Killybegs, Cliffs, and Sheep!

It has been a while since we've been able to e-mail or update the blog, so I will start with where we were when we last wrote. After we got back from Scotland, we spent a couple of days in Londonderry, which is in Northern Ireland. We camped at a very quiet camp site out of town and the next day got to see the murals commemorating Bloody Sunday, an important date in N. Irish history. (If you aren't familiar, you should look it up.)

After Londonderry, we geared up for another bus journey to County Donegal, which looks a lot like Scotland as far as the landscape. Instead of stopping in Donegal City, which seemed a bit crowded and touristy, we kept going to a small fishing town called Killybegs. We got off the bus and asked where the nearest camp site was and were told it was about 1 1/2 km down the road. Well, we took a longer route by mistake and ended up in front of the fire station and were directed to walk up a hill to our right and after the hill, it would be about 1 1/2 km to Fintragh Beach, where we would have no trouble camping. So, we hiked the 3 or so km to the beach along a rather windy road with our 'rucksacks' on our backs; I'm afraid Melissa was ready to ring my neck at points for speed walking, which I apparently have a tendency to do quite often when I am ready to be somewhere and not hiking through the rain with 40lb backpacks. (It was an evening of many apologies for impatience on both our parts!)

We finally arrived at the beach, which was ridiculously windy, but also ridiculously gorgeous. We were able to set up our tent between two grassy embankments which provided for a rather uneven, yet also solid, ground. I sat on the beach after we set up camp and ate a sandy tomato/cheese sandwhich (one of the yummiest I have ever eaten!); we were so hungry after our hike. That was the last of our groceries (actually, Melissa ate one too, I wasn't a cookie monster...). We have been grocery shopping as we go rather than eating out every night which has been working quite well and saving us a lot of money, as well as making the times when we do choose to eat out more special. We have also discovered a lot of new favorites this way, such as our beloved chocolate 'buscuits', Fox's Shortcake, which we buy whenever we have a long bus trip.

It was a windy and rainy night and I woke up with a sore throat, which was not pleasant or welcome, however, on the upside, I've been able to lighten my load a bit by consuming all my Emergen-c, vitamins, seudafed, and cough drops! We packed up our wet gear and made our way back to town, thinking we'd be on time for the bus, only to find that it wasn't leaving Killybegs until four-thirty. Both of us at this point were in a rather irritable state, me sick, and Melissa ready to be dry and move on to the next place. After a couple of hours of sitting in the sun, the church bells rang and things started to open up again so we stepped into a local pub for coffee/tea and were greeted with familiar worship tunes playing on the radio. They were songs that I have heard a million times on K-Love and other such stations and have tired of, but hearing them here was different because it was like a welcome sound from home. I haven't particularly felt homesick, maybe at points, but it was something of a trigger of home-like feelings and also provided for our own little church service as we sat reading our Bibles over coffee, and tea. I have to say both coffee and tea now because Melissa has latched onto the tea drinking ritual with great vigor. One verse in particular came to mind that morning, "But I have calmed and quieted my soul..." the first part of Psalm 131:2. That sort of became the theme for the next few days.

After Killybegs, we decided instead of heading straight down to Galway, we'd spend a couple of days in another quieter coast town and so took a twenty minute ride to Kilcar, just North, and spent two nights at a hostel called Dun Ulin. The first night we camped, but then moved inside the second to try to dry out some which was nice. Our second day there, we decided we'd go for a hike to Carrick, the neighboring village, and have lunch. It was about a 4 km hike, which wasn't too difficult without our backpacks. Everyone had been telling us we absolutely had to go see Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Europe. After much deliberation, we decided to hike up to the cliffs since we were so close, though it was another 4 or so km from the pub we had lunch at. In the end, we were exhausted but it was well worth the hike. The view was beautiful and the scenery was amazing on the way up. Heather everywhere! And sheep! One of my favorite parts was looking down the cliff and seeing the water hit the shore; the color was such a deep, deep teal.

We had planned yesterday afternoon to head to another coast town, Rossnowlough, before going to Galway for a few days, but found out that none of the buses ran there, so we are now in Galway, preparing to explore today and tomorrow are hoping to go over to the Aran Islands, just southwest of here and out in Galway Bay.
Before I sign out, I have to share some Irish sayings that we copied off the GEM Sugar packages over coffee the other day: (and tea!)

1)What is strange is wonderful.
2)Some people are never satisfied.
3)Still waters run deep.
4)The day of the big wind is no time to be doing the thatching.
5)A good word in court is better than a pound in your purse.
6)Beauty does not boil the pot.
7)Good men can often be found wearing worn britches.

Slan go foill!!