Day 154: In the present moment

Day 154 - Tuesday, September 11th 2018: Dungarvan to Bunmahon 21 km / Total 3185 km, 18°C, cloudy

I felt a bit lazy that morning and decided to stay in my warm and comfy sleeping bag until 10 am, which gave time to my tent to get dry. And as I planned to be wild camping at night, there was no need to leave too early. That's how I left the camping at noon!

I reached the beach for a short walk with sunshine, before joining the Waterford Greenway, cycling and walking path on an ancient railway. There was a lovely view of the sea and the mountains behind Dungarvan. So for the first two hours of walk that day, it was off-road, without cars, that was great.

Then I walked on the Copper Coast Drive, which was the first real coastal road I met on the South Coast, since the end of the Wild Atlantic Way. The road also crossed a quiet forest, very well maintained for once. I guess it is part of a private land (maybe an abbey but I wasn't sure).

There was no pub nor restaurant on the road on that day, just a little shop, where I found some bread and biscuits for lunch. It's always better than nothing. 

Later, I was stuck on the road, as cows were walking on it, getting from one field to another. They were all females, and in the field, just behind me, there were some bulls completely ... disturbed by all these females. I was glad there was not only a barrier but an electric fence between me and them!

The farmer who was leading the cows asked me where I started my walk on that day. And I had to think of it for few seconds because I couldn't remember where I was that morning. Does it mean that I'm too much living in the present moment?

6 pmAs I reached Bunmahon, there were heavy grey clouds in the sky. It was only 6pm, but it was really dark like it was almost night. I planned to camp in the sand dunes. Unfortunately, they were too small, there was a sign indicating that camping was forbidden, and in fact, the village was on hills surrounding these dunes, which means every house could see me. I went to the caravan park, in order to ask if they could let me put my tent somewhere, but there was no one. A dead caravan park.

So I decided to go on along the road I wanted to take the next day. 

Finally, I found an ancient copper mine, which can be visited. The place was hidden from the road, protected from the wind, and flat. I decided it was a good place for my tent. And of course at 7 pm, as I was building my tent, a couple stopped to visit the place. Why were they not in the pub? Sometimes, it can be very hard to be alone on that island ...