Day 56: Queen of Ancient Times

Day 56 - Sunday, May 20th 2018: Sligo to Strandhill 13 km / Total 1210 km, 11°C, rainy

Back on the road with clouds. I made a stop at Carrowmore megalithic cemetery, where I took part in the guided tour. If you want a quick description, yes it's a field with piles of rocks. In fact, most of the dolmen is half-buried, but they found many dolmens in the area, all looking at a cairn in the middle. The guide was excellent with a lot of knowledge and gave us a lot of information about the area and why people chose to settle here. It's the flat middle of a little peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the sea, and mountains like Ben Bulben. And at the extremity of the peninsula, there's the Knocknarea Mountain, so the place is well protected, especially from the weather, not too wet or windy, the grass is green, no bog, and there are trees (which means no strong wind to prevent them from growing up). People were living along the coast of the peninsula, especially on what is now Sligo city, and they put their cemetery in the middle. 

After the visit, I climbed the Knocknarea Mountain. On its top, and recognizable on the very long distance (I'll see it for many days) there's a big cairn (or a big pile of rocks if you preferred) 10m high, 66m in diameter. It's said to the grave of Queen Maeve, who has been buried standing up with her sword, ready to face the enemy. It's not sure if the Queen really existed, she might have been a Goddess, kings would have to marry to get their power (she's known for marrying many men). We're not sure as well if that's really her grave, as it remains untouched and is still a sacred place for the local people.

Then I got down the mountain by the other side, crossing the forest to Strandhill. On my way, I met a woman wearing "Yes" pin's and asked her where she got it and said it was good to see someone supporting the Yes in the referendum as, for weeks I saw so many "No" signs on the road with many lies on it (especially in Donegal, which will be the only county to vote No). She asked if I wanted one and she gave it to me, which I was proud to put on my backpack. My mother told me to be careful, because I'm not Irish, and I should not get involved. But in my mind, it's not a matter of being Irish or not, it's a women's matter and I'm a woman. To me, abortion is a woman right I support.

In Strandhill, I put my tent on the campsite and looked for dinner. In the little restaurant, the guy who came to take my order had a french accent so I asked him if he was French. As he was, I replied in French. And he asked me what did I do to get such a good French accent!