Travel Notes: Sligo to Dublin — Day 12

Winding Down

22 September 2009

Aloha Friends & Family,

It’s Tuesday, 22 September, and I’m sitting on the train from Sligo to Dublin. My trip is winding down, and I fly out tomorrow.

I spent Sunday and Monday not going too far. I’m trying to stay healthy, and I’ve been feeling a bit road-weary.

Sunday

On Sunday, I enjoyed a good breakfast at Ardnamara B&B, where I stayed Saturday and Sunday. Ardnamara means “the high point over the sea.” Anthony and Pauline run the place, and they have a little café attached called The Gaslight Café.

Over breakfast, Anthony told me how they remodeled Ardnamara and added the café by hunting for recycled materials. The kitchen furnishings came from a local restaurant that was only open for five months—so they got a nearly new kitchen for pennies on the pound. Most of the place has been recycled from somewhere, and it’s wonderfully done.

I did a short drive to St. John’s Point—a personal pilgrimage, because this is where the MacSweeney burial is connected to the tombstone at St. Mary’s in Killybegs. I drove all the way to the lighthouse, and even on an overcast day I could see across Donegal Bay toward Rossnowlagh and the mountains beyond. I could also look across MacSweeney Bay (another spelling variation) toward Killybegs and Teelin Point, where the Nuala Star calls home.

On my way back to Rossnowlagh, I stopped in Donegal for tea and listened to some entertainment from the beer festival that had been running all weekend.

Then I went to see the Sandhouse Hotel—the yellow hotel right on the beach. It’s one of those “grand old lady” hotels, like the Royal Hawaiian or the Moana Surfrider in Waikīkī. The Sandhouse has a Surfers Bar, so I drank a Guinness and saluted the hardy local surfers—because you’d have to be hardy to surf in that cold water!

Dinner was at the Smugglers Creek Inn for the second night in a row. The food was excellent and the service so friendly that it was an easy choice. Saturday night I had the beef and Guinness pie (see photo in my Road Trip Pt. 2 album). Sunday night I went for beer-battered fish with chips and salad, with seafood chowder to start. And a Guinness, of course.

Monday

Monday morning was rainy and cold—the first real change after a wonderful stretch of beautiful weather.

After breakfast, I checked out of Ardnamara and headed down the road to Sligo. When I arrived, I stopped at the TI for a map and a bit of guidance. Around Sligo there are several megalithic cemetery mound sites, and I wanted to know which one was the must-see. The woman at the counter recommended Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery—the central site with a visitor center and a self-guided walk, with other sites connected to it.

So I drove out to Carrowmore, and I was grateful when I arrived to find the rain had stopped and the clouds were beginning to clear. The wind was blustery and made the walk around the monuments feel invigorating. As I moved through the site, I kept thinking about the people who left these burial mounds behind—evidence of Neolithic Ireland, dating back to over 4,000 B.C., when hunters and gatherers began clearing land to farm and raise goats, sheep, and cows.

I wondered what they would think of tourists wandering through their sacred ground.

And I wondered about us: what will our civilization leave behind as evidence of our lives for people 4,000 years from now? What will life even look like 4,000 years from now?

I enjoyed the walk, but I have to admit—the wind wore me out. So it was time to find my B&B back in Sligo. It took a little searching (one-way streets and dead ends aplenty), but I eventually found Treetops B&B, where Doreen met me at the door and showed me straight to my room.

I immediately set up the tea kettle and enjoyed a cup of tea while I connected to the Wi-Fi. I’ve appreciated having Wi-Fi in nearly every place I stayed—posting photos as I go keeps my camera’s memory card ready for the next round of wandering.

Around 7:00 p.m., I headed into town for dinner at the Coach Lane Restaurant. The restaurant itself was easy to find; the challenge was parking! Still, the hunt paid off—I located the Hertz office in town, so returning the car Tuesday morning would be easy.

Coach Lane was worth the effort. It was one of the finest meals I had on the trip—and that’s saying something, because all my meals have been great: wild Scottish scallops, 100% Irish beef fillet, roasted baby potatoes, asparagus, creamed spinach, sautéed peppers and zucchini, and a glass of the house Cabernet Sauvignon that turned out to be truly lovely.

Tuesday morning (and the Black Pudding Moment)

I had an early night, then woke to a full Irish breakfast in Doreen’s beautiful breakfast room overlooking her garden. The clouds were clearing and the sun was trying to come out.

My breakfast included: an easy fried egg, two sausages, Irish bacon (thin slices that look more like ham), brown bread and jam, coffee, orange juice… and black pudding.

I had managed to avoid black pudding my entire trip—until that moment. Black pudding is made from sheep’s blood, which is why I’d been avoiding it. But I didn’t think about that when Doreen offered the “full cooked breakfast,” and there it was on my plate.

I ate everything around it. Then it was just me and the black pudding.

And I said to myself, “Self,” says I, “you always encourage visitors to Hawaiʻi to try poi. It’s only fair to try the black pudding.”

So I did.

It looked like a mini muffin, but it wasn’t sweet. It also wasn’t gross—more like warm bread, a little salty. I ate half, just so I could say I tried it.

No, I won’t be having it again!

After breakfast, I thanked Doreen for her hospitality, returned the car to Hertz, and boarded the train. And here I am—on my way back to Dublin, with about an hour to go.

A few random thoughts

I thought of my Dad on this trip. Down on the Ring of Kerry, I saw a fisherman standing in a stream, casting for salmon or trout (I’m not sure which). Dad would have loved that.

The hospitality at all the B&Bs has been lovely, but Martin at Hillcrest House was—by far—the best host. Jackie and William are a close second.

I want to come back and explore more of the south, but I would return to Donegal in a heartbeat… maybe to finally finish the Inishowen Peninsula.

I’ve noticed some trees beginning to change color—green to gold, burnt orange, burgundy. Autumn is coming. Jackie told me that beginning in October, sunset arrives at 4:00 p.m. I remember that from living in Germany.

I’ve been blessed with lovely weather and safe, happy wanderings. And even in Ireland, I find pennies to pick up! This morning I picked up a penny in the Hertz car park, and a man walking by said, “Lucky!”

Don’t I know it.

I’ll be back home in Hawaiʻi late on September 27. See you soon—and thank you for traveling with me.

Love,
TJ