Backpacks and Flipflops: The Green Isle....Part 2 Western Ireland.....the Wild Atlantic Way....and, who knew the Cork County Rural Transport Bus could be so much fun...

............An Old Irish Proverb.......

- Annie Mays
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Prologue

..... conversations heard on the Cork Co rural bus....
#1...
"So, Mary. How's your hip?" says the driver.
"I'm off to see the doctor about my surgery." says Mary.
"Have you got a date for surgery?" says Pauline, another passenger.
"Soon, I hope?" replies Mary.
"Ah, that would be grand!" says the driver.

#2....
Yvonne talks about a suitable 1st Communion gift to give a niece of a friend we'll be visiting.....
"Oh, don't give too much money!" says one lady.
Mary adds her two quid worth..."No mobile phones for the child. She doesn't need it."
"Just get a card and put $20 euros in it! No need to spoil the child." pipes up Frank from the back......and on it goes...

The rural bus system is a wonderful, at times wacky way to see the back roads of rural Ireland. Drivers are helpful, know everything about everyone on their routes and have a regular, weekly clientele going off to shop, visit or make appointments.
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......On to Cork and the the Wild Atlantic Way.....

We bus south (see map above)..to the city of Cork.... uneventful, direct...our arrival is easy...

Tourist info next to our roadside bus station suggests the Kinlay House Hostel as a place to stay. It's a great suggestion.
$60 euros/night gets us a private room w bathroom...safe n clean and close to pubs and city center.

With weather brightening up, we make a pilgrimage to kiss the Blarney Stone. Hey...we know that it's a pretty touristy thing to do....but, a whole bunch of people wanted us to get there...

Of course, we pick the day when the castle grounds are open to the Spring Garden tour.....so, hundreds of people are wandering around and buses there and back to Cork are jammed full!

The long and winding staircase to the Blarney Stone.

Ain't no stairway to heaven in this tower

Yvonne plants a kiss on the magical stone....we now speak in tongues! Was it worth the €15 or $20? Hhmm?

Back in Cork

We come across a tiny pub..and hop out of the rain.....here trad (traditional) Irish music is playing. These trad sessions, just see musicians show up, play for free and play the night away. Tonight, 9 musicians jam for hours, all crammed in one corner of this great, old pub.

Pull up to the bar and you'll always meet a friendly face and quaff a few pints while you talk the night away.

COBH (Pronounced Cove)

With weather turning a tad wet, we head out to Cobh for the day. The 30 minute train ride takes us out to this coastal town with a rich history and much sadness.

Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic before the sinking. The lucky ones got off here, while others boarded the ship for the ill-fated journey to America.

The Dock of Tears

Cobh, as the most south-western deep water port in Ireland, was also the jumping off for Irish fleeing the famine years in the mid 1800's. Millions past through here hoping to survive a dangerous crossing to new lands and an uncertain future.

Cobh was also the place were so called Irish lawbreakers were imprisoned on Spike Island (known as Ireland's Alcatraz) before being shipped off to Australia. The overcrowded prison also used derelict ships to house prisoners.

Most were thrown in jail over political beliefs, or simple petty theft....such as stealing food. Some simply committed a crime so they'd have a chance to eat.

Actually, it's a perfect place to be on a wet, windy and gloomy day!

Cobh's massive cathedral overlooks the harbour and dominates the town below.

The Wild Atlantic Way...

We leave Cobh in sun and head for Schull (pron. Skull) several hours southwest on the coast.

The countryside is gorgeous and green.

SCHULL

This town is our jumping off point to the Mizen Head Peninsula. Busy during the day, quiet at night, Schull is a boater's paradise and summer destination for many.

The Mizen Head road (Wild Atlantic Way)

We arrange a car hire with a local cab driver for the day and head out to the most south-western point of Ireland..... it's a fabulous, sunny and clear day. Views are magnificent. Our driver's stories and info are priceless.

Altar Wedge Tomb......erected near the end of the Stone Age as a ritual site.

Barleycove Beach, a favourite place to go in the summer months with gorgeous sand dunes framing the bay.

Narrow roads that are never really crowded.

Mizen Head Peninsula

The Mizen Head Signal Station was built in 1909 to warn ships off the rocks and is accessible by a 45 metre high bridge that connects the mainland to this island. The Fastnet Lighthouse now does the job once this station was decommissioned.

What's to say... except gorgeous? The rugged coast was a dangerous place for shoddy seamanship.

An old boat launch near Three Castle Head

The green, green fields of home.

The best little bar this far south at Crookhaven. In its heyday, Crookhaven collected mail from America. More recently, parts of Star Wars was filmed in the area. Huh!

What a great crew....the local Schull tourist office and film festival organizers....and where else, would you be offered beer and wine for just stopping in.

Probably didn't hurt that we were one of the few tourists to stop by...as most just motor on through many of these small towns in their rental car, following their guide book. And, really, that's the dilemma facing drivers ..they stay in BnB's, mainly far out of the town center. And, miss the night life and music in the local pubs.

Schull firefighters cleaning streets and building facades in preparation for the upcoming film festival which sees up to 6000 people arrive.

BANTRY

The rural bus drops us off in Bantry after a rambling route through the back country roads from Schull to Skibbereen and on to Bantry. We take a room based on the advice of a local on our rural bus. Great place, close to the center and above the craft store.....all for €55 euros.