Day 91: Talking/Walking

Day 91 - Monday, July 2nd 2018: Errisbeg (Gurteen Bay) to Bunnahown 20 km / Total 1882 km, 24°C, sunny

7 am 30°C in my tent. Too warm inside.

I got out to take a fresh shower. I couldn't choose the temperature so it was not so fresh. 

As it was too hot in my tent, I took my breakfast in the camping's kitchen. There I talked with a mother. She tried to make her daughter put sunscreen on her skin. She told me that with her red hair and white skin, they couldn't go on holidays in Spain, to avoid her daughter getting sunburn. That made me think of global warming. If such heatwave with very sunny weather had to happen more often in the next decade, that could a problem for some Irish people. Life will be hell with climate change! 

I let her my card, and for once, someone recognized that Walking in the Eire is linked to the song "Walking in the air" (the Snowman). So I got the song in my head for the rest of the day.

As we talked about her holidays (they're going to spend August in Calgary, as they have family in Canada - I love the fact that Irish people have relatives in any parts of the world) I didn't see the time going, and when I came back to my tent, it was already 10:30 am. 

I reached Roundstone at noon. There's a lovely view from the village on the Twelve Pins with the sea in the foreground. For lunch, I got a superfood salad. I mention it because it's not often that I got some creative menu, with hummus of beetroot, fresh goat cheese and pomegranate. It gave me strength for the rest of the day.

Walking in the afternoon under the burning sun was not very pleasant. But when I got closer to the sea, it was a little bit more bearable.

In Cashel, as I was taking half an hour break (as it's definitely not cold anymore I can take a longer break without getting frozen) I met Ken on his bicycle. He's been in India, cycling and wild camping for two months and told me how difficult it was to find a place to camp with no one. So he indicated to me where I could put my tent for the night and where I could find freshwater. He also advised me to visit Black Fort first when I'll be on Inishmore (Aran Island) because there'll be no tourists. And thanks to him, I learnt why there are Leprechauns in Ireland: because there are no snakes. 

Well, that made me think that in New Zealand neither, there are no snakes. But they don't have Leprechauns. Oh, but they have hobbits. They must be relatives!

As I'm currently reading "The Lord of the Rings" and as the characters spend their time walking (when they're not fighting) I looked at the landscape around me, and felt like a hobbit walking in the Middle Earth!

For the night, I found a place not far away from the road, not very well hidden, not very flat, but not on private land, and from where I had a great view of the mountains. I had a wonderful sunset. At midnight (no I wasn't asleep because the stupid sheep all around were screaming like idiots), the sky was still not dark, with daylight on the horizon. Even at 3 am, the sky wasn't dark. For a sky full of stars, I'll have to wait for another time of the year. But at least, I saw the Big Bear.