Day 120: Busiest day of the holidays

Day 120 - Saturday, August 4th 2018: Inch Beach to Castlemaine 19 km / Total 2469 km, 19°C, cloudy

Busy. Busy. Busy. 

Busy when I wanted to take my morning shower. Busy when I went to take breakfast. Then busy on the road. And it was the only way to get out of the peninsula by the south. 

The Australian girl who shared my dorm room told me she felt lonely in Ireland, and was surprised because she's been told that Irish people were very friendly. I could only reply that it's maybe not the best period of the year, too many tourists, too many people, so you can't get in touch with the local people. And when you arrived somewhere, you usually get time to chat with the pub manager or the hostel owner. But at the moment, you only had time to say where you come from, that the next customers have already arrived and your turn is over. 

So, on that morning, I had to stop every five minutes and let cars passing. Not only cars but also trucks (providing food, etc... to local shops and hotels), caravans and camping-cars, busses and tractors. After an hour of walk, I couldn't stand it anymore, with all these stops, I was going too slowly.

So I left the road and tried to walk along the shore. Unfortunately, it was rocky, with a lot of stones, and little rivers coming from the mountains to cross. Finally, I realized I was walking even slower than on the road, while I had to produce more physical efforts. Or I struggle against the traffic or I struggle against the ground. 

I decided to cross a field and get back on the road. Yellowjacket on my rucksack, yellow jacket on my bumbag, drivers had no other choice than to see me. Which didn't mean they all really made effort to step aside to avoid me. So I still had to stop and almost get on the edge to avoid them.

After more than four hours of the walk instead of three, I had only walked thirteen kilometres and reached a place to get lunch. Organic food from the garden, with superfood dessert and vegan smoothie. Yummy! It really changed from the usual menu I see in many pubs and restaurants. The waitress was French. We talked about the traffic. She told me her mother was going to visit her on this weekend. She left Dublin at noon and was still on the road four hours later. I realized that the traffic might be busy all over Ireland on that Saturday!

In the evening, I left the main road, took a little path, apparently used by cows as it was very muddy with their footprint and poop on the way. At the very end of that two kilometres long path, it stopped at a river. There, no one, no house, no road, no car, nothing. Just me and nature, in peace. At least I was alone!