It rained on the way from home to the ferry in Fishguard. But, once the ferry had sailed for Ireland, the weather cleared and we enjoyed a wonderful crossing.
Until we got to Rosslare when the rain came once again. I had left the UK with a stinker cold caught on the airplane home from Tokyo. Just my luck. So having left the ferry we popped into the local supermarket to stock up on anti cold medicines. I felt dreadful. The next day dawned.
It was still raining. The major decision was whether to put on the wet weather over trousers and coat. You would think that it was an easy decision. However, if you do wear it you boil from within getting equally moist from perspiration. If you don’t wear it you get wet from the rain. Either way you are doomed. We put it on. We boiled.
The first part of the journey was an easy run. We bypassed Waterford and Cork on fairly fast roads. These roads lead to Kinsale, which is the official start of the Wild Atlantic Way. Lots of big trucks on the road kicked up spray reducing visibility quite a lot at times. Progress slowed.
We briefly stopped in the small seaside township of Dungarvan. We needed to get some more meds to try and keep me alive. Popping into the local pharmacy the first thing you notice is a barista coffee station. Never seen one of those in a pharmacy before. The people in the shop were fantastic. The pharmacist sorted me out with some cough linctus and offered us a coffee! Turns out he fitted the machine for his staff as they all love coffee. How cool is that. We both had a coffee. He would not take any money. So, I put some Euros in a lifeboat donation box on the counter. What is very clear is that if you make the effort to chat you are rewarded with warmth and kindness.
Kinsale was very busy. I guess being the holiday season it was to be expected. But the number of tourist coaches was probably more than the small town can handle. We dropped into the tourist information office to get a map. We did not hang around long and headed for the Lusitania signal tower on the Old Head of Kinsale.
We got there and could not see a thing for thick fog.
We ended a thoroughly wet day with a brief stop in Timoleague. It is a delightful spot. Then we headed for our night’s stay at Joans Bed and Breakfast just south of Clonakilty.
We were met with a big pot of tea and a very warm Irish Welcome. Now we have to dry out our gear ready for tomorrow. The forecast is better so hopefully we can continue in better weather. Just need to get rid of this awful cold.
Despite feeling dreadful and the unfriendly weather I am still delighted to be doing this. There is so much more to come. 179 miles under the belt. A mugshot to finish.
Woodend Wanderer 