The Irish Way

 It's gonna be a long travel day, as we are driving across the north of the island, and back to Ireland, so we fill our travel mugs with tea for the road. That's what you do in Ireland - you drink tea.

We drive out of Derry, catching glimpses of politically-charged murals on the sides of houses, businesses and the like. This town has so much history, it spills out and paints itself all over the walls. We are so enthralled, we almost forget that there is an impressive ring fort, Grianan of Aileach, nearby, and pull several u-turns to find ourselves driving up a hill under a cover of morning mist. It gives the fort an eerie, damp feel, almost as if we are travelling back in time upon arriving. But as the mist lifts, the views from atop the stone walls of the surrounding patchwork quilt-like valley are stunning. Inside, there is a tent set up, with a tri-pod, microphones, and nearby, a musician is unpacking her harp...but we have a lot to see and do today, so we don't linger long enough to find out what is going on.

 

Mario on the fort wall

Grianan of Aileach in the morning mist

We keep a close eye on the weather while driving - that's what you do in Ireland, since it can change from minute to minute, or so it seems. We kept our options open when planning, knowing that everything could get overturned by a sudden violent wind, or heavy rain. As I watch the bands of dark clouds make their way over our route, I suggest we forgot a detour up to "Murder Hole Beach". It's supposed to be spectacular, despite the name, but the rain might affect that. Instead, we head straight for our next destination, Glenveagh National Park, looking forward to a walk through a valley, alongside a lake, and towards a castle with magnificent gardens. And the rain seems to have moved past the park already, which is even better news!

Logh Veagh

The walking trail to the Glenveagh castle

The 3-km hiking trail along Loch Veagh is easy, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the views of the lake in the deep valley. Soon, we enter the walls surrounding Glenveagh castle and find ourselves in a beautiful garden - in fact, Glenveagh is absolutely surrounded in a variety of specialty gardens : A Tuscan garden, Victorian "pleasure grounds", a walled garden full of edibles, and several other themed gardens, not to mention a pool and boat house right on the lake. We sit on a bench to eat our sandwiches, and find ourselves simultaneous in the bright sun and spitting rain. Because that's what the weather is like here in Ireland - constantly changing, keeping us on our toes.

The Castle!	The emptied pool, and boathouse beyond
Finding out that apples can be trained!?	A bird steals a blackberry
Artichokes!	A bee on a cosmos flower

I think I enjoyed the walk through the Walled the garden the most - it's the "kitchen" garden, full of edible flowers, herbs and any vegetable that can grow in this climate. What I find curious is that now we find ourselves in late summer, and everything huge, colourful and ripe for picking, but nothing is. Fat pods full of peas are turning brown on limp vines. Red curly lettuce is tall and bolting, which is quite the sight, but certainly no longer tasty. Sure, things like kale and cabbages and artichokes can keep growing, but I am saddened at the sight of so many sculpted apple trees and vines just dropping their fruit onto the ground to rot. At least the game we play of who can identify the most plants is fun. 

Approaching Mount Errigal

View from the coffee look-out point

We continue the trip across the north, past Mount Errigal, the tallest in Ireland, and a conquest for Mario on a future trip. In a small pull-off/look-out point, we have a great chat with a gentleman who runs a mobile coffee shop. His kite, flying over his small camper food truck is what encouraged us to stop, and the conversation is bonus. Also, the fact that the espresso was great, served in an actual cup, and accompanied by a glass of water just about made Mario's day. His comments on the unimportance of good vs. bad wine, and that all you need is something drinkable and cheap, just about ruined mine! Needless to say, I kept my mouth shut, but I took his suggestions of the best Whiskeys in Ireland with a little more than a grain of salt.

Copper Cognac stills used to make Crolly Whiskey

Two tastings - the third is water!

Before stopping for the night, we decide to try one of the two distilleries in the area, Croitli (pronounced Crolly). We opt to follow the full tour, since we are right on time for one, and though the process is similar to rhum, we've never learned the full Whiskey-making process. And since we are in Ireland, it makes sense to know a little about one of their beloved tipples, and taste some, too. Now, I am not the biggest fan of Whiskey. I am not even sure I am a fan in the smallest sense. But I listen to ever word from John Joe, our guide, who actually hails from Glasgow, Scotland, and the most important thing I remember? Irish Whiskey is always spelled with an "E", because it has to be different from Scottish Whiskey. And it is aged for a minimum of 3 years and a day, because it has to be just a bit longer than the 3 years required by Scotland. There's more, but most of it is just to make sure Irish Whiskey is just a bit different, and just a bit better, than the Scots are making. We get to taste some of that "slightly different" Whiskey, and though I am still not a fan, Mario came away with a good bottle to sip on those cold winter nights.

Our final approach to our home base for the next two nights was a little bit sketchy. Up until now, every place has been easy to find, checking has been easy, and the rooms and facilities all acceptable. This time is different : For some reason, when you live in the Irish country side, you don't have a civic address, so no numbers or street signs, but instead, directions are given in old fashioned terms. Because that's how it's done in Ireland, you drive up to the signpost for a neighbouring hostel on the left, where you turn right at the all-grey house, then you continue up the road, looking for the house on the right with the blue fence and stone wall, where you again turn right, and you'll find the key in the door. Tell me that's NOT confusing. What makes it even more confusing is that the road in question looks a whole lot like a farm road, and the neighbouring farmer is moving his cows and has left his gate open, so when you get within 2 minutes of the right house with the blue fence and stone wall, you think you're going to drive onto a private farm road behind that forgotten gate, and so you turn around and start from the first corner again. TWICE. And then you finally give in, and call the host to have her husband come meet you at the hostel, the only landmark you are 100% sure of, only to have him lead you back up the road, where the gate is now closed, and the house and fence and wall are so obvious that you just feel silly. At least we made it, and bonus? We all had a good laugh over it!