Gallaghers Hotel Letterkenny

... had lunch at a tiny cafe near the tomb, a very nice soup and sandwich! next we went to enniskillen, a town just over the border where we invested in some gumboots and visited the pound atm. we got to derry at about 5:30, dumped our bags at the hostel then walked through town to the diamond - the centre of town with a second hand war memorial statue - for a tour of the city walls and murals. our tour guide was really interesting, he'd lived in derry his whole life and ...

... out of the way - the hostel was shyte. No hot water, sharing with a squillion people (ok so there was 5 of us in a room), and half the bathroom doors didn't lock. Oh yeah, no toilet paper either - until i went to Tesco this morning and bought a truckload of the stuff, much to the appreciation of BOTH hostels who were out of the white rolls.

Derry itself is quite pretty. It's divided into two areas, (basically) the Catholic side (about 82,000) and the Prostestant side ...

... they’re moved apart.

We drove back to the Inishowen Peninsula and up to Fort Dunree, which is an old fort and military museum. I sat in the car and read while John played tourist. When he came back, we drove north to go through Mamore Gap, another high and winding road through two “hills”. There is a pilgrimage well just over the summit that is dedicated to St. Eigne. There was a cup to draw water from it, but the water was down quite a bit. We ...

... tomorrow.

We sorted our laundry in case we found somewhere to wash it, and then packed up the car. We drove past the Bloody Foreland, where a short cliff of red rock runs into the sea. At sunset, the sea reflects the red color. Legend has it that the sea is colored with the blood of the sailors who died in the wrecks of their Spanish galleons.

We drove again through fields of peat bogs and purple heather. Donegal is incredibly beautiful. It ...

... We followed him back to the bar where John tried Guinness for the first (and last) time. I had hot tea, and Mary said it would be very good with a bit of Jameson in it--the perfect way, she said, to take the chill off. She was right! We talked about Ireland, the States, and touched a bit on politics, although I told John that’s a no-no. I had brought a bulletin from church, and they were so happy to have it and to hear about Father Tom. It was a ...

... was in the pubs or home in front of the TV. All week we saw pennants flying and flags waving as we drove through the various towns and counties. Each county has their colors, their flag, and their pride. This is a very big deal, and many towns had signs wishing their boys luck with the county team. It came down to Cork and Kerry in the final, and Kerry was heavily favored. It was reported on the news that some women from Cork crossed the border into ...

... the traditional Irish music festival that was going on there. We found an amazing pub called Nancy's, which has been around for about 300 years - so it's one of those old, wonky funny little pubs with low, crooked doorways and oodles of charm and history. The locals were popping in and out for a quick jamming session on the fiddle and violin every so often when the mood took them, and we annexed a corner of the pub and watched and listened as the locals went about their ...

... Union Jacks hanging from the lightposts and Loyalist murals crying “No Surrender” showing the Protestant allegiances.

Finishing our circuit of the city walls we ended up at the Guildhall, a large and important civic building with some incredible stained-glass windows. The windows without exception were blatant Loyalist propaganda, celebrating the triumphs of victorious English monarchs over various centuries, and commemorating those who died fighting for Britain ...

... flocks of sheep skittering along the roads.

By evening we had reached Letterkenny, a stone’s throw away from the border with Northern Ireland, and were soon in the midst of our now well established pattern of finding a B&B for the night before heading into the town centre in search of a reasonably-priced pub dinner.

... I met a lot more really sound travellers. I decided to have the craic and update this later. I was also writing a weekly column for a local Sunday paper and that took up loads of computer time. I did keep a diary so I have all the info and I will gradually get this travelogue up to date. Last Friday 3rd September I met Ciaran McGinley (Foyle Hospice) at the bank and went in to close the account. A total of £1090 was donated. I gave Ciaran the Foyle Hospice Bank draft ...