The Night Before

As we jogged along the road in Cloghane, the American came out of his house with the re-cycling. He cheered us as we hailed him and continued on. It was a small village.

Padraig (pronounced ‘Pohrag’) had introduced himself the night before, by the fire in O’Conner’s. His was the only table free in the hostelry, and he’d kindly waved us all to sit. ‘Us all’ was me, Anne, my sister Hersha and her daughter Maia, and we had finally arrived into the village after a ferry ride and a long drive across the country from Dublin.

Now, as I write this blog, we are back at our abode, and it’s Friday evening. The night before my marathon around the Dingle peninsula. We have spent the day driving a good portion of the route whilst exploring, and it is more undulating than I anticipated. I’m not quite sure what I was thinking really. Any route taking in a coastal road will rise and fall with the jagged contours of the cliffs. 

It’s too late to back out now, we’re here, and so is another sister, Usha, and my nephew Millan who flew over for the weekend. Actually, they’re no longer here. They’ve all gone down to O’Conner’s for some Guinness and good old Irish craic. Yesterday, Padraig introduced us to Michael (pronounced ‘Meehal’), the proprietor of the pub, who, with little prompting, decided to tell us a story. It was a story that he had told many times before apparently, but he decided there were enough new customers to warrant the music to be turned down so he could regale the whole bar. I won’t repeat it, but it was fascinating, involved crashing airplanes, and was delivered well, and, after my marathon, I’m looking forward to another Guinness and a sit by the fire of a very convivial pub.

For now, I’ll try not to get anxious as my kit has been assembled and checked, and my porridge is on to soak overnight. I’ve already had a dream where I believed that one nostril was blocked and that I was developing a cold. And one where I have forgotten to pack the right running shoes. I’m fine and I do have the correct footwear.

This is our second day in Ireland, although yesterday was spent mainly in travelling. Having driven down to Anglesey the night before, we took the ferry over the Irish sea. The others sat on the comfy sofas sideways on from the window, but I faced the horizon head on from a chair because I get seasick easily. This time the waters remained quite placid.

The last time we came to Ireland, it was also by ferry as we wanted to go to Galway, on the west coast. That time we managed to take a wrong turn and ended up driving through the centre of Dublin along the River Liffey. It took quite some time to extricate No such mistake this time, and our journey to the southwest coast was smooth. 

I’ve just been outside with Hersha, who’s come back early with Anne. The skies are dark and clear and we can easily see the Plough and the ‘W’ of Cassiopeia. There is a dusty path of further stars too, as we can faintly see the Milky Way. However I do tomorrow, it’s already been worth it for the landscape, and the skies and the local hospitality. I can do nothing more than to go out there and take it all in, one step at a time.