencolumbkille and out to sea.

 Pile o Peat

This time we don't miss the turn in Carrick.  The road is very narrow, but fortunately the tour busses are parked at a gift shop/cafe along the way.  I always hated dodge ball, and dodge bus is even worse!  We come to a full parking lot with a gate, but discover we are allowed to go through the gate and continue on up the hill for 3k.   Now, this road is really, really narrow, and crooked to boot, with long drops on one side and rocks walls on the other.  So what happens?  We meet a tour bus on a corner, with us on the long drop side of the road!  After gathering our wits, we backup so they can squeeze past.  At the end of the road is another parking lot, also full, so, since we are in an Irish car, we just park, trying not to block the way out for anyone.

The wind is howling, but the sun is shining.  The views are indescribable.  Beautiful! Stunning! Spectacular!  Awe inspiring!  You get the idea, but none of them do it justice.  It's a view I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

We are amazed at the number of people, many of whom have walked the 3k up.  In the distance, there are hikers on the top edge walking the trail back to Glencolumbkille.  After taking in our fill of the view, we drive back down the road, this time not meeting a bus.  Whew!  At the gate, I hop out to hold it open, then stay to keep it opened for 2 motorcycle riders from France and a couple for The Netherlands.  Then back to Killybegs for lunch before driving on to Ardara, where we planned to spend the night.

Tile front building in Killybegs.

Going to Donegal

Signs in Irish and English.

County Donegal is known for it's Irish speaking population, traditional music in the pubs and the largest population of Protestants in Ireland, complete with their own Loyal Orange Lodge.  I guess these folks didn't vote for separation from England and are still not very happy about it.

Great Hall at Castle Donegal.

Beautiful beamed ceiling, assembled with pegs, not nails.

The town of Donegal is bult around a castle.  There is a diamond in the center of town, but unlike Kilrea's it has more than a monument, it is actually what one would think of as a town square, only diamond shape.  There are an abundance of shops, pubs and cafes, all over run with tourists.  The castle was built by the O'Donnell's in the 900's, then taken over by the English in  the 1690's.  There have been recent restorations, with a roof put on the tower and wooden floors replaced.  The top floor, which was originally sleeping quarters for servants and soldiers, was left out so we could admire the frame work for the new roof, which was done with pegs not nails.

The Diamond of Donegal Town.

When we decided to stay in town for the evening, we visited Failte Ireland, the tourist bureau, where a delightful young man booked us a room in the Island View B&B for the bargain rate of euro 60 per night.

Island View B & B

Our bedroom; this looks grey, but it was really lavender.

The place was clean, pretty, friendly and had a great view.  Our dinner was at a pub, with so-so fish and chips, washed down by a pint of Guinness.

A walk down by the river, which is tidal, brought us to the ruins of an Abbey.  There are a few walls and foundations still standing, but every other square inch of ground is filled with graves.  In one family plot, 14 names were listed on one stone!  Since Catholism was banned from 1690 until 1836, this was one of the previously sanctified places to bury the dead.

This lily was developed by a gentleman we met in Arcata on the northern California coast many years ago.  Here is is growin Ireland!

Breakfast the next morning was delicious bacon, sausage, and eggs with very good coffee.  In the breakfast room we talked to 2 pairs of women from the US.  The older pair were from Chicago and Detroit, while the younger were from Chicago and Iowa.  They were each on the "12 Days in Ireland Run Around Until You Are Exhausted Tour", both self driving and having a great time!  Neither pair had visited the North.

A rainbow from our bedroom window.

We thank our hostess and head off for the day.

The Crown Whiskey Bar

Welcome, come on in!

The best know pub in Belfast is The Crown Liquor Saloon, built in the Victorian era.  It is now owned by The National Trust, who refurbished it in 2007.

The place was packed, with folks waiting at the bar for a table. 

The bar is tiled on the front.

 We had lunch in one of the private dinnig salons, complete with a button on the wall to call our server.  Posh!  The food was good too.

Self portrait while waiting for our lunch.

Belfast At Last

There were a couple of things we wanted to see in Belfast.  We have driven through on the M2 and M3, as well as right through downtown to get to Mount Stewart.  After these experiences, as well as the visit to Derry where parking was a problem, we decided to go on a Sunday.  Less crowds, less cars, more parking.

After finding our parking lot, we walked the mile to the botanic gardens and Ulster Museum.  On the way we passed Queens College, the oldest college in Ireland, north or south.  Beautiful buildings and campus, with alot construction going behind the older buildings.

The Botanic Gardens are famous for their greenhouses.  One was originally built in 1839!  Wow!  The other was built by the workers in the gardens, so the visitors walk around on a cat walk looking down into the gardens.  It was beautiful.  All it needed was an alligator and some colorful birds, as well as a few frogs croaking!

The Ulster Museum building is a wonderful mix of old and new architecture.  The inside is airy and light. The displays are well done with good information on what you are seeing.  We were greeted by a docent who suggested we start at the top and work our way down, as that's how it was set up.  So we did.  Up to the 5th floor where all the art is, then down through time starting with nature, geology, man coming after the ice age until we hit the last gallery, which tried to tell the story of The Troubles, which began in 1969 and finally ended in 1996.  While they tried to have an even hand, using statistics, it still didn't feel right.  We didn't linger.

Two displays really caught out attention.  One was a hedgehog, stuffed, which we were allowed to touch.  Cute little critter, the spines feel alot like porcupine quills.  The second was an Irish Wolfhound who was the grand champion in the 1930's.  Although a different color, with shorter hair, he looked a lot like our Shiva!

They do grow beautiful flowers in Belfast!  The entire area surrounding the museum was in bloom, or at least growing gorgeous trees.

An Irish Garage Sale

In Ireland there aren't garage sales.  They have boot sales, where they load their goods into the boot of the car and drive to a sale area to set up with others, selling out of the boot (trunk).  It is similar to a flea market sale in the US where you can rent a table.  Maria has too much stuff to try and sell it one boot at a time, so we talked her into trying a garage sale.  It was a hit!

There were a few questions though:
Is this going to be a shop with regular hours?  No, just 3 days.  We will do it again in August and September, though.
Do you get breaks?  yes
How much are you  paid?  just helping out
Will you close down for lunch and tea?  no

Some folks came all three days and left their emails so we can let them know when the next one is.  Others have come back during the week to buy some of the larger, construction related items, as well as beautiful Irish art work from the house.  Yep, I think she'll be able to leave in November.

Pretty Puppies!

Morgan showing off for Maria.  Notice the big smile on his face.

Shiva and Morgan visited the doggie salon.  They are clean, beautiful and smell good.  An added plus was the two garbage bags of hair removed from them, maybe now there won't be as much loose hair to sweep every day!

Both dogs were very thirsty after their all day salon treatment.

Shive kept parading around the yard showing off her new style!