Irish Improvisation

I didn't manage to get any posts up this weekend, nor did I get all of my household chores done. It was a busy weekend around our house!

We're in the home-stretch on the Ireland posts, I think there will only be one more after this one.

We left Killarney to head to Limerick for our final day of the trip when the whole tour group would be together. Our tour guide, Matthew, had done a great deal of improvisation on the trip, adding extra stops, sharing Irish food and drinks, but he outdid himself on this particular day. The planned stop for the morning didn't work out because the bus couldn't be accommodated in the car park (their term for parking lot). So he took us to another place where he'd seen the parking area, but where he'd never gone on a hike. It was called Ghuagan Barra and it turned out to be a fabulous hike in an area that reminded me of home a little bit. Except at home we don't find greenery growing on every surface.

The view before we started the hike.

Another lovely stone wall.

Getting ready to head out on the hike.

Tall evergreen tree forest.

Moss growing on old, fallen trees.

On the trail.

We saw several sheep on the hike.

This was the view that reminded me of home.

Sheep at the bottom of the hill after the hike.

Closer picture of the sheep.

Since we're used to hiking between 10,000 and 12,000 feet, we looked pretty impressive that day as it was so much easier to breathe so the hike was very simple. When we reached the bottom and the area where the bus was parked, we were once again offered the option of walking back to the little village or riding the bus. I chose walking and this time the kids went with us. We had a very traditional lunch with soup and brown bread back at the little shopping area, then got back on the bus to reach Limerick. But the improvised stops weren't over yet for the day.

Our bus tire had a slow leak, so the bus driver had to find a petrol station to put some air back into the tire. While he was working on that, our tour guide happened across two teenage boys with hurling sticks and asked them to provide a demonstration for us. Sean and Liam were happy to oblige and showed us how they start the matches by banging their hurlers together which is called "the clash of the ash" since the hurlers are made of ash. They also showed us how they're allowed to pick up the ball and how they pass it. They were pretty impressive, and it was fun to get to see that side of the Irish culture.

Liam

Sean

Our tour guide was from Derry, and his team happened to be playing a Gaelic Football match that day. He put the match on the bus radio so we could hear the accents. Or so he claimed, I think he just really wanted to listen! As we got close to the end of the match he decided that he wanted to show us the game. He said if we didn't find a little town with a pub that we'd just stop at someone's house and ask them to put the kettle on. We did manage to find a very quaint little town called Donoughmore where the pub owner was more than happy to accommodate our group. Matthew put his Derry jersey on and everyone got drinks, small sandwiches, and black pudding (blood sausage) in the pub. 

Matthew on the bus in his Derry jersey. 

In the pub.

I watched the game for a few minutes, but there was a very old cemetery across the street from the pub so my son and I walked over there and explored and took pictures. The oldest tombstone we found was 1791. I think some of them were older, but they were faded so that we could no longer read the dates.

Cemetery behind a stone wall (of course).

Cemetery from the entrance.

Mausoleum covered with greenery.

Very old Celtic crosses.

My son exploring the mausoleum.

Interesting carvings on a very old headstone.

The entire day ended up being improvised, and it was one of my favorite days on the whole trip. Tomorrow I'll wrap up the trip with the time in Dublin.