Greetings from Ireland, a really cool country. We’re happy to report that we did successfully have a marathon day of getting our leaf spring fixed and new tires in Seville before driving to Bilboa over 2 days to meet up with Ivan and get the ferry! Now we’ve been in Ireland since May 1 and we’re loving it. It could be a bit warmer though so we didn’t have to wear so many layers!
It was upon a cursory inspection that Jon noticed that the cheeks that hold the passenger rear leaf spring in place had cracked (could it have been the endless speed bumps in Morocco??) and the only thing holding the leaf spring on was the steel under storage box. Once we knew how that looked, we were nervous driving the 100km to a suspension shop in Seville but it all worked out. Ivan talked in Spanish to the mechanic on the phone to beg that he make room for us in his schedule and in the end, he did so we got right in. The mechanic made a thicker version of the side supports and put it all back together. It took several hours. Once out of that shop, we immediately drove to the tire shop where we had already planned to get the tires put on that had been shipped from Italy. We really needed them. It was good to have those projects behind us and we could start the drive to Bilboa with new tread.
Along the way, we stopped for the night and then I had one of those epic morning runs you get every once in a while – this one through the cork and oak orchards where the black pigs feed on acorns, all on a quiet back road full of poppies. It was just so beautiful and it went on and on. There are so many great places to park up in quiet towns through the parts of Europe we’ve visited.
We met up with Ivan outside of Bilboa at Gorbeiako Park so that we could climb Mt Gorbea the next day. Lots of horses and big scenery. We had happy hour outside for about 10 minutes before it started to rain. We may think we’re going to be traveling around in summer but what kind of summer its going to feel like we don’t know! My guess is it will probably be really good for our skin!
We took Brittany Ferries to Ireland and had a cabin for the 28 hour sail. It was such a nice ship. The Atlantic was like a pond for the duration and we had a relaxing time. I much prefer this to RORO shipping because it was good to know our truck was underneath us. I like how our room had a lighted painting of a window.
We were so excited to get to Ireland. We just had to remember to always STAY LEFT! It’s when you’re tired or distracted that you revert to driving on the right but it’s becoming easier. It just seemed like after all those years living aboard and working in Boston with the Irish bars we used to go to, that now we were going to be doing the real thing!! And on that note, it is actually 15 years ago this week that we worked our last day. We would travel the US for 3 months in a little camper backpacking as much as we could and then sail off for a world tour. And we did just that. It has been one grand adventure.
The first stop was visiting fellow overlanders Marcus & Julie of Cuthbert because they live in Ireland now. We’ve followed their helpful overlanding blog for years now and then we became friends when we finally met in Alaska. We spent a couple of days catching up, going to an Irish pub for our first Guinness on site, touring their lovely town, going out for great meals and walks. Walking on the beach, we saw the first cold water swimmers. It is a thing here to swim in the freezing cold ocean and then hop right into a portable sauna to warm back up. A different kind of business opportunity.
It was so nice to have a destination of friends for the first few days and to arrive to a home cooked dinner. Their neighbor had a really funny horse with one blue eye. If you stood at the edge of the field she wouldn’t necessarily come over but if you acted like a Monty Python horse and hopped along the field edge, then she would come tearing over and she loved you!
Armed with ideas and insider info from Marcus & Julie, we said goodbye and set off over the green fields headed south. Our plan was to do a loop over a month, then cross to Scotland but once we got going, we realized that we like it here so much that we can’t rush it. And that UK would deserve the same amount of time so we have changed plans to spend the time here and save UK for next year. We have to do the Schengen shuffle for our visas in Europe and so spending time in the UK will help reset our visas for a summer in the Dolomites and Alps. Hopefully that will all work out.
So off we went with first stop Kilkenny. This town has a medieval castle, a massive green lawn, is the home of the Irish game of Hurling and was our first taste of trad (traditional) music. Its really fun to sing and tap along to live music and feel all that energy that this culture has. If you’re not feeling like it is a drinking night, there is a 0.0 Guinness available but we haven’t felt like trying it yet! I read that it wasn’t that long ago that up to a pint of Guinness daily was recommended to pregnant women to prevent anemia. They’ve done away with that recommendation now but there are still lots of old signs around saying that Guinness is good for you.
We spent a day on the Waterford Greenway bike path. It felt like any other rail trail really but nicely done and we could park overnight there. We stopped at a cafe on the path and had a hot chocolate. The cafes here have been really good.
We booked a ferry to Great Saltee Island to see the puffins, razorbills and gannets nesting. It was a fantastic day on this park island full of wildflowers and birds. The puffins remind me of penguins but they aren’t related and they also aren’t quite as funny because they aren’t dismantling each other’s nests when one isn’t looking!
We headed in to Cobh where the Titanic last left from before sinking. This area was also where a lot of the infamous famine ships left from. Ireland has an intense history for sure. Not far from here is the Fastnet rock and lighthouse. This was the last point that the immigrants could see of their homeland before heading across the Atlantic to the US. Lot’s of sad stories there. We also hit one one of the pubs for some music here.
We’ve visited several other towns that I’ve started to get mixed up now. But they’ve all been nice to walk around in.
We started driving out the peninsulas on the southern side of the island, the first being Mizen Head which is known for spectacular sea cliffs. They had nice paths out to the old signal station with a museum full of handpainted oil on canvas murals to depict the wildlife of the point. We saw basking sharks here. They come close to shore in May to feed on plankton and we could see several from the cliffs. We walked down to a beautiful beach too. You can park overnight in the parking lot with a lovely view and it was such a beautiful, windless day we could have a drink outside taking it all in.
After hearing so much about Ireland’s narrow roads we can now say from first hand experience that they are indeed narrow and lumpy but doable with our truck and we can generally go wherever we want to. Jon read something that said they feel like a full 2 lane road is a waste of money and prefer just moving aside to pass and then continuing on a single lane road. So that’s what we do. So far we still have our side mirrors!! It feels ripe for a head on collision though.
We toured the Dunlough Fort ruin the next morning. There are many of these ruined castles throughout the country.
Bantry was a cute little town as well and we learned about Ireland’s “Tidy Towns” awards. The tidier the town, the more tourists will come I guess. We like how Ireland is so ship shape. Everything seems so new and maintained. The houses are in great shape and they are painted so colorfully. The murals are beautiful and really dress things up. Speaking of tidy, we were warned by Marcus & Julie that we’d have trouble throwing away trash in this country and indeed, this is true! Trash cans are few & far between and when there is one, the hole is so small that you can’t fit a bag into it. They deliberately make the hole smaller by covering the opening up to keep you from being able to throw things away. Similar to Japan, you’re supposed to bring your trash “home”. So we have to use more bags to make little bags to disperse our trash through the little slots we find. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have much room now at home for all the trash.
Water on the other hand is no problem. We have all the water we want and lately, more than enough weather too! There’s a reason why the cows & sheep are fat and they have time to lay around in the fields doing nothing because they’re stuffed! Plenty of rain. The grass is so green the cows just pop out of the scenery and they are of course very clean looking because they have a continuous bath.
We took a little cable car out to a Dursey Island to hike around and we saw basking sharks there too. There are a lot of cool things to do and this is one of them.
Our first national park was Killarney NP. It was full of mature trees, incredible flower gardens, jaunting carts pulled by hairy horses and old ruins. We did the Gap of Dunloe boat & bike tour where you spend 1.5 hours on a boat riding through a series of interconnected lakes with your bike onboard and then when you get off, you bike up a pass and back down into town 23km. At one point on the boat ride, you have to get out and walk a trail across a bridge while the boat crew pull the boat through the shallows. We had our lunch sitting by one of the lakes in the sun.
Jon & I climbed up Ireland’s tallest mountain which is easier than pronouncing it. Carrauntoohil Mountain is 3400 feet tall and we did it on an unsettled day so we got our share of wind & rain but it still felt good to be out there and get a good workout.
We did a driving loop of the Derry peninsula visiting ring forts, beaches, gardens and then whooped it up for Ivan’s birthday in the town of Sneem. He took us out for a delicious dinner (we all got the seafood pie) and then we followed that up with bourbon chocolate pecan pie at our place! Both the restaurant food and the grocery stores have been great here and we’re eating well. I love to go out someplace and have a hard time deciding what to order because I want everything. Doesn’t happen to me in most countries.
We’ve really been enjoying the pub scene here. They’re just fun. I didn’t know much about the culture of trad (traditional) music here but there’s almost always a pub to duck into and listen to some and it can be so good! I like how the glass you have is the beer you’re drinking. Every brand has their own glass. Sometimes, you can just ride up on your horse and park it outside.
We’ve felt very welcome here. We might not understand what everyone is saying to us even though it is still technically English, but they say it with a smile and have been very helpful.
Well, I think I’d better stop here. We’re moving towards the west coast trying to get a dive lined up to see the kelp beds. Hopefully the sun will come out for it.
