Traveling Nancy

Traveling around the world as far as I can go.


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Fahamore to Camp and Tralee

After walking along the wonderful 6+ mile beach a couple of days ago, we arrived at Fahamore and stopped  to have a late lunch at Spillane’s Pub.  We discovered that it was closed.  A young woman who owned the Palm Road on her bicycle with her daughter .  She would like some tea. So we sat  down to rest for a bit.    We still had 10 km to go to get to Castlegregory.   She suggested that some people take a ride to Castlegory and then get a ride back in the morning to do that portion of the walk.   I thought that was a wonderful idea.

We were taken to the Castle B&B which was absolutely beautiful place.  That is where I did the postings about our climb over the mountain.  It was so wonderful to relax for the evening.

 

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I loved sitting around in the living room by the fireplace.

We had dinner at Pisces Restaurant where I had the most scrumptious fish curry and enjoyed talking with the couples from Chicago that we had met in Cloghane.  I haven’t been photographing our meals, but I need to say that we have been eating some of the best meals I have ever had.

In the morning after a great smoked salmon (lox) omelet breakfast were driven back to Fahamore to start our walk for the day.  This would be the last time we would see Dana & Bruce so I took a photo with Dana.  I had to remember the guy who helped me out on the mountain.

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We we started out walking on the beach again.

image.Saw the fishermen in their boats.

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Looked back at the mountains.

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We we could look back and see one of the  Magharee Island, also known as “Seven Hogs” which were inhabited up until 1980’s  Now they only serve a grazing for the livestock of several farmers. Up until recently , many would swim their cattle and sheep across to the islands at low tide, rowing alongside them in traditional Currachs or other small boats.  Mary, our taxi driver, told us that there is one house left there and it can be renter.  But if you are taken out there and the weather changes, you are stuck until it changes.

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Sometimes we had to walk right through the seaweed,

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We we also walked across grassy knolls.

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I loved this purple house up on the hill.  Purple houses work here.
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Loved the rocky beach views.

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When we arrived back in Castlegregory, we stopped for lunch at Mo’s Deli for a sandwich.   There were two young children with their grandmother.  One of them was eating the cheese sandwich with a milkshake.   Another one was eating a giant  piece of chocolate cake with her milkshake.   I took a photo, but the grandmother asked me not to post it on the web.

After lunch we walked on a road for a while.  We passed horses grazing on the beach.

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Crossed the Curaheen River (which again looks like a stream).

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Loved the view of the waves coming onto the beach.

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Found some poppies.

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Walked across fields of flowers.

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Then we came back to the beach walk again.

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This time we had to climb over some rocky outcrops to avoid being hit by the waves of the incoming tide.

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I have done that more times than I can count on the Oregon coast. But I couldn’t help but think about what it would’ve been like trying to get by there on the rough seas day.

We came across the sculpture that I loved.

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Walked by the Church of Ireland Kilgobbi after we left the beach.

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Saw very old crypts on the church’s grounds.

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This one was from 1835,

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took more photos of weed flowers.

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Then after 16.5 miles ended up back at James Ashes Pub in Camp for tea before we took a bus back to Tralee.  This was one of our favorite pubs.

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Mary had the great idea of asking the bus driver to let us off near the Brandon Hotel so we would be back at Greenview B&B.  Our hostess, Mary, dried some items for us and we went back to the Grand Hotel where, again, I had the best crab cakes I have ever eaten.  More ice-cream with butternut sauce and off to bed.  Have I told you that I have ice-cream almost every day – like on the Camino – but here they almost always serve 3 scoops.  Unlike the Camino I don’t think I am losing any weight.

Off to Galway tomorrow to meet up with David Moran.  I am so excited about seeing him.


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Tralee to Camp

The performance last night was wonderful. Peter, Mary and I all had a good time.  I loved the singing in Gaelic and the dancing (especially the children in the performances) was so fantastically energetic.  I know that Peter would have liked us to go out with him after the show, but knowing that I had to get up by 7:00 to eat breakfast and go hiking made that impossible for me.  I needed to be in bed by 11:00.

We sure know we are in Ireland when they keep saying that the next day’s weather will be better and we wake up to the drizzling day.  Actually, it was a bit warmer than yesterday and, besides, the rain is not going to stop us.

We walked along the Tralee Ship Canal which had been built to link Tralee to the sea at Blennerville.  The canal is about 2km long and was only open from 1846 to 1930s when a deep water quay was built at Fenit.

Blennerville was the point of departure for emigrants from Kerry during the Great Famine (1845 – 1850).   We took the time to visit the Blennerville Windmill which was built in 1800.  It fell into ruin by 1846, but was restored in 1981.  Now it is the largest working windmill in Britain and Ireland.

Today’s was literally in the fog for most of the way.  You can see how foggy it was in the following photo.

We were walking in the fog.

Sometimes the fog would lift.  You can see Mary on the trail.

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We walked on the stony paths, across the rough paths, through the bog, over slippery rocks, and crossed narrow bridges over three rivers.  The rivers seemed more like beautiful stream beds.

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Curraheen River

Curraheen River

 

Derryquay River

Derryquay River

Derrymore River

Derrymore River

Today’s walk is also part of the Kerry Camino which walks in the footsteps of St. Brendon.  We actually came to Camino stamping stations where I put stamps into my real passport.

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There was even a cairn like we saw on the Camino in Spain.

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Mary likes to take photos of flowers and I took one of this daisy with water droplets all over it.

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We did have some views of the ocean when the fog occasionally lifted.

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The green fields sometimes look like blankets of velvet.

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We passed by the remains of the Killelton Oratory which was a 10th or 11th Century small church.  Very little remains except the doorway.

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Although today’s hike had many rocky, slippery, and boggy spots (I actually found myself suddenly on the ground 2 times), there were also gentle and grassy paths.

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I was very tired we finally reached Camp. We stopped at a pub and had dinner with another hiker, Josephine.  Then we were picked up by Valerie and taken to the Lurraga House B&B.  We have a great room and it is now time to go to sleep.


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Training for Ireland and Ready to Leave for Ireland.

I am leaving for Ireland tomorrow, May 13th.  The distances we will have to walk each day make me a little nervous. On the Camino I could decide each day how far to go depending on how I felt. Although I did a 20 mile (32 km) day, I averaged about 10 miles (16 km) per day. In Ireland our bed and breakfasts are set so we have to walk the distance and will be averaging about 13.5 miles (21.7km) per day.  Well, I still believe that each moment is a unrepeatable miracle so step by step we will do this.

I thought I would let you know a bit about how I have been training.

  • Weekly hikes with Trails Club of Oregon of about 4 – 6 miles each.
  • Weekly hikes with Cascade Prime Timers (mostly in Forest Park) of about 4.5 miles each.
  • Several days on the treadmill averaging 3 – 6 miles each.
  • About 7 hikes with my friend, Ann Pickar.  Thank you, Ann, for helping me train. We walked between 9 and 13 miles each time.  Some of them were:
    • Multnomah Falls – almost to Larch Mountain – Waheenah Falls and back
    • Dry Creek Falls to Herman Creek
    • Wilson River
    • Banks/Vernonia Trail
    • Upper and Lower Sandy River Trail
    • Eagle Creek
    • Upper McCord Creek Falls, Elowaa Falls – Eagle Creek and back

I didn’t take many photos on these hikes, but here are a few from the last one.

Upper McLoud Creek Falls.

Upper McCloud Creek Falls

Elowaa Falls - Oregon.

Elowaa Falls

View of Columbia Gorge

View of Columbia Gorge from near Elowaa Falls

I love Oregon.  We have so many beautiful places to hike.  I know Ireland will be fantastic and I am looking so forward to walking with my friend, Mary Riverstone Williams, who I met walking from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre and Muxia in October of 2015.  We had such a wonderful time on the last leg of my Camino and I know our time in Ireland will be rewarding.  Walking in Ireland will also give me the opportunity to quietly process and grieve for the loss of my brother, Bob.  My walking the Camino Frances taught me the healing power of quietly walking step by step.

We will be walking 6 days on the Kerry Way, 8 days on the Dingle Way, 8 days on the West of Ireland Walk including a trip to the Aran Isle, and 6 days on the Burren Way.  I hope you enjoy following me on my new adventure.