Clare Island

Rest days - Wednesday 20th & Thursday 21st, June 2018: Clare Island 0 km / 1734 km, 15°C, sunny

I've always wanted to rest on a little isolated island during a storm. Well for my arrival, that was perfect. Especially as I needed time to write. Going to the island, hidden in the mist made me think of "Tintin & the black island". But there's no monster here, and it's not haunted.

In fact, in the pier, there's a castle tower that used to belong to Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen, who reigned on Clew Bay. It's said she's been buried in the island Abbey (a Cistercian abbey, the size of a church). Nowadays, 160 people are living on the island and of course, so are sheep. It was good to take time to do nothing. Well, I didn't really do anything. I had to sew up my trousers, my "shopping" bag and even a zip. And I did it in the common room, sitting on a comfy armchair, with the sea, the sky and in the long-distance Croagh Patrick just in front of me.

And of course, I walked. 12 km. On an island that is only 8 km long. I went to the lighthouse, which is private, but from there I had a view on Achill Island, Keel and Keem Beach, and Corraun Peninsula. So all the places I had been. And from the lighthouse, I went to the Abbey. I met donkeys on the road (yes Ireland is full of animals), and from the top of the road, I had a wonderful view of Inishturk Island. The sea reminded me of the Mediterranean sea, as the sun was shining. On solstice day, from my bed, I could see by one window, cows eating the green grass under a yellow sky, and by the other window, the blue sea and mountains turning red!