Thursday, August 7, 2008

Day 10






Day 10: Today we decided we weren’t going anywhere. Cindy and Lisa made pancakes, and we all gathered around the table around 11am for our breakfast. (In some cases second breakfast!) Then we noticed that it had been sunny for longer than 45 minutes in row! All of the sudden we decided we WERE going somewhere and jumped in our cars to head for Barleycove Beach, just on the tip of Mizen Head.

Billed as one of the cleanest blue-flag beaches in all of Europe, it is a popular spot of tourists and locals alike. We took the time back roads there and just as we pulled into the parking lot the sun broke though the last of the clouds and shone gloriously on the bay.

There was a long walk from the parking lot to the beach, and we had to pass over a long winding boardwalk, dunes sprouting yellow daisies and thistles, a squishy pontoon bridge, and a tidal plain. When we finally reached the beach it was a huge expanse of clean sand and wide ribbons of tidal pools from the receding water. Everyone who was local was either in one of two extremes: a Speedo or a wetsuit. Those in a wetsuit were headed into the freezing water and those in a Speedo or bikini were lounging on their towels.

We stripped Clare down and put on her baby-suit as she calls it and she bolted toward the tidal pools with her bucket, shovel, and Tom in hand. Bill settled into the nest of towels we had brought, Lola and Cindy lolled momentarily, taking pictures and soaking up the scenery. Lisa went out early to inspect the tidal pools and found huge cream colored limpet shells and fragments of purple and green slate rocks.

Tom hung out with Clare for a long while until turning her over to Nana to bury in the sand. They decided to make a mermaid out of Clare. Bill and Lisa were now snoring loudly on the beach, and Lola was still photographing seaweed and water ripples.

On the way back to the cottage we stopped off at a small cemetery we saw from the side of the road and took pictures of the headstones and crosses and ruins. A small stream ran down the side of the glen, and the gate groaned like a ghost as we opened it to enter and exit.

By the time we got back to the cottage it was 5:30pm and we were all famished so we set about busily making tuna sandwiches, reheating the beef and barley soup, cutting up cheese, and reheating pasta. Along with a couple of glasses of white wine, Jameson’s and Diet Coke, the meal was a resounding success.

Still trying to capture the last of the sun’s rays before a huge thunderhead cloud swallowed them up, we pulled sun chairs and lounge chairs out onto the front grass lawn and threw out blankets to loll about on. There was some talk of heading into town for ice cream, but then someone mentioned that today was the first day in 11 that we hadn’t spent any money. So we kept it that way!

Out on the grass Clare tried for many many minutes to get Laura to do her impression of a sheep Baaaaing, but Laura refused. See, the impression calls for her to shake her head fiercely back and forth while letting her tongue hang out while yelling BBAAAAAA, and seeing as how it would make her look momentarily like an idiot, that just wouldn’t do. ☺

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello from Aunt Jackie
Everyday I have checked for your blog and nothing after day 2....Tonight, 8/7 I got ten days worth! Where have they been hiding? I remember the Blarney Castle climb well and thought going up was fine but unless it was improved found the descent horrible. Congrats to your brave takling of the Irish roads! Sounds like all is going well... It is fine here. See you all soon. Look forward to seeing all of your photos.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Sorry I missed your call Clare Mae. I miss you all. we are off to Big Bear today ... Rick's band is playing and going to "compete against" the Opening of the Olympic's.. should be interesting. All is well at home. You sound like your are having a great trip.
see you soon. Frank and stoli miss you Clare..
Anutie and Uncie.