Day 74: There's always a warm welcome at the end of the road

Day 74 - Friday, June 8th 2018: Mulranny to Keel 24 km / Total 1589 km, 24°C, sunny

Mowing the lawn at 7 am, really ??? Why? Why does it need to be done so early?

At least I had the biggest breakfast of my trip so far: cereals, toasts, full Irish Breakfast, tea, orange juice and even ... chips!

Then I hitchhiked and a guy gave me a lift to Mulranny, so I could start walking from where I stopped the day before. I took the Greenway, which was pleasant cause it's a cycling and pedestrian path. In the beginning, there were trees but then I walked with the sun burning me. In a coffee shop where I asked for something fresh to drink, there was another man, cycling, also looking for something fresh to drink. 

In the early afternoon, I reached Achill, where I got lunch at the hotel. I was the only guest, and the couple running the hotel was very kind to me. As I explained that one of the hostels was closed, the second one was full, so I was going to the third one, the lady gave me a map of Achill Island and showed me the hostel was in Keel, 14kms away, whereas on Google Map it was only 4kms away. And she also told me there was a weather alert regarding a storm. Oh no, I didn't know if the way I fixed my tent would work, I couldn't try it during a storm. And the hostel had no website for booking nor an email. So I went to the Tourism office and asked the lady if she knew if there was still a vacancy at the hostel. She had its number so she decided to call them for me. The owner agreed to give me his last bed. Good.

Only 14 km left (and already walked 16kms in the morning) which means 3h30 of walk and it was already 4 pm (I had to find cash and food).

I walked as fast as I could, but after 2h, I reached the top of a hill and saw how long was the road until Keel (despite the fact the view was great and reminded me of Vik in Iceland). 24kms, very painful left foot, I couldn't stand it and asked for a lift for the last 6kms. As the island is a cul de sac, it didn't matter, I'd do some compensation walking to Keem Beach and walking the way back. A guy named Pat gave me a lift to the hostel (after showing me the beach), where I found the cycling guy I met at the coffee shop in the morning, Mike, who was in fact, cycling the Wild Atlantic Way.

The hostel owner is a Kennedy. Being hosted by a Kennedy is a great honour in my mind. Shay as that's his name was very welcoming, and he runs an old fashion hostel exactly the kind I like, small but with everything and where you met people. My roommate was German, but she lived in Galway, as a self-employed, doing translation. So, as long as she has a wifi connexion, she can go wherever she wants. And it wasn't the first time she came here. 

And I understood why: the view from the room on the sea, the cliffs and Clare Island was amazing!