DAY 179 - Ireland Highland Hills Hike (and 'Johnnie Fox')

Sept 14 - A Most Incredible Day with Paul!

It was Saturday, so we were lucky that Paul -, good-looking and ALL Irish, could take us wherever our hearts desired.  We were actually hoping to go to the western side of Ireland where we had heard that beauty abounds - Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Gallway, the castles...but travel costs and the fact that we hadn't located a host there, put a nix on that.  So - Paul accepted us for longer than we originally had planned and turned out to be THE PERFECT HOST!!

"I'll show you some GREAT spots right here near Dublin."

We LOVED Blackrock - much better than the big city of Dublin.  Michelle Obama had just been here last week.  All the streets were blocked off and it was quite the celebration here in Blackrock. We figured it must be a pretty cool place!

"Blackrock Dolmen" (1987) with the church St. John the Baptist in the background

Blackrock was historically a small fishing village, which began to be developed only in the 19th century, but there was a settlement here in the medieval times.

Paul whisked us off to do his favorite thing...hiking.  And what better place to hike than the beautiful hills in the highlands of Ireland.  It was about an hour drive before we got there and on the way we saw some interesting sights.

A VERY old Round tower with much history

He had a friend who was going to go with us, but opted instead to swim here for the afternoon.  Brr!!

The sun kept peeking in and out of the clouds - sure hope it warms up!

Paul is trying to hide.

Now we go into the "Hollywood of Ireland" - home of the rich and famous.  Dalkey and Killiney which lie on the southern most tip of Dublin are upmarket neighborhoods and home to such celebrities as Bono, Maeve Binchy and Enya among others.

This is the gate to get into Enya's Castle.

Paul David Hewson's home...alias Bono of the U2 band

Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, frequently using religious, social, and political themes.

This big guy is interested to know where we are going.

"Wait Paul...I gotta catch up!"

This is the last time you'll see me with my jacket off in the Dublin area.  This was one of the coldest places we went to on our 7 month journey through Europe. The wind chill would cut right through your skin (you'll see me FREEZING in the next post)!  I was wearing three layers all of the time.

Lots of sheep on the hillside as we start are ascent.

We're hiking part of the Wicklow Way - a famous trail from Glendalough to Glenmalure.   We were on a road for awhile, then we took off up a hill without much of a path and we walked and walked.  I think it was about 10 kilometers that we went. (over 6 miles). We were gone most of the day.

Some different textures on the hillside...very interesting!

The landscape was amazing!  Throughout the year, the Irish native shrub - Gorse - the rich yellow pea flowers seem to light up the Irish landscape.  The flowers, with their wonderful aroma of coconut, are borne on stems of spiny bluish-green spikes. The leaves have been modified over centuries into rigid and furrowed thorns which withstand the harsh conditions of winters at higher altitudes, making the entire bush one mass of prickles and spines

Beautiful little yellow flowers - the wild Irish flower called Gorse

"When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion".

Hey...luck of the Irish - it's turning out to be a beautiful day!

We're headed up the face of Scarr (641 m. or 2100 ft.).

You're crazy, Rich!  You're taking off your shirt?  (Actually, I think he was adding a layer...brrr!)

OK - some clouds did roll in and it was cold up on top, but all in all...the PERFECT day for hiking in the Irish Highlands.

Paul knew so much about this area and he probably hikes in these hills every week, with or without others.  We so enjoyed his knowledge, but unfortunately I didn't write down all the stories he told us and missed some of the details.

"Oh my heart is getting bad" - "I feel so much pride in my beautiful country" - "Oh it's an honor to bring you here" - What is Paul saying?  You be the judge.

"OK - I know the sun is shining, but I'm still cold up here!"

The rocks were so cool - golden flicks brought here by the little leprechauns.

This is a bit scary on this high rock ledge.

There are so many songs that I could sing from up here.  THIS IS AMAZING!!

Now I've got BOTH of my guys up here to help in case I start to fall.

 We saw a lot of little purple flowers that Paul identified as heather - he spotted three different types.  I loved them!  Yellow and purple are my favorite colors, so I was in Heaven...literally, between gorse and heather.  I sang a song "Heather on the Hill" for him.  I will upload it on my next post.

"Please - just leave me here among the beautiful heather.  It's so soft and comfy!"

 No, we're not looking for 4-leaf clover.  We found wild blueberries and they were all over....and scrumptious!  We loaded up to add to our picnic lunch that we had amongst all the 'heather on the hill.'

Glenmacnass Waterfall and Military Road, as seen from the slopes of Scarr.

Paul is always WAY ahead because I like to lolli-gag, looking at all the flowers and rocks.

Everywhere you look, it's a beautiful site!

This Arrowhead Boulder on Kanturk had some cool history.

In the Glencullen area, there is a Bronze Age wedge tomb at Ballyedmonduff on the south eastern slope of Two Rock Mountain.  It is known locally as the giants grave. It is a rectangular chamber divided into three parts surrounded by a U shaped double walled kerb filled with stones. The tomb was excavated in the 1940s when cremated bone, a polished stone hammer, flints and pottery were found.  How cool is that!

 Enjoy the scenery as we hike from on top and begin our descent back around the other side of the mountain.  Beautiful rolling hills, wooded lands, waterfalls, lakes, streams, and plenty of sunshine!

 

Posing with my two guys - first Paul, then Rich.  What a day!

Paul captures Rich & I in a kiss!

Kisses - Hugs for you Paul.  You're the BEST!  Come to Idaho and we'll take you to the Grand Tetons.

Paul, you've been a great guide - let's do it again some day!

...and the sheep are on this side, too, to guide us back down the mountain.

                              

This is the only way out of here, Shari - you gotta climb this rock!

I can do this!

YEAH!  I made it to the other side. (even with my two replaced hips)

Careful Paul - we need to know how to get out of here!

The vegetation immediately changes.  Look at all the ferns.

"You lookin' at me?"

"Hi ho, hi ho- it's home from work we go.!"

Spectacular - breath-taking - amazing - gorgeous!!

 Paul showed us the site below that a rich family owned.  Name of family?   There was a movie set on it as they had been filming for an up-coming movie.

  Paul took us to Glencree and to the German Military Cemetery, containing 134 bodies.  Although a neutral country on the edge of the main battlefields, Ireland did not entirely escape the direct effects of the war. Some of the Germans killed in action over Ireland resulted from causes such as aircrafts getting lost in foul weather or crashing as a result of damage in action over England.  Running out of fuel and navigational errors from inexperience also caused fatalities.  These Luftwaffe (Air force) personnel are all buried in Glencree.  Interred here also are a number of regular naval personnel (Kriegmarine) whose bodies were found washed up, sometimes in remote coastal locations.  53 of the air and naval service men buried in Glencree have identities while 28 others will never be known.

Those who engaged in the ‘secret side of war’ are also buried here.

The German War Cemetery

 

 It was a very sombering experience to look at the graves and monuments of those young men who never made it back to their own land.  Thank goodness for these wonderful Irish people, to honor the fallen soldiers with this special cemetery.




 Next stop - an old church where I went inside and took this photo in the dark.

 

 
Situated in Glencullen on top of the Dublin mountains, Johnnie Fox's is one of Ireland's oldest and most famous traditional Irish pubs - and  also famed as the highest pub in the country. 



There were tons of photographs to gaze at and lots of knick-knacks. A lot of famous people have visited here. It gives you a good insight into Irish History.

Established in 1798, the year of the Irish rebellion, Johnnie Fox's Pub is very famous.

This old lady greeted us at the door.

I had fish chowder - it really warmed me up!

An Irish Stew - so delicious!

Song about Miss Mulligan hanging out her washing....HELP!!

This guy went around from table to table doing magic tricks.

Shh!  I won't tell if you don't tell!

 While Rich was gone, Paul put some yummy dessert on his placemat.

Paul put an Irish "dung" at Rich's place.  Uh-oh...he's in trouble!

 Peat (turf) is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation.  Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in the form of peat briquettes which are used for domestic heating. These are oblong bars of densely compressed, dried and shredded peat. Briquettes are largely smokeless when burned in fireplaces and as such are widely used in Irish towns and cities where burning non-smokeless coal is banned. Peat moss is a manufactured product for use in garden cultivation. Turf (dried out peat sods) is very commonly used in rural areas.

Today we saw a lot of this sculpted out of the hillside as people would dig it up to make the bricks for burning.

There were three areas of performers - I kept going back and forth being entertained by typical Irish fiddlers, dancers, and folk singing.  It was GREAT!

 

 

 Paul knew how to get in the back door to an Irish Step Dance Concert.  It was fantastic!

What an amazing day we had with Paul, our Irish guy!  Thanks to him and to all the Ireland country side sites - we'll always remember you!