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Ireland, otherwise known as The Emerald Isle, is over twice the size of Switzerland and has a mere quarter of São Paulo city’s population. Ah! Ireland: where online means
fishing and a hot spot generally refers to a resort on the Canary Islands. With an oceanic
climate, even in summer it never gets too hot. We were just about to discuss the rain
but by now you should have the photos loaded up! |
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The Republic
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After an overnight ferry from Roscoff, France we arrived to a colourful, sun-kissed Cobh harbour, where we were greeted by the
local stewards and Gardaí
with bonjour and bon vacances! We must have had that je ne sais quoi look about us. |
Cobh harbour, Cork
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Albert and Ronan |
Albert & Ronán returning from cycling holidays in Brittany escorted
us into town on the scenic route and kindly lent us their mobile
phone to make contact with our welcoming party.
Darina’s friends from college directed us to the Hayfield Manor
saying they had booked us in for B&B. |
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Albert & Ronán dropped us at
the gates with a youll-be-well-looked-after-here farewell and we
proceeded up the tree-lined avenue. We found ourselves in front of a
5-star hotel on our bikes, in all our cycling gear. It was just then
that we got that
nagging feeling that this could well be a hoax! For fear it were, we
took our pictures before entering reception, allowing for a speedy exit. |
Hayfield Manor, Cork
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A grand cup of tea |
Lo and behold Darinas name was on the guest list and we were shown
around this beautiful Manor in our hiking boots and helmets! Tea and
coffee were served before we retired to our posh room. |
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Once safely behind closed doors, Kurt got a great kick out of
putting golf and decking himself out in a regal bathrobe and fluffy slippers. Having relaxed in the sauna and jacuzzi it was time to hit the town. |
A spot of golf
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To the manor born |
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Kathleen, Maureen, Katie, Helen, Marguerite and Darina |
The girls finished their
magnificent
treat with a gorgeous meal at Isaacs, where
we caught up on 2 years of scandal. What a homecoming! We should go
away and get married more often!!!
Thanks a
million, lads!
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The best way to tour Ireland is to cycle the byroads and avoid
the busy national ones where possible. |
In the Galty mountains
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The midlands |
Our route was off the coastal touristy trail and brought us through
the Galty and Silvermine mountains and up the centre to Longford. |
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Silvermine mountains |
Passage grave
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Colourful country towns, rivers, passage graves, castles,
ancient abbeys and lively
pubs with live music featured along the road. |
Fermoy, Co. Cork
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Tullynally castle |
Traditional Irish music
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Typical Irish breakfast |
Campgrounds off the tourist trail are sparse, but B&Bs are hard to
beat for their hospitality and smashing fry-ups for breakfast.
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Of
course, we did have quite a few friends and family who kindly opened
their houses to two drenched cyclists. What ever happened to global
warming? |
Katie in Tipperary town
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Galbally, Co. Limerick |
Thatched house
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Turf out to dry | The midlands are famous for their
bogs. This soft composted ground covering much of central
Ireland is cut and dried for use as domestic fuel (turf) and for
local electricity power stations. |
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The midway point of our Tour dIrlande was of course
Moydow,
Co. Longford. The heart of Ireland, set in rich agricultural land is
home to Darinas clan. There we chilled for 10 days while the
heavenly irrigation system worked round the clock on the 40 shades
of green. |
Darina’s cabbage patch
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Darina’s clan |
We spent our time visiting family, friends and neighbours and would
need another complete website to post all the faces and smiles. |
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All smiles in Longford |
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Of
course, a trip to Moydow wouldn’t be complete without a victory from
the Moydow Harpers! |
The Harpers in action!
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Darina and Aoife | Aoife
was about the only one prepared to brave the elements with us on the
bikes… |
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Some
things just never change! Just inside the door, Guinness at hand…
and the last ones out! |
The Farrells, as usual
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Summer 2007 | Not
even flooding seems to dampen the spirits of the Irish… the craic
goes on! |
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Ardagh, Co. Longford
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The
Newgrange Passage graves are a must see. Unfortunately we
werent the only ones who knew that!.. and it was really the only
time we came across mass tourism on this trip to Ireland. Dating
back to 3200 B.C. they are so designed that on the winter solstice
the sunlight floods the inner chamber at sunrise. |
The Newgrange passage graves
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Newgrange, Co. Meath
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Rath Cairn, Co. Meath | On the way, we passed through an Irish-speaking area, otherwise
known as an ghaeltacht. Kurt got to practice his “Dia Duit“
with the little old lady we passed on the road. |
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On the eastern coast we had wonderful views of the Cooley Mountains
as we were entertained by Conor at the Glyde Inn, Anagassan. One of
the Extreme Backpacker troupe, Conor is a fair lad to recount his
intrepid adventures around the globe, including Latin America. |
Anagassan, Co. Louth
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On the east coast |
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The North
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The Cooley mountains |
Once across the border, we took the scenic route to Belfast along Carlingford Lough and around the Mourne Mountains. Beautiful weather and better roads made cycling really
enjoyable. |
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It happened to be the 12th of July and in Kilkeel we encountered an Orange-Day Parade. This annual event commemorates the victory of William of Orange in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. A sombre affair in comparison with the St.Patricks parades down south, but at least it continues without bombs and violence nowadays. |
Orange Day Parade
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Flag flying at its best: July 12th
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Great wild camping opportunities |
The numerous coastal caravan parks are strictly for caravans
alone. The signs read: No football jerseys and no campers.
However on the coast theres a lot of space to camp wild well away from it all.
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We bumped into Ger & Benny cycling around the coast of Ireland in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. They had left Dingle a month before on their anti-clockwise trail. |
Ger and Benny
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Frank |
The next day we took the direct route into Belfast in the pouring rain and were pampered no end by Frank & Marie in
their cosy residence up on the hill. |
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| We did manage to find the brighter side of constant downpours. Puddles are a great place to find that nagging puncture! |
Creative use of puddles
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City Hall, Belfast |
Frank and Marie took us on a tour of Belfast taking in the controversial Falls Road, Shankill Road, the City Hall, Queens University, Belfast Castle, and the docks (where the Titanic was built). In addition, we got to see the most bombed hotel in Europe and the location of the greatest bank robbery ever! Welcome to Belfast! |
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Queen’s University |
Europa Hotel and Opera House
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The huge grim peace wall, pointed murals, flag flying and the unsightly remains of the Orange-Day Bonfires still scar the city’s image. Although red, white and blue mark Unionist territory and tricolours still fly in Nationalist zones; there is a certain sense of peace in Belfast today. |
Cycling along the Peace Wall
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Murals on the Falls Road |
A grim reminder |
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Mural on the Shankill Road |
Time is still needed to heel the wounds of 30 years of bloodshed. We got the feeling though, that there is a consensus
of looking forward to what could be, instead of looking back to what was. |
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Darinas good friend, Fiona (from her year in Japan) and her partner Geoff spoilt us on the Sunday with afternoon tea on the coast and then back to Jordanstown for a beautiful home-cooked meal.
Stories were exchanged a mile a minute and we had a ball. |
Fiona and Geoff
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Ferry to Scotland |
From Belfast we jumped on a ferry to Stranaer, Scotland to resume our long way home! |
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This trip to Ireland was for us a social event more than a touristy cycling trip and we certainly got to meet a crowd. It was yet another homecoming and one-step closer to resuming our
life off the road! Many thanks to all our hosts and well-wishers. There will be a “next
time” for the ones we missed.
Go raibh míle
maith agaibh! |
The Republic of Ireland’s flag
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