When’s the first riot?

Change of tack. Let’s not do a day-by-day blow of what we have done. Safe to say that we have continued to, pretty much, keep to the Irish coast (which is very, very long) and have seen a lot of beaches, sea, cliffs, sunsets and everything you’d expect from a long drive by the coast. And it has been fab. Highlights have included the Cliffs of Moher, which are a pricey and busy tourist attraction (12 euros each). But with a 10 km walk, undertaken by us but not many of our fellow American tourists, the views were spectacular. The price, by the way, included overnight parking, so we shouldn’t complain. An overnight at Loop Head lighthouse, with further fabulous cliffs and a magnificent natural arch, a night by Carrigafoyles Castle, another by a tiny quay in southern Galway, and another in the midst of the limestone and lake land that is Connemara, and we have been spoilt with scenery.

The weather has played its part in both a good and a not so good way. As is always the case (it seems) we are never short of the right sort of weather for the things we want to dio. So far we haven’t been put off by a squall or a gale. But it is windy. And we have had some rain. And it’s never really been warm enough to sit outside, not without wrapping up warm. Which is fine, but it would be nice …

We have, as we do, walked, run and cycled. Yesterday we parked up in an Aldi carpark and cycled into Galway city. This morning we both ran 5 kms around a circuit from our quay stopover. The other day we ran for half an hour along a beach road. And we walked a 14 km round trip up the Gap Dunloe, which was like a junior Glencoe but with many more horses and traps. We have also kept off alcohol – which has been a theme for a couple of months now. I’m v proud of C, who likes the odd tipple. She has resolutely stuck to drinking very irregularly and then keeping the measures short. I’m the lucky one and wouldn’t miss a drink if they introduced prohibition. But it’s nice to have the odd glass here and there.

So, what’s not to like? Well 4G is fab here. It’s almost everywhere. Diesel is cheaper than the UK, but goodness you do feel the pressure with the much higher prices, even here. The people continue to be fab and accommodating of Doris. But … there is no wildlife. None. I’m writing this in the middle of a huge expanse of bog land – think a slightly smaller version of Rannock Moor. And there’s nothing. No birds – particularly no birds of prey. No deer. No nothing. If you come for the wildlife, then there’s a lot happening at sea, but nothing for ground lovers. 

our own cairn

Doris continues to be our baby. We’ve been away for over two weeks and have still not had to plug her in, noting that we charge the bike batteries from the solar panels and consistently use 240V for kettle and toaster. I’ve taken her everywhere. We’ve had two very tight squeezes, one with a massive tourist coach, but both of them were workable. Again, there have been no raised eyebrows and much help to make sure we’re all safe. I’m unconvinced of the utility of our very expensive new Garmin truck satnav, which has a big screen and tells us when to breathe in, but I’m not sure it’s worth the price. We’ve made a few notes on further improvements, some of which I will sort whilst we’re out, some when we get home. But, and I say this with absolutely no confidence, I don’t think there’s a better van, or a better equipped van in the country. She is pretty perfect. Oh … and we have found two more ‘free’ drops, for water fill up and loo emptying. They’re not as plentiful as they are, say, in France. But we’ve managed so far … which is great.

Stay safe everyone. As you’re probably aware there was nothing in the Queen’s Speech to tackle climate change. Temperatures on the Indian subcontinent are breaking records. It seems that Siberia is going to be having a go soon. Temperatures in southern Europe look to be breaking records soon, and there are massive floods in Australia at the moment (following on from South Africa), and the wildfires in California have started early. Conversely, staying with the same state, California supplied all of its electricity from renewables last month and it seems likely that the EU are going to introduce a new law making it illegal to build new houses without solar panels. We, of course, are no longer in the EU, hence my previous comment about the Queen’s speech. It does my head in.  

What a shower of a government we have. Where’s the first riot going to be? Sign me up …