Slieve League

Bid farewell to Pat, Matty and Bob (the dog) this morning after breakfast and headed North and West to Donegal County. Before I write about the day, let me tell you what happened last night after I posted the blog. Matty, the owner of our B&B has 6 mama cows and one of them had her calf about 9:30 last night. It was quite the sight for us to see. It's truly amazing how instinct takes over. We watched her clean the calf and then witnessed his first attempts at standing and nursing. I told he and Pat they now have a 

B B&B....bed, breakfast and birthing!! The calf was doing great this morning when we left.

Our goal this day was to see Slieve League near Carrick in County Donegal. Slieve is Gaelic for mountain. It is the highest cliff face in all of Europe rising 1,972 feet above the Atlantic. WOW!! There are no words to describe what we saw today. We drove up a mountain road that scared even me....Roy was incredible. At one point it looked like we would crest the hill and drop off into the ocean because that was all you could see from the car!!  

We made our way to several viewing areas and just sat soaking in the majesty of this place. Unlike anything we've seen...even more dramatic than the Cliffs of Moher.  The words "Be still and know that I am God" kept whispering to me. We spent nearly an hour taking it all in...the dramatic cliffs of solid rock, the ocean crashing against the gigantic rocks at the base, the calm blue of the Atlantic all around us. It is so far off the beaten path, I counted 11 cars....Ireland's well kept secret. Will include a couple of pictures but as you know, pictures just don't do justice to such a beautiful place.

When we sought directions to the viewing spot, we were told the best ice cream in Ireland was at the top!!! Darn the luck if they weren't 100% correct!! So funny..just can't get away from the stuff!

Left the top and drove into the tiny fishing village of Teelin where we boarded a boat that took 12 of us out to open water around and up close to Slieve League so we could see it rising above us and all around us from the water. As we were waiting for the boat, I heard a dog barking near the water so I went to the dock and there was a female that looked so much like Annie. She wanted someone to play with her. I got an empty water bottle, filled it with a little water and commenced to throwing it out into the water. She would wait patiently and then jump in, swim to the bottle, grab it and swim back. She'd take it further up into the rocks, shake and trot to the water's edge where she'd turn around, look at me, bark and wait for me to throw. The men around the water said she is there every day and would fetch all day long.  She is 15 years old!!  So, between the incredible views from land and water and playing with this sweet dog it was a glorious day.

 We met up with a couple from Norman Oklahoma that are biking their way through parts of Ireland.  We'd met them yesterday at Glencar and they were with us on the boat and again as we were looking for a place to eat dinner. There is no place open for food 

( only drink!) so we went to The Chipper....a mobile food trailer set up in a parking lot...great fish/chips. The Irish folks make a MEAN French fry!! (their chips)....haven't had a bad one the whole time!! We had a picnic with them...nice folks. 

Wished them safe travel and headed to our B&B....it's more hostel/camp than a B&B...NO charm...had reservations for tonight and tomorrow but we are getting out of Dodge in the morning!! We found a nicer one closer to Dublin so we won't have far to go on Sunday. Can't complain too loudly as we've had great accommodations the entire trip...B&B folks are as creative with "selling" their property as are real estate folks!!  Mountain and Sea views if you stand on the roof with your binoculars!! 

Till tomorrow....