Dog Days!

Thursday August 31, 2023

It's the last day of August, and nothing better than spending it with the dogs--a sheepdog, that is, along with a rainbow!   We are still looking for the pot of gold, but enjoyed watching border collie Glenn, work with his trainer to round up the sheep and bring them in.  The trainer explained they normally go through the herding process 4 times a year: 1) to shear the sheep, 2) to "dip" them (to get rid of parasites) 3) to breed them, and 4) to gather them for sale.

The sheep graze on thousands of acres of land.  They roam freely along the hills, and several farmers will work together to round up the herds, and get them separated by farm.  The sheep are marked with a color and brand to help identify them, and all of them are required by the government to be tagged. 

It was fascinating to watch the trainer and dog interact and to observe the control he had over the dog.   Glenn is 5 years old and did an amazing job of gathering the sheep.  The trainer explained the greatest reward was to give the dog another "run" with the sheep!

We then travelled down the road and were stopped multiple times by sheep in the middle of the road....

...and by crazy bicyclists in the middle of the road!  (Our driver called these Mamils-middleaged men in lycra, or organ donors!  He got a laugh out of that one.)

We were on our way to see  Killary Fjord, a long narrow body of water carved out by a glacier. 

Out in the water were mussel farms...the mollusks are growing on hanging nets in the cold seawater.  Mussels are quite a delicacy here.

We had the afternoon open to visit Westport House, the estate of English Lord Browne.

It is a stately mansion, passed down through generations to 5 daughters, who ultimately could not afford to maintain it, and it was purchased in 2017 by local investors who are in the process of restoring and preserving it.  A few of the daughters still live on a piece of land of the estate.  

The grounds are huge and beautiful...Those are sheep in the yard behind Jim!

Westport is one of the few "planned" towns in the 1760's, and the square is actually an octagon, surrounded by 30 townhomes which are now shops and markets.  There are no stop signs, as traffic is supposed to be "friendly".  We were surprised to find out that Westport supplies more than 90 of the world's botox supply!! (No wonder everyone here is smiling!)  A drug supplier (Allergan) employs more than 1200 people at their plant on the edge of town.

It's a colorful town with quite a personality.  They have won the "tidy town" award three different times!

They converted old phone booths into a more useful purpose!

The town is lively and friendly and everyone seems to know everyone.  Our guide led us into two different well-known pubs and we sampled Poitin, derived from the brewing process (another word for moonshine!) as well as local beer Mescun.

We also ventured into a pub to celebrate son-in-law Kurtis' birthday today! Another dog-gone good reason for a Guinness!

West to Westport

Wednesday August 30, 2023

We took off this morning in a light misty rain.  Our tour director PJ, says the weather has been unseasonably wet and cool for this time of year, but it hasn't bothered us so far.

 

We stopped in Donegal at a 5th generation family- owned business called Triona.   They treated us to Irish coffee as they demonstrated the art of handweaving, using lambswool and an elaborate century-old loom.  Denis (one of the family who is 75 years old) worked the loom with his expert skill.

They produce fabric which is then tailored into capes, blazers, jackets, scarves, etc. with beautiful craftsmanship and top quality.

I made the mistake of trying on a cape, made with dyed wool of their secret family recipe for the dye, inspired by the heather on the hills of Ireland.   It's coming home with me.  However, I'm worried that my suitcase is shrinking....

We saw the Donegal Castle which sits right on the street in the center of town, but no time for a tour.

We were surprised to see evidence of fall arriving with the changing leaves.

We headed west through some beautiful countryside and hills on our way to Westport.

It was a longer drive than usual, but we are now back in the Republic of Ireland, in County Mayo.  We are staying at the Wyatt hotel, right on the town square (really an octagon) in Westport.  There will be more time to explore tomorrow.

And Happy birthday to son Tom!  We are drinking a Guinness in his honor !

A Causeway and a Cause

 Tuesday August 29, 2023

The Giant's Causeway is a world heritage site in northern Ireland.  It is an amazing structure of 40,000 stone hexagons formed by a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago.  The tops of the basalt columns form stepping stones which have been weathered over the years.  The legend is that a giant built the causeway trying to cross to Scotland to dual with a foe. (Scotland is only 12 miles away!)

It was a little treacherous trying to cross over the rocks leading to the ocean, but the views were stunning!

We didn't have enough time to hike the entire trail around the causeway, but were able to get far enough to see the giant's pipe organ...more columns on the side of the hill.

On the way out, we drove by the Dunluce Castle, which is now in ruins.   It sits high on the side of a cliff, and back in 1639, dinner was interrupted when part of the kitchen fell into the sea taking the servants with it.  The lady of the castle packed up and moved inland!

From there we drove to Derry, sometimes called Londonderry, a city with quite a stormy past.   This city has been in turmoil for hundreds of years with people fighting for a cause--either for territory, religion or civil rights.  They call these times the "Troubles".   Our local guide was proud to tell us, "we have been at peace for the past 25 years!" Yikes, that isn't really very long.  The peace bridge which we can see out of our hotel window is a symbol of peace, as it connects the Protestant waterside (east bank) and Catholic (west bank) sides of the city. 

Derry was a critical port--one of the most western points of Europe in the Atlantic Ocean.  There have been conflicts for hundreds of years over ruling the land.  The British took control over a section of the land and built a walled city in an attempt to take over.  The walled city was populated and manned by British armies for years; the walls have never been breached. The cannons still show up in the walls. 

Our guide shared stories about growing up in the area, and never being able to come close to the walled city--there were a series of checkpoints, soldiers on top of the walls and it was dangerous. As a child, she was sent away to live with a family in France to avoid the violence.

 Derry is the site of "Bloody Sunday" in January 1972 when British soldiers shot unarmed civilians who were fighting for their cause of religious freedom and 14 people died.  There are murals and monuments to those people.  I remember watching the news stories about it.

I also noticed this IRA sign on one of the posts as we were driving by.

Today the walled city is open to all.  It is a commercial area with restaurants, shops and museums, with a great viewpoint over the city.  You can see how the British kept an eye on what was going on!

We had a group dinner at the Walled City Brewery which was the former naval base.  

And then, Jim and I stopped for a beer in the oldest bar in Derry--just cause!

Boats and more Belfast

 Monday August 28, 2023

We woke up to sunshine outside our window this morning at Hilton Belfast--perfect for our city walking tour.  It was really busy, and we were told one of the reasons is that it is a "bank holiday".  When we asked what they were celebrating, they said, the last day of summer!

Belfast is located right on the Irish sea and is one of the largest ship building ports in the world.  The Titanic was built here, and they claim it was the largest man- made moving object of its time.  

The Titanic museum is a huge structure, six stories tall (the height of a ship's bow) and the four corners of the building represent the bows of many ships built in this shipyard. The names of all of the ships built here end in ic--Titanic, Oceanic, Nomadic, etc.

The museum was very well done, explaining the shipbuilding process, showing the process of outfitting the ship, the difference between 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class passenger quarters, the number of crew assigned, supplies loaded, etc.

Our entry ticket was a replica of the actual ticket for the Titanic.  

We were able to see the actual place the Titanic sat before it was launched. The tall posts were the markers for the sides of the ship, and you can see the water in the background.  There were pictures of the huge launch party bidding them farewell in 1912.

The story of the ship going down is a sad one, and the exhibits shared messages transmitted after the Titanic hit the iceberg, and the responses from nearby ships.  There were also artifacts, stories from survivors, and a full wall of names of the passengers.  703 saved and 1512 lost.

Leaving on a somber note, we visited a more lively area--the City Center.  This sculpture greets visitors in the area, and was described by our guide as "The Thing with the Ring", but is officially called the Beacon of Hope, a symbol of Hope and Peace in Belfast.

We met our guide in Donegall Square at City Hall, which is really a visitor center, celebrating the area and its history.   We found out that Van Morrison and Liam Neeson call Belfast home.  Several inventions came from Belfast, including Massey Ferguson tractors, the first portable defibrillator, milk of magnesia, and the Dunlop tire!

Looking down the street, you can see the Albert clock tower, built as a memorial to Prince Albert in 1865-69.  It is slightly leaning, because of the wood foundation.

Other facts about Belfast--the largest bank heist in Ireland occurred in Belfast, and the bandits made off with $21million!  (They were never caught.)  Belfast suffered extensive bombing during WWII, completely destroying many of their buildings.  They were a target because of the shipbuilding and manufacture of many war goods. Although Northern Ireland was involved in the war, the Republic of Ireland was neutral. It's surprising an island the size of Indiana can be so separated.

We spent the afternoon strolling through the shopping areas.  The guide explained that the area was deserted during the period of uprising, and they have worked hard to revive activty and make it a safe place to visit.  There was lots of shopping and markets--cute small shops and large modern malls, and lots of pubs and eateries down alleyways. 

And check this out!!!  Yes, we went in!

We stopped at the oldest bar in Belfast--White's bar, established in 610!

We've now had a beer in the oldest bar in Dublin and in Belfast...is there a pattern here?