Day 116: Still standing despite the wind

Day 116 - Tuesday, July 31st 2018: Dingle to Gallarus Oratory via Brandon Creek 23 km / Total 2393 km, 16°C, cloudy

Usually, when I first open my eyes in the morning it's around 6:30 am. The first sound I heard that morning was the rain and the wind against the window. A good reason to stay longer in bed as I was tired from the walk from the day before. 

I took my time, went to buy some food before starting my walk. Dingle seems to be a pretty cool town with a lot of little shops.

In the morning was a peaceful and quiet road along the West side of Mount Brandon. Not a lot of cars, no sun, no rain, perfect temperature, wind in my back, green landscape with sheep, surrounded by mountains and the smell of trees, plants, etc. 

After three hours of walk, exactly half of my way of the day, I went to the pub for lunch. Perfect timing.

Then I went to Brandon Creek. According to the legend, at the beginning of the Sixth century, St Brendan, with some monks, took a boat, went to America (1000 years before Christopher Columbus and 400 years before the Vikings) via the Hebrides Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland in fourteen months. In the 1970s, a man decided to do the same thing on a similar boat and succeeded in thirteen months, proving that St Brendan story was possible. 

Then the road went west and later south and I started to face the wind making the walk quite harder and me walking more slower.

When I arrived at the camping, the owner's wife told me it was 15€ for the night (which doesn't include the shower). Summer holidays are killing me with those prices. But it's Dingle Peninsula, one of the most touristic areas of the country, so that's the market law. I said nothing and went to build my tent. A few minutes later, the owner came to see me, giving me back 5€ and telling me "sorry you've been charged too much". Irish people are not only generous, but they are also honest.

In the evening I went to see Gallarus Oratory. It could look like a stone tent. It's been built in the 7th or 8th century, with a single room, one entrance and one open window, all made with dry stones without mortar and it's the only one remaining in a perfect state of conservation in the country. We don't know exactly who was living there, but I was impressed that it still stands up!