Thank you, St. John’s, and thank you to everyone for reading

Well, it’s the very last day of my trip, with a few hours before my flight home, and it is gray and raining in St. John’s. But, yesterday was beautiful! Very warm and sunny with a blue sky and lots of happy tourists and locals strolling around downtown. Thank you St. John’s!

Immediately after checking in at Memorial University, I took a bus to downtown and then up to Signal Hill which has been the site of St. John’s harbour defences from the mid 1600s up to the second World War. I was too tired to read all of the signs and take in much of anything, but I was surprised to learn that a decisive battle for control of North America took place here in 1762 between French and British forces. Of course, Signal Hill is also famous as the place where Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless communication in 1901. Cabot tower, which now stands on Signal Hill, was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s landfall in 1497.

I was more interested in just taking in the views of St. John’s harbour and city, and in searching the blue Atlantic for signs of whales or icebergs. None were there to be spotted, but the horizon was a deep blue line full of possibilities.

I know there are smudges on my pictures from the last few days. I think maybe water got onto my camera’s sensor. Hopefully, that is fixable! But, look at that beautiful horizon!

From the top of Signal Hill, I walked down to the little cove and village of Qidi Vidi. It was a very quiet and peacful walk down, though I was conscious that the trip back up would be strenuous! Here are some pictures of my walk to Qidi Vidi, and then of the cove itself.

After taking my pictures, I started to feel quite tired, as well as hot, so rather than walk back up and over Signal Hill, I begged a ride back to town from a young couple, both teachers from Winnipeg. They let me off on one of the hillside streets, a few blocks above Water Street, and I had a fun time looking at, and taking pictures, of the colourful and historic houses of St. John’s.

I was rapidly running out of steam, so I walked into the cool and silent sanctuary of the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, and I rested for a few moments, enjoying the high Gothic arches and the stained glass windows. Somewhat rejuventated, I headed back out into the warm afternoon and walked the few more blocks to downtown to find George Street, famous for its row of pubs where tourists get “screeched in” and become honourary Newfoundlanders by drinking screech and kissing a frozen codfish. Many of the pubs had a very Irish pedigree!

Finally, I walked the last block down to the harbour and saw this enormous fishing boat! I had no idea they came this big. Fishing on an industrial scale. No wonder there are few fish left in the sea!

Here are some other pictures from the harbour in St. John’s, and then looking across to the entrance of the harbour, called “the narrows”, and to Signal Hill. I think the big orange ships, Atlantic Raven and Atlantic Eagle, are fishing vessels as well.

Now, I was really quite tired. It was only 4 p.m. Newfoundland time, but I’d been up since 5:00 a.m. Irish time, nineteen and a half hours earlier. So, I caught the bus back to the university, had a quick food court supper at the university centre building, and then retired to my room. I thought I would blog last evening, but I had trouble staying awake, so I gave in to sleep and slept for a good 10 hours.

Now, after a quiet morning, it’s almost time to head to the airport. Thank you very much to everyone who has been following my journey through this blog. Thank you for reading, and thank you so much for your supportive comments. Until the next adventure, then.

All the best,

Christine

From 2 km of quiet beach, to the busyness of Dublin

I am doing laundry at Trinity College in Dublin after having checked into the student residences for my last night in Ireland. It is always nice to revisit a place – familiarity breeding a sense of comfort and belonging – though when I first stepped off the train upon in arrival in Dublin an hour ago, after travelling south from the quiet northern coast, I felt a bit like a deer from a meadow that had accidentally wandered into the city! Busy, busy! But, the wind quickly blew away my cobwebs, I recognized where I was, and I was soon striding along, jaywalking across busy streets like many a Dubliner.

Yesterday was my last long walk in beautiful Ireland. Early in the morning, I took the local bus to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge in order to get there before all of the tour buses started arriving. The bridge is a suspension bridge, 60 feet long and 100 feet above the sea, operated by the National Trust. The origins of the bridge are that, for over 350 years, since 1755, fishmen have strung a rope bridge from the mainland to a small off-shore islet to allow them to access the best places to catch migrating salmon.

It was a very blustery, rainy morning. Usually, they allow 8 persons on the bridge at one time, but today they only let us pass one or two or three at a time, with no dawdling! I took pictures on the approach to the bridge, looking towards the islet.

And looking back along the chalk cliffs of the coast.

Here’s the bridge! The photo does not really give you a sense of how high up it is.

And now looking back after I had crossed. I only spent a small while on the islet as it was very very windy and wet! I felt like I could have almost been blow over!

I was able to take a quick photo before crossing back over to the mainland.

Here’s one last view of the bridge from another viewpoint.

After leaving the bridge, I was already quite wet and I started thinking that maybe instead of a 7 km coastal walk in the rain, I could just take the bus back to my bed and breakfast and read a book, or maybe go into town and find something to do indoors. But, I pushed myself to start off on the trail, and I am so glad I did!

Within a few minutes of walking along this grassy path, with fields to the left and the sea to the right, I felt very calm and happy and I remembered that this was going to be my last big walk in the Irish countryside.

The grassy path led to a church at Ballintoy…

and then turned right towards the sea and down into Ballintoy harbour which is apparently a shooting location for Game of Thrones. I will show just a few shots here, but if you’re a fan, I have more! Some of the shots are blurred as the wind was blowing rain onto my camera lens, but I kind of like the effect!

Here are some more shots from Ballintoy harbour.

There is a small restaurant at the harbour, Roark’s Kitchen, and I read the signs outside advertising dishes like seafood chowder, mackerel, and Irish stew. I was wishing I had an appetite, as I was very wet, but I was still quite full from my breakfast. I walked in anyways and this is what I saw. Heaven on earth!

And this is what I ordered. A freshly-made, sugared donut cut in half, with whipped cream spread in the middle and a strawberry on top. So happy, and not an ounce of guilt!

After my little feast, but with not quite enough time to dry out, I headed back outside and continued along the trail. There were caves in the chalk cliffs, and a collection of rocky islets along the shore.

I met an elderly couple, who regularly sample the cakes at Roukes and then walk along the path for a bit, and they kindly took my photo.

The path continued along the interesting shoreline, until I arrived at a gate.

Shortly after passing the gate (this view is looking back), and rounding a chalky, bouldery headland, the way continued along beautiful Whitepark Strand, a 2 km long white sand beach backed by dunes.

I walked a ways down the beach and, by that time, the rain had stopped and there was now just a warm breeze. I found a nice spot by some rocks to have my lunch and dry out my socks and boots a bit. As I was looking out at the blue-green water, I saw the black curving backs of porpoises quite close to shore, possibly feeding. It was so exciting to see them, but I didn’t get a picture !

Here’s a picture of me on the beach (I asked four different groups of people today to take my picture (!), I guess because it was my last day).

I walked further to about mid way along the beach, and took this picture looking forward. The headland you can see ahead was part of my hike the day before to the Giant’s Causeway.

And this view back, from where I’ve come. I didn’t want to leave!

But, I continued on down the beach, towards another little harbour, Port Braddon.

And just before arriving there, and then climbing up a road back to my bed and breakfast, Ireland gave me one last little gift, beach cows!

So, now my blog is done (and my laundry is done too), so I’m going to go for a short stroll in Dublin and have dinner at O’Neal’s, a pretty pub very near the university that I intended to eat at last time I was here, after having taken its picture. Only one more blog to go on this marvelous holiday that I’ve had. Hopefully St. John’s decides to show me its sunnier side, or at least something gentler than that deluge of rain from before! So, I’m off for a pint of cider and a meal, feeling both happy to go home, and sad to leave Ireland. Goodnight from Dublin.

The Giant’s Causeway

I am writing this blog from the dining room of my bed and breakfast, looking out again at the fields and the sea. I have been so impressed with my accommodations in Ireland, including here at Craig Cottage where it has been very nice to spend three days in one place. This is my lovely room (with a view of the sea).

And this is the lounge and dining area, where I work at the table facing the window.

And this is the tea tray in my room, the table set for breakfast, and my Ulster fry. Yum! Rosemary, my hostess, is so warm and welcoming, and takes great pride in every detail. I greatly appreciate all of the wonderful places I have stayed on this trip!

After that big “Ulster fry” breakfast, I headed out for a 9 km walk from my accommodation to the Giant’s Causeway along the Causeway Coast Way.

I started down a nearby lane, across a grassy field (getting wet feet, grrr), over a fence, and then I was on the coastal path, down at tiny Dunseverick Harbour.

I interrupted the morning feeding of a calf – I was quiet, but he was curious – and then I started to climb steadily uphill, heading for the highest point on the Causeway Coast Way, Benbane Head, 100 m above sea level.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny morning and the trail continued for some distance along the clifftop.

With great views looking back from where I’d come.

As well as nice views on a smaller scale.

Soon, the cliffs started showing signs of the characteristic rock formations of the Giant’s Causeway, long hexagonal-shaped columns of basalt.

Then I reached the trails of the Giant’s Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage Site. There are over 40,000 columns of basalt created some 60 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity. I walked down the signposted trail to a closeup view of some columns.

Then, I headed towards the “causeway” which heads out into the sea. By this time, about noon, there were already alot of people here, so I was lucky to get a shot of this wall with no-one posing in front of it.

And, surprisingly, I found a quiet corner along the west side to have my lunch, and to take a few photos of the rocks, some gray and some black. The black rock was warm on my back as enjoyed my lunch and the view across the water of the cliffs I had walked across.

Then, I braved the most popular, and most populous part of the causeway, but this shot, as the causeway reaches out to the sea, is without people as there is a boundary you cannot cross.

Here are some photos of the Giant’s Causeway.

As I walked away from the site, there was a steady stream of people walking towards the causeway. Here are a few views, looking back, as I left the busy scene.

One day, I will revisit the causeway, out of the busy season, to get the photos I wanted. But, I can’t begrudge the visitors their sunny, summer holiday outing, with children happily climbing over the rocks and couples taking pictures of each other.

I took the bus into the nearest town for an inexpensive, light meal, then headed back to Craig Cottage to read and rest and then write at my favourite spot, here by the window. Throughout the evening, I watched the light on the sea and in the clouds and on the golden grass in the field change in a multitude of ways. As the sun slowly lowered in the west, over Benbane Head, there was such a beautiful sunset. When I got up for a closer look, I saw several of the nearby cows watching the sunset! Silhouetted, watching the sunset. It was a rather remarkable sight, and a wonderful way to end my day on the Causeway coast.

Two Travel Days, Two Castles, Two Irelands

I woke up early on my last day on Inishmore, feeling a bit tired and melancholy. I’ve been going pretty steady on this trip, with a lot of highs, so there’s bound to be a low at some point. I packed up and left early for the 2 km walk into town to catch a different ferry, this time to Rossaveel, with a shuttle bus connection to Galway. This ferry was a much nicer boat, and they actually had a safety announcement as we left the harbour! It was a gentle, fair day, so not another rollicking ride. It was a peaceful crossing, with views back to Inishmore and to the distant horizon, which suited my contemplative and slightly sad mood well.

Once the shuttle bus reached Galway – a very pretty city that I wished I could spend some time in – I had 10 minutes to make a transfer to my bus north to Donegal. In the lineup, an older gentleman asked me a question or two, and then when we boarded the bus he asked to sit with me though there were about 40 empty seats! His name was John, he was 78 years old, and he had lived and worked in Boston for many years. He has two sons locally, but his daughter still lives in Boston with his only grandchildren. He has been a widower for 19 years, and we chatted about many topics for the next hour or so, including work, travel, religion, children, pensions, and the wonders of Guinness. He thought that I look very Irish, he said several times that I am a “fine looking woman”, and he remarked that I have nice teeth! Once he knew I was married, (he asked why I don’t wear a ring), he started asking about my mom! “Oh, maybe she’s the woman for me.” He was very charming, and nice to talk to, and he quite unknowingly helped me to feel uplifted again.

The rest of the bus trip to Donegal was enjoyable, and I again alternated between looking at the scenery and reading a good book. It’s very restful to travel by bus! I arrived into the very busy town square in Donegal – with a wedding going on – a couple of “hen parties” – and people wearing jerseys and heading to pubs to watch their local football team take on a rival team. My bed and breakfast was only a three minute walk from the centre of town, and surprisingly quiet, and I was lucky to get this lovely little room with a view out my window of the river and the town castle.

The castle, right in the centre of Donegal town, was built in 1474 by the chief of the O’Donnell family. It is thought that there was an earlier Viking fort on the same site in the 12th century, hence the name Dun na nGall, which translates to “Fort of the Foreigner.” The castle was an important meeting place for Irish chieftans during the Nine Years War as they planned and battled against English forces. After losing the war, the O’Donnell chief destroyed part of the castle, before leaving with other Irish chiefs, in the “Flight of the Earls” to go to Rome and appeal to the Pope and the Spanish to raise an army to help Catholic Ireland reclaim its land from the Protestant English. In 1611, the castle and its lands was gifted by the crown to an English Captain, Basil Brooke, and the castle remained in the Brooke family unti 1898, though it was abandonded a century earlier and fell into ruin .

The Jacobean fireplace, below, is original to the early 1600s and features the coats of arms of Brooke and his wife, as well as ornamentation that includes the tudor rose, an emblem of England, and the Scottish thistle. There are no Irish motifs as the period after the Nine Years War was the time of the “plantation”, when King James of Scotland and England decided to import 200,000 settlers, ninety percent of them lowland Scots, to take up Irish lands and make them their own.

The guided tour at Donegal Castle helped me to connect a few more dots on the timeline of Ireland’s long history of struggle, resistence, and occupation.

The next morning, I headed back up to the town square to catch a bus north to Derry, also called Londonderry, which is in Northern Ireland. The river Foyle divides the town, and the town was also divided by the “troubles” in the 1970s. I crossed over the pedestrian”Peace Bridge”, built to symbolize peace between Ireland and Northern Ireland, to arrive at the train station and pay for my rail journey north to Port Rush in pounds sterling rather than Euros.

It feels different here, in Northern Ireland, and I felt a little guilty and traitorous somehow, feeling that I owe my allegience to Ireland. This is an occupied land, though it has been so for over 400 years, and the people living here belong here too. On the train to Port Rush I was speaking with a young man, surname Benoit, whose Dad is French Canadian, and his mother is English, but he was born and raised here and considers himself Northern Irish. Hopefully Ireland can be reunited one day, peacefully, or perhaps not, peacefully. There have been enough troubles here over the ages.

Which brings me to the beautiful ruins of Dunluce castle on the Antrim coast, dramatically perched on a cliff, and built for defense. We have our modern-day worries and fears of random dangers and acts of violence, but think of what life must have been like under the near-constant threat of raiders, mauraders, and invading armies.

Here are the dramatic views to the west of the castle, with arches lining the white chalk cliffs, and then to the east, directly beside the castle.

After visiting Dunluce castle, I took the local bus a little farther east along the Antrim coast to my bed and breakfast at lovely Craig Cottage where I enjoyed an early night. I was too tired to blog, and was almost falling asleep by 7, but then I started watching the speeches from the Democratic National Convention – first Michelle and Barack Obama (both with amazing speeches), then Chelsea Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, and Tim Kaine. Tonight, I’m tired again from a big walk today, and I’m almost caught up with my blog, so I’ll watch the speeches by Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and lastly Hillary Clinton.

But, I’m off topic. Two days of travel, two castles, and now two Irelands, though I am in Northern Ireland only briefly. Just before I say goodnight, this is the view from the dining room of my bed and breakfast where I have been sitting and blogging for the last hour or so. I also have the same view from my bedroom. Fields, cows with their calves, and the sea, with Scotland just visible in the distance. I’m starting to really like a sea view, Brent!