“Your life will be entirely what you make it. How you think, how you dream, your aspirations and goals, all reflect your outlook and life’s outcome.”
...words of wisdom from Jacob Hoggard, Hedley
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Welcome to Donegal County.....
...where the Emerald Isle truly shines and pouring a Guinness is a metaphor for the travelin' life.....
.......Prologue......
............Friday night in CARRICK.............
The pub life in Ireland.....music plays....people talk.....they welcome you in....the bar....old n worn....the wood shines......the color of the bog....the peat.....from centuries of stories told....of hundreds of elbows supported....to the beer spilled and wiped clean....
The pubs in Ireland are the gathering place....a watering hole for locals....who embrace outsiders like us...with a warm handshake and honest smile... we talk....share yarns.... sometimes....in the corner..the music plays.... timeless as the green hills and rough shod walking paths...
While the scenery in Ireland is spectacular...the real beauty lies in the places where music is created and tales are told... there are no leprechauns here...but, there is magic and spells are cast over us....
.....which takes us back to Carrick...a lovely, quiet little town and gateway to the Slieve League magnificence and GLENCOLUMBCILLE with its rolling hills, sheep and pastoral splendor...
Carrick's 2 pubs pulse with local life....we chat with Ivan, the barman in John the Miners and are 'locked in' both pubs until the wee hours of the early morning....music pounds....the pub sings....we are at the ends of the earth here.....a way from everything....close to it all..
Donegal Co and the surrounding hills and Glens
We arrive in Donegal City and step off the bus to find a great little BnB/ hotel just steps from the main square. Our home for the next few days. We head out onto the Donegal peninsula and the local towns and villages... Kellybegs. Carrick, Glencolumbcille, Slieve League and beyond.
KILLYBEGS
Ireland's largest fishing port focusing mainly on mackerel
The 1819 abandoned Robertson Schoolhouse was the first formal school in Killybegs.
John the Miner pub in Carrick
New friends....we are locked in with until 3am....
Reel Inn, Donegal City
Looks like someone's living room
John, the owner... so passionate about his music
The other pub in Carrick and our home for several days.
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The Donegal Peninsula
The Slieve League Cliffs...
To get the 15km to the cliffs from Carrick....we hitchhike a ride out and even get returned to Carrick! Sweet!
The parking lot far below
The 600 metres high cliffs at Slieve League are thought to be among the highest in Europe.
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The coastal village of GLENCOLUMBCILLE
The other, more gentler side of Slieve League has ruins, beaches and numerous walking paths. While we bussed out with rural transport buses, we hitchhike back to Carrick. Plus, the day was wonderfully sunny and warm.
The Silver Strand
Traditional thatched rooves that are seldom seen anymore...they're too expensive!
Stone Age 'standing stones' dot this ancient village
Enjoying a beer on her birthday!
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ARDARA (pronounced Are-Draw)
We leave Carrick and head over the mountain pass 20 km away to the delightful town of Ardara.
Here we discover a 4 day music festival in full swing, a weekend cycling race, a local wedding with 300 guests and another long bank holiday weekend! The town is hopping.
We find a great BnB 2 minutes from the center and plunge into everything Ardara has to offer. We watch the cycling races, visit various music venues, drink n talk. Yvonne is even taught the typical Irish jive steps. People are friendly and the 2-3 block walk to visit the half dozen pubs makes the weekend fly by.
Estonia, Belfast and Dublin....we keep on dancin'
Johnny taught Yvonne a few Irish dance steps. Even the musicians were impressed!
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We eventually rent a car again to get around Donegal's northern end - The Inishowen Peninsula...our goal is to visit Ireland's most northerly point of land...Malin Head....we pick the perfect day to drive the scenic coast roads and quiet country lanes.
And, the best thing.....there are gale force winds blowing at Malin Head.
Donegal....wild, beautiful and sparse..... someone told us that the region was voted #1 on places to see! We'd return!
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"The difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary life is only a matter of perspective. Pull the blinds. Look around you. It is a mad, mad world and you do not require ten digit bank accounts to immerse yourself in it. Travel down dusty roads without a destination in mind. Climb a mountain and scream out into the void. Kiss the hell out of a stranger. Skinny dip in a lake. Get lost and lose yourself (they are two separate things). Explore the wilderness (especially the one within). Think less of destiny and more of the moment right here. Because when you are old and ill with your loved ones around you, fame won’t matter, nor will the extent of your wealth. You are the sum of the stories you can tell."
-Beau Taplin, "An Extraordinary Life".
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Cheers from Yvonne & Shayne
Up next..... Northern Ireland
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