Downings Bay Hotel Donegal

... the street to walk around the supermarket.

We went back to the port and read in the car until it was time to board the ferry. John had to back the car in and was directed by one of the crew to a spot so close to the side that the door wouldn’t open at all. Since we planned to stay in the car for the 15-minute crossing, that was no problem. We sailed past small islands, some with ruins, and most inhabited before we landed at Leabgarrow, the ...

... way to Dunfanaghy, we stopped at the cemetery where W.B. Yeats was buried – mom insisted. After that it was back on the road. After we got to our hostel and unpacked we got in to the car to go to the beach and that is when we found paradise. We got to the beach we were amazed at how beautiful it was. We collected shells, I got buried by Sam, and of course I took ...

... Now there is a huge basilica where people come in wheelchairs and on walking frames to be cured (“to gain strength and blessings”) of illness or disability or the infirmity of old age. The street outside is lined with tacky souvenir shops and there is a huge business preying on devotion which verges on the superstitious. The half-hour anointing of the sick before mass started with a procession which included a larger than ...

... is an Irish (Gaelic) speaking area. Its situated on the coast so its lovely to be able to see and hear the sea every day. I timed my return well as it was the start of the Easter holidays so I got to see the whole family - my sister Mairead (and her boyfriend Oscar), brothers Eamonn and Liam and my parents, who will shortly both be retired. I've been very fortunate that the weather has mostly been great (by Donegal standards anyway!) so I've been able to make the most ...

We stayed in the town of Donengal, Co. Donegal again this evening. This is a lovely town. The house that we are staying at is absolutely gorgeous and the owners are grand. Last night we came home around 11:30 and were greeted by the owner, Shawn, along with two other guests visiting from England. We all sat in Shawn's ...

It's hard to move on from this beautiful place, but we know we'll be back. So Marilynn took advantage of an overcast morning to clean up Falmore cottage and get organized while John worked on photos. We picked out 5 for each day we've been in Ireland and entered them as we brought this journal up to date. We plan to do that from now on. Hopefully Internet access will be more convenient so we can do it more often. This afternoon we plan to read and enjoy the last sunset from Falmore Cottage.

Thursday is market day in Dungloe. Trucks from out of town park on the main street and sell their wares, shoes, power tools, vegetables, and fish. We bought fresh haddock to have that night. We had expected lots of cheap, fresh fish and seafood around, but the area has been largely fished out. When John told the fish guy about fishing in Alaska, the man told us that a 20 ...

Cruit (Croosch) Island is just north of Dungloe, one of many small islands in the bays. It is home to many small holiday cottages and a 9-hole golf course that looks like a mini-Pebble Beach. We both played, pulling our clubs on "trolleys", up and down huge hills, over craggy black rocks, rough of heather, and enormous slow greens. Some times we couldn't see over hills to know where to aim, but it was SO MUCH ...

One of the greatest things about "slow traveling" is that a cold, rainy day becomes an opportunity to stay home. Living in this wonderful house with sweeping views of the Atlantic from most windows is a vacation in itself. The solitude, quiet, dark nights, and changing light as the clouds form and move are so different from Colorado. Sometimes I miss the sunshine, but while at home we say, "if you don't like the weather today, wait until tomorrow", here they say, "if ...

After a full day's rest we're ready to do a little more exploring. We're getting more used to driving, but it's still a challenge to not get lost. The roads are barely one lane and have 60 mph speed limits...it takes nerves of steel to not flinch. So John pulls over a lot. The road signs in Donegal are either in Irish or in both English and Irish. Either way, it's hard to read them on the fly when you can't slow ...