IRELAND, Galway

September 11, 2007

Today I am in Galway. I will take the bus to Dublin tomorrow and catch the 3:15 pm flight to Oslo, Norway. I will stay in Norway until September 30th and then fly back to Dublin for my final few days. Below are a few pictures of Galway which is a university town and supposedly the liveliest of all towns in Ireland. I will know more tomorrow. I have actually stopped here on two other occasions while changing buses for a few hours and it looks like a lot of fun. Last night I was in Clifden and met a man from Tennessee. I just had to rub it in how good the LSU Tigers are.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places and moments that take our breath away."

IRELAND, Clifden (Connemara)

Monday September 10, 2007

I visited Clifden which is in the Connemara region. It was a very beautiful town and like most places in Ireland had great music. I also walked the Sky Road which runs above the town and has a great view of the Atlantic Ocean.

IRELAND, Cliffs of Moher

Saturday September 8, 2007

Today was a great day. The hostel owner told me of a great path to the Cliffs of Moher from the hostel. The path was right beside the cliffs starting close to the hostel and lasting for about 2 hours . The path was outside a barbed wire fence and only left about 6-12 inches between the path and the cliff. It was quite an adrenaline rush. I walked a total of 8 hrs today partially because I did not want to pay for the bus to return. The view of the Cliffs was spectacular. I took sandwiches for lunch and sat on the edge of the cliff for over an hour just taking in the scenery. I cant wait to find a computer that will let me post some pictures.

"As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are, otherwise you will miss most of your life."

Buddha

IRELAND, Doolin

September 7, 2007

Caught the bus to Doolin. Had a 4 hr layover in Galway. Nice university town with pedestrian walkways. Arrived at Doolin and tomorrow I get to see the Cliffs of Moher.

IRELAND, Adare

Friday September 7, 2007

I got off of the bus in Adare for 2 hours to take pictures and then went to Doolin. The thatched roofs were quite a sight. It was not possible to get close to the castle.

IRELAND, THE KERRY WAY

IRELAND, THE KERRY WAY

(KILLARNEY TO GLENCAR)

Friday August 31, 2007

Started walking from Killarney to Black Valley {22 km. or 14 miles}. I left at 7:30 am and got to the Black Valley hostel at 3:00 pm but they were closed until 5:00. The path goes by Muckross House and the Torc Waterfall. I decided to keep on walking to the next town. Not the smartest of moves. I arrived in Glencar at 9:00 pm. That is a total of 13.5 hrs walking my first day with only a 10 minutes break for a ham sandwich. The hostel/pub/restaurant was a welcome site. I sat at a table with a people from South Africa, Germany, Australia and Irish. Also, the two girls bartending were from Poland.

(GLENCAR TO GLENBEIGH)

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Started out hiking about 9:00 am towards Glenbeigh which is only 8 miles from Glencar. As soon as I started on the track I ran into Simon, the 21 yr. old Aussie, and we decided to trek together for a while. We arrived in Glenbeigh about 2:00 and asked where we could find a room. The man laughed and said this weekend was the biggest festival of all year and most rooms were probably booked. We found a B&B which had just received a cancellation. 30 euros apiece for twin beds and a complete breakfast. About 14 euros more than the hostel but the breakfast was worth about 9 euros. Luckily I had run into Simon or I would have had to pay 60 euros myself. We then went to the beach and watched the horse races. Quite interesting. I will post pictures when possible. Later music played in the street and people were still partying at 6:00 am. I had crashed about 12 but still heard most of the partying. The B & B owner said he partied until 6. Will continue to update at next hostel if possible.

(GLENCAR TO CARCHIVEEN TO SNEEMS TO KENMARE TO KILLARNEY)
Sunday, Septembeer 2-6, 2007

Hiked from Glenbeigh to Carchiveen. It was one of the hardest days I have ever hiked in my life. Up and down about 14 hills which were 600 to 1800 feet each. The next day I trekked from Carchiveen to Sneems. High up on the hills you could see the coast below. The next day was to Kenmare and then finally back to Killarney. 7 days and 135 miles. Tired but it was beautiful. The blackberries kept the hunger pains away and they seemed to be all along the Kerry Way. Yum.

IRELAND, Dingle Peninsula

Wednesday thru Friday August 29- 31, 2007

I have been in Killarney for the past 2 days. Yesterday I went on a tour bus to the Dingle Peninsula and got some great pictures of the coast and the Blasket Islands, which is the nearest European land mass to the US. Unfortunately, this computer is locked and I cannot download the pictures. I will try again at my next hostel.

Today I start a 9 day trek around the Ring of Kerry Way. The walking path is 135 miles and hopefully well marked. This part of the trip is supposed to be the most beautiful.

On another note, I finally got the courage to use the hostels kitchen to store food in the refrigerator. Something about leaving food in there when everyone has access but everything is marked and there doesn't seem to be a problem.

IRELAND, Rock of Cashel

Sunday August 26, 2007

The pictures are the Rock of Cashel in Cashel, Ireland. Legend says that St. Patrick arrived here in AD 432 and baptized King Aengus, who became the Ireland' s first christian ruler. This is also where he plucked the shamrock to explain the mystery of the Trinity and is how it became Ireland's symbol. This was the home to the kings of Munster from 370 AD until 1101.