My early morning wake-ups continue. Today I woke up at 05:45. Sweet mother of all that's holy can I please stop doing that? I tried to go back to sleep but by half six I was checking out Facebook and very much awake. The hostel was quiet as I had breakfast and got myself and Minty ready to go. I left before another person woke up. It was a long drive to Burtonport - over an hour and a half - and I made it longer by putting the wrong destination into google maps and ending up going a very circuitous route down tiny little back roads and ending up 10 miles from where I was supposed to be. I did eventually find the petrol station where Tim had left me on April 2nd before leaving for home. I remember how sad I felt as I walked down the road toward Dungloe. This time I was buying petrol and asking where the best place would be to leave Minty. There was a wee car park down by the pier and I could leave him there for the day, no bother. It was a km down the road but sure a km is nothing and I was fine with adding that little bit to the journey. Having parked Minty I strolled back up to the road to Kincasslagh. It had taken so long to get to Burtonport I needed to go to the bathroom before I started the walk. I saw a woman who was just opening up the Maritime Museum and I asked if she wouldn't mind if I used the bathroom. She was more than happy to oblige. However, I noticed that my camera wasn't where it should have been on my belt as I undid it. I'd left it in Minty half a click down the road. So I exited the museum and walked back down the hill to get my camera. As I walked by the museum for the second time the friendly woman smiled an waved at me and wished me a good walk.
With two delays on top of a long journey to get there, I was already running behind schedule as I set off northwards. It was a hilly and winding road but thankfully not too busy. The five miles to Kincasslagh went by quickly. I walked past a beach where a man left two dogs out of his car to have a run and then preceded to drive along the beach after them. The dogs needed exercise but he bloody well wasn't getting any, As I walked further along I met a teenage girl taking her young (8 month-old) collie for a walk. He was pulling on his lead and as she came closer she said, "He's a bit funny with strangers - I don't know how he'll react. He might bark at you." And then he did. Whether it was my bright yellow jacket or the shades, he took a dislike to me. "I'm sorry. He's such a wee dipshit. Doesn't have two brain cells in his head at all. He got knocked down a couple of weeks ago and he still chases cars." Along the road another dog who was annoyed that a stranger was walking on his turf started barking too. This was the land where the dogs were kings and the humans drove them to the beach.
The views to my left were stunning but after Kincasslagh I had my back to the sea as I walked on to Annagry. This was apparently the home of Clannad and Enya. I didn't see them though. The sea was back in view again as I searched for a pub to grab a drink and use the facilities. (It's a constant concern - what can I say?)
I was starting to feel it in my feet by now. There was a major blister forming on the ball of my left foot. I started to count down the miles to the end of the walk. As I walked up the hill toward Dore the town sign where I'd waited for Tim to rescue me from the wind and rain came in to view. I'd done it, All the route so far now connected together. I was elated for a brief second but then I realised I now had to get back.
Despite having practically no followers I gave the twitter thing a go. My cousin Mark had thousands of followers so I asked him to retweet my request and he did and another tweeter did too but I knew that it was unlikely to get me a lift in this lonely part of the world.
So I stuck my thumb out and hitched. I used the hitch everywhere when I lived here back in the 80's but I was no longer 20 and cars now drive a lot faster. I wasn't very hopeful. I stood for about 10 minutes looking a little desperate and starting to get cold. And then a car pulled over. I was saved. A wonderful couple going to Dungloe gave me my first lift! I knew that it would be a lot easier to get a lift from Dungloe to Burtonport rather than from the direction I'd walked because it was a lot closer. I was so grateful to them. They didn't just give me a lift, they also gave me faith that I could get one. and I needed that. We had an animated discussion about Donald Trump (now there's a dipshit!) and we all agreed that the thought of him being the President was a scary prospect. I also told them about my walk and they were very encouraging. The drive was short by car and they kindly dropped me off on the Burtonport Road. I thanked them for their kindness and they drove off. I could have kicked myself when I realised I hadn't asked their names. Note to self - always introduce yourself and get their names!! Anyway, thank you so much to them. It was a real boon.
I only had to to wait another 10 minutes for a lift the whole way back to Minty from Michelle and her daughter, Shannon. Such lovely friendly people who chatted with me the whole way back about the importance of being easy going and having a happy attitude to life (amongst other things). I cannot tell you how happy I am to have met these lovely people and how much they improved my day. The fact that I could get back to Minty was a tremendous weight off for me. The fact that it was so easy was icing on the cake.
You might think that I just went back to the hostel to rest up and recuperate but oh no not me. There was one more thing that the weather stopped me from seeing last time round and that was the Sliabh Liag (Slieve League in English) cliffs. You may remember how I chickened out half way up when I was attacked by huge hailstones and gales. Well I managed to get the whole way up today. It was raining softly and the mountain was draped in cloud but even still they were spectacular. I'll just leave you to see yourselves...
Tomorrow is an early start as I drive to Mullaghmore Head and then walk back to Ballyshannon by way of Bundoran. Not quite sure where I'm staying tomorrow yet. This could get interesting!
Total mileage: 327.6 miles
Raising money for the RNLI on www.justgiving.com/Jane-Volker
Jane, you are a marvel of wondrous delight! Tackling the mountain when you didn't have to and when you had a blister on your foot, just so that we could see the photos... what can I say? ;)
ReplyDeleteWell it was for me too! But isn't it worth it? The blister is holding its own. I have hopes for it becoming a callus. I'm talking to it nicely and inviting it to be my friend!
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