Day One

Day 1, October 2, 2010

Arrived at Shannon Airport in the dark almost an hour ahead of schedule after a smooth flight with little turbulence and a lot of really nasty food. Minimal and perfunctory customs that required a quick look at our passports, handing in cards that said where we were going to be, and then Chip and Tim rented the cars (a Ford and an Opal), we grabbed some coffee and croissants, hit the ATMs and currency exchange, and took off into the early morning dawn. No traffic.

Veered off the main road in Ennistymon, a cute little town lined with pastel colored store fronts, big grocery store, and cyber café, onto a tube road with hedgerows and pull-outs. Our cottage, painted white with bright red door is off a little lane and were welcomed with Irish soda bread, a wedge of local Swiss cheese and a bottle of wine. Heat on but it takes about 2 days to get the place warm. Fiddled with the peat stove using small bricks of kerosene to light it off, not easy, but finally got it going. Piet rested while we went off to shop for food and necessities, Chip taking photos of the town while we shopped. And then when we got home all crashed for an hour or so before we took off for the Cliffs of Mohr, taking a back road that eventually dumped us onto the main coastal thoroughfare and a spectacular view of Galway Bay and the Aran Islands. Parked at the carpark for the Cliffs along with coaches of tourists, when it started to rain. Went to the visitor center built into the hill before venturing out along the walks where musicians (guy with pennywhistle and woman playing a harp) lined the walk. Stood in the wind and rain at the top of one of the lookouts and watched surf pound the cliffs.
Next stop Lahinch, where we stopped at the pitch-and-putt parking lot and watched kite surfers on the beach. Crazy guys in rough surf and high wind. Parked in town and stopped at Flanagan’s Pub where Piet and I had tea and the rest had a brew and watched the Ryder cup golf event, and then wandered around. I bought a hand-knit sweater/jacket with pockets and then we had an early dinner at the Cornerstone Pub of fresh mussels, beautiful squash soup, Irish stew, fish and chips. Chip had lamb livers. After supper, we wandered down behind the pub to the beach to watch the surfers trying to ride big sloppy, broken waves, as the sun started to go down behind them. We went down on the sand and walked along the beach for a stretch, with Leila dipping her toes in the sea. We walked up past Looney’s Pub back to the cars and drove home. We pretended to stay awake for a while until Chip began talking gibberish, fell asleep on the couch and spilled his Irish whiskey in Tim’s lap. Then we straggled off to bed early (by 8) where we slept under thick comforters like stones. Chip, Tim, and Piet sawing wood pretty good.

HvL

Facilities report: It had been stated in the literature that the cottage was equipped with combination Euro 220 and US 110 electricity outlets. Also that internet access was available. Tim seized the possibilities and set up the blog, imagining us leisurely making entries from the cottage while charging all our electrical devices in the convenient 110 electrical outlets. Things were not quite as promised. True, there are 110 outlets in several locations in the cottage, which work perfectly except for the fact that electricity doesn’t actually come out of them. They look cute though. There is no obvious way to activate them, in spite of a thorough search of the premises for switches and hidden panels. Internet access is available if you consider that statement to mean in the country of Ireland. The closest internet café is in the nearby village of Ennistymon, which Tim will visit this morning (Sunday) in hopes of uploading our first blog entry, while at the same time trying to go on line and see if anyone has been using his lost debit card, which was discovered missing yesterday afternoon. Don’t ask. No idea.

THG

PS; Hilly found Tim's debit card on the ground outside the cottage. Evidently it had escaped his manpurse because he hadn't taken proper care in securing it. Much celebration ensued.

Haven't quite figured out how to arrange photos in the blog, so pardon the randomness. Internet real slow so it's a cumbersome process. Finally found an internet cafe that works in Doolin. I better go back and rescue the women who I left foraging in a nearby sweater shop.

THG