Continued from Westport Day 1 Part 1.
OK, let’s head towards another crest. I am hot and very thirsty. All of us are very thirsty now, shoulda brought water!!
Now where do we go…
The going gets tough.
We’ve come a long way. Our car is parked at that cliff farthest from us.
Can you spot little mountain goat?
Moss!!!!
JB gives moss a try.
OK, let’s go up this crest and see where are at.
More moss!!!
We’ve hiked quite a far distance.
And yet…there’s still so much to go to the peak and it seems to get steeper… Disappointingly, we decided that this is as far as we’ll get today with no water or food with us. It’s taken us about an hour to come all the way up here.
Self timer photo!
Time to head back down.
A difficult descending stretch. JB actually took a fall not too long after this photo was taken. Fortunately, she just landed on her butt and no major damage except for her pride. Though, if one of us takes a big fall over here…help will not be anywhere close by…We’ve run into only 2 other hikers on the way up the cliffs…I try not to think about that.
The path splits. Go up the man made stairs over the hills, or blaze your own path around the hills on flatter ground?
RL and JB elect to go around the hill.
I decide to go up the rock stairs.
Still got a long way to go. But I am feeling more energetic now that I am heading closer to the car where I’ve got a big bottle of water waiting for me.
I hike and hike and hike, then I hear RL’s voice far behind me. Apparently they went part way around the hill, but then had to turn around because they couldn’t find their way back to the main trail. Ha!! That decides it, man-made is better than nature!!
Photo from JB’s camera from when the girls caught back up to me.
Big mud stain from when JB slipped and fell on her butt. We later found out that it wasn’t just her pride that’s been damaged, the glass backing of the phone in her jacket also shattered when she fell…
Finally backed the paved trail. It deceived us!!! Had we known that this nice trail ends quickly, we probably would have brought food and water!!
Car in sight, almost to water!
Yes!!! WATER!!!!! That whole hike took us about 2 hours. Amazing views. RL regrets not making it all the way to the top, but I’ve got no regrets.
Got in our car, drank tons of water and started driving back down. The lower gate was closed for some reason…fortunately, it wasn’t locked.
Grrrr!!! This car passed me in a no passing zone, and I was going the speed limit!!! I then spent the next 15 minutes flying through the narrow curves chasing it down and keeping up! It was fun…I must say.
The hike took much longer than anticipated, and we’ve got a long way to drive still to Westport, so quick sandwich at the gas station. Mayo sandwich with chicken in it…
Made it back to Donegal, this time just passing through. This traffic circle is actually a traffic heart, since it’s shaped like a heart.
The girls wanted to check out this craft village….I didn’t. It was a dud, good! Let’s get back on the road!
The hike finally gets RL tired…
Hah, she sensed me taking photos of her sleeping.
She didn’t catch me this time.
People in Sligo are asshole drivers. Speaking of drivers in Ireland, when you yield to let someone pass on a narrow road, the Irish keep their hands on the steering wheel, but would give you an index finger as a thanks instead of a full hand wave.
RL wanted to stop by another castle on the way to Westport. Ballymote Castle. At least this castle is on the way to Westport.
Back on the road. After a whole day of beautiful weather, it takes a turn.
Then the rain comes.
Finally reached Westport…I didn’t realize it, but I’ve been driving for almost 4 hours since leaving the cliffs earlier. Been a long day.
Found our hotel. They’ve got underground parking. allegedly.
Rainbow!
Photos can’t do this place justice, the parking lot of CRAMPED. The entrance into the car park is barely wider than the width of a car.
I did manage to find one of the larger spots here.
This is what $125 a night gets you in Westport.
A giant room, has a dresser but does not have a desk!!
Finally, a regular sized shower.
Starving, time for dinner.
This is probably the most famous spot in town, Matt Molloy’s pub.
Our dinner spot is through this little tunnel.
Fancy!
I’ve got jugs.
Craft brewery here in Ireland. Small enough for them to hand write dates on their bottles.
Lamb for RL.
Steak for JB.
Monk fish for me. Yum!! I wanted seafood, but this was just a little bit too fancy for me.
After dinner, we went back to our hotel to rest a bit before the live music starts up in bars after 9:30pm. Our server at dinner suggested this place if we wanted a more quiet spot other than Matt Molloy’s.
All the Irish musicians all know the same traditional songs.
This local guy comes stumbling in completely wasted. He knows one of the musician, but he’s so drunk that they eventually kick him out of the bar. LOL!!
American flags.
Penny whistle, neat. They even sang one song here tonight, it was amazing, really enjoyed that number.
Tired, time to head to bed. As we were leaving, a local patron overheard that that we were from Austin and told JB that he had gone there in 1982 for rugby tournament and that the team in Austin was the only team to beat them. Apparently, they stole the lone star flag from the courthouse and he’s still got the flag at home. LOL!!!
To be continued at Westport Day 2.