The harbour with the ruins of St Ciaran's church
Today, we leave Cape Clear....such a perfect island for sketching P will tell you. It is a most inspiring place and we had enjoyed every minute...even the slight rainy interval, why, because the mist descending added another dimension to the atmosphere and a litle bit of wind and rain on your face can be exhilirating . Now Richard, "I am not the warden" I owe you an apology on two counts, one linked to the above! As our Host, I want to thank you again for the fishing lesson and for removal the said Pollack from my rod...not sure if I could have grabbed the thrashing tail!
The second apology relates, as I'm sure you can guess, to the school photo.....of your father...after whom you were named, you are not "just wearing extremely well" as I had supposed!!!! I just about believe the "eye" story...yes, really I do...now!!!
Having the place to ourselves was more than we could have hoped, added Wifi was a huge unexpected bonus and allowed me to keep up with this! Thank you for making our stay the best it could have been....Five Star? Absolutely!
So now we sail away and wave goodbye to the Capers as we are blown off the Island. It has certainly given us a taste for remote Islands and Ireland has its fair share...so it has....
Farewell.....
Just as we entered Waterford, I saw a sight I had never witnessed..this huge lift bridge. Now bridges don't usually do it for me, but this one was something else!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes!
We have spent the afternoon in Waterford and managed to avoid buying any crystal! However the same cannot be said for the aquisition of books....
We found a delightful book shop which has tables and chairs placed around the shop so that anyone can sit and read to their hearts content without fear of comment. There are about 5 floors, one of which sells coffee....We spent at least an hour in there, in my case browsing Irish history (the horrific famine accounts and the mass emmigrations to the USA and Australia need further study) Crafts, Home Improvements and Natural History. I found a book that would have answered all my birds, flora and fauna, sea shore and many other questions....maybe next time....and it is handbag sized! However, when we DID emerge it was with items purchased by the Ps in the form of a computer book, gardening and drawing books, plus some pastels for more sketching experiments...not eye shadows as S would surmise.....
S trying to find P and remove her from said shop, with a promise of a coffee...
The remaining time was spent wandering around gaining a small taste of Waterford history, some vey tragic as in the case of two ships bringing produce sailing two days apart, in 1917, which were both torpedoed by the same U boat on their way to Waterford...many lives lost and the town grieved bitterly....The list of names are recorded from SS Formby and SS Conaburg (or something similar)
The Clock Tower
The river Suir at Waterford
The guy on the horse was also a big name. Having been transported to Tasmania( for political unrest reasons, I believe) he escaped to America and was involved in leading an Irish regiment during the Civil War, quite a reputation and good at heroic speeches! He also had a say in what later became the Irish flag. The orange representing the Unionists, the green, the Nationalists and the white separating the two as a truce.
This church has the most impressive Waterford crystal chandelier.
Now as we were driving towards Rosslare, did I spot a Pinemartin or was it a fox? P saw it too...I think the former and justing by the description on Google...it could have been....I've seen a fair few foxes now :( and if I was a betting woman, I'd say it was a pinemartin, one of Ireland's elusive mammals, but found in this area....we'll never know for sure.....but with my experience of "firsts" this week...!
Having eaten (and had the promised coffee) at the Horse and Hound (memories of Notting Hill and Hugh Grant!) we journeyed on to the our final destination of the day, a hotel five minutes from the ferry port, since we were to embark at 8am ready for the 9am crossing to Fishguard.
The hotel, found with ease, D had chosen well, we said our goodnights and headed up to bed. On opening the door to our room we were greeted by what I can only describe as the same feeling you get when you step of a plane in the Middle East....a blast of heat....radiators going full pelt! D was despatched to turn the thermastats right down and I opened both windows to their widest!
The tea and coffee in the room will be a welcome start to the day tomorrow!
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