Day 163: Don't drown

Day 163 - Thursday, September 20th 2018: Wexford to Blackwater via Curracloe Beach 18 km / Total 3355 km, 12°C, stormy

I knew it was going to be a long day, I excepted to walk 28 km to the next campsite in Morricastle. I knew it was going to rain. But in fact, it was even worse than I thought.

In the beginning, I was happy because I could pack my tent dry, right before the rain started. Until I realized I forgot my pants attached inside to make it dry during the night. What an idiot I am!

The first two hours of the walk were just soft rain. But enough to already get my shoes wet, because the road was flooding in some part (the county was on yellow alert for that). In Curracloe, I found a pub where I went to get a hot cup of tea. Unfortunately, when I got out the rain was heavier. My plan for the day was to walk along the beach which was a straight line. As the road started to flood, I followed my original plan and reached the beach. The wind, coming from the sea, made the rain whip my face. 

It's on that beach that was filmed "Saving Private Ryan". I really wonder why they didn't use the actual D-day beach in Normandy.

For me, it was just struggling against the wind. There was no one on the beach, except horses footprints on the sand. 

Finally, I had to get back on the road, where I started to get cold, which was a very bad sign. Wet and cold is always a bad combo. It means that I had to quickly find a place to get dry and warm. So let's forget about camping at night, I needed to find a real roof.

Arriving in Blackwater, I went directly to the hotel. I opened the reception door and ... Work in progress! Everything seemed to be refurnishing!

So, as usual, I went to the pub on the other side and asked if the hotel had rooms or if it was closed. The pub owner told me it was closed, but seeing that I was completely soaked, he found me a B&B to spend the night.

I decided to have lunch in that pub before going to the B&B. A hot soup with soda bread was all I needed, with a hot crumble (I had to ask without ice cream). 

The rain stopped just for the few minutes of walk between the pub and the B&B. I was welcomed by Anne who added an extra heater in the bedroom. I went directly to take a hot shower to warm me and spent the rest of the day drying my stuff. How much time did I spend evenings like that?