The Wild West of Donegal
Written: Feb 01 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Anywhere you go is nice
Cons: A bit difficult to get to without a car
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| hanhayes's Full Review: Ireland |
In 1994 I spent a rainy winter in Belfast. When spring rolled around I felt the urge to shake off the grey dreariness of the city and explore the wild west. After a few days in Dublin and Galway, I began hitchhiking up the coast toward Donegal.
I'd heard so much about Donegal, and every place I read about sounded so beautiful I couldn't decide where to go. Just outside of Sligo a school teacher picked me up and I blathered on about my predicament: I only had three days and there was so much to see and I heard the Glenties were lovely, but then I want to see Donegal town, and someone else said I must make it to Killibegs . . . .
"What do you suggest?" I asked anxiously.
He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, smiling serenely. "Any place you pick will be nice."
It was so simple, and I realized how right he was, so when the next person to pick me up offered to take me to a hostel in Glencolumbchille, I didn't question it.
The hostel was perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. Mary quickly made me welcome. I had a few pints of the Black by the fireside in one of the town's three pubs, and spoke with a few quiet people who came in from the cold and stood to warm their backsides.
A very drunk man kept falling off his barstool. One by one the patrons approached and asked polite questions about my presence. They'd glance at the man clinging to his barstool and apologize. "He's been out at sea for six weeks," they'd say, as if no other explanation were necessary.
The next day I went out hill walking; Mary begged me to be careful because the faerie winds were about and they'd pick me up and toss me into the sea.
I've been back three times since then and when I do Mary babysits the child. She often gathers with a group of young people drinking whiskey around the big peat burning stove. When I ask people why they came to Glencolumbchille they all say the same thing. "I met someone who said I just had to come here; now I know why."
For me I'll always associate Donegal with what the man said in the car, and connect it somehow with how you look at life. Instead of worrying so much, if you expect good things, you'll find them.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hanhayes
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Member: Hannah Hayes
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 19 members
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