. . . to the airport. Two last photos from our last breakfast with Diamond Head in the background.

Normal breakfast in the World Cafe. Weather outlook fairly glum – heavy overcast with occasional rain. The forecast proved accurate.

No landing today. We are sailing in Glacier Bay National Park. Not every cruise ship can just come here. The National Park Service limits the number of ships of any kind in these waters. Only two cruise ships per day can enter. There are lots of other categories of ship that also have limits. Even private boating is regulated.

The link above provides all the information you need to know about Glacier Bay. I won’t try to repeat any or all of it. The pictures will tell the story. On a sunny day, the pictures would be glorious. Not so much today although the low clouds and mist offer their own allure.

First off, a picture of the Ship Cam from our cabin TV that always shows the view from the bow of the ship:

It’s raining out there! But that was as bad as it got, and there was plenty of time with no rain falling. Once the sun even tried to come out. It failed. We had a very brief and faint rainbow near the end of the day. No picture.

The first group of pictures are taken from a covered walkway near the World Cafe. Most people spent the day watching from the comfort of the Explorer’s Lounge. But it was crowded up there and taking pictures from indoors isn’t the best way to get good photos. So we bundled up with polar fleece and jackets and braved the elements. It was chilly and windy out there!

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews may show just thumbnails of the pictures. By the way, the pictures look much better on a tablet or a computer than they do on your phone. Just saying.

After awhile we retired to our cabin which is on the port side. The best views of the glaciers was on the port side although at the best viewpoints the ship basically stops and does a 360º rotation. And after turning around at the end of an inlet, the starboard becomes the better place to be.

A little further along. For a minute I thought the sun might break through. It didn’t.

Finally a look at Johns Hopkins Glacier. The link provides some great shots of the glacier in sunny weather. We couldn’t even begin to see the mountains behind it.

Here’s one panorama shot. Click picture to enlarge.

Sometime during that glacier viewing we had lunch in the (crowded) World Cafe. Then we did some reading and napping in the cabin. Dinner was once again in the World Cafe.

We haven’t seen much wildlife. Elaine saw a pod of whales in the distance yesterday. And we saw a romp or a raft of sea otters swimming Glacier Bay today. (Yes, a romp or a raft is correct terminology for a bunch of sea otters. You learned something today. See here)

There are shows in the theater every night. Generally we skip them and enjoy after dinner cocktails in the Explorer’s Bar. Ditto that tonight.

By the way, I have suspended taking ship photos until we begin our seven straight sea days from the end of the Aleutians to arriving in Japan. There will be nothing else to take pictures of during that time.

Back again tomorrow after another day of sailing in a different bay.

The weather was improved somewhat so we went for a walk into town including a stop in the church to light candles. Snapped lots of pictures.

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After lunch at home, I went into Currans’ for one drink and took one picture. Back at home the sun actually came out for awhile. Dinner was a repeat at Solas followed by a quick drink at Nelligan’s Pub. Then home to bed.

Alas, I either got some bad food or a stomach bug and I was up all night throwing up. Yuch. So Saturday will be a lost day as I recover. No Saturday post will be forthcoming. My meal for the day was toast and cola. Feeling better as a the day went on, thank goodness.

Thanks for all the appreciative comments. The drive from Dungloe to Limerick was easy although all the driving sort of caught up with me. I had to stop a few times to refresh. We had a fast food lunch halfway-ish. Then we checked in to the Absolut Hotel, our go-to hotel in Limerick. We then walked the short walk to the Locke Bar for our last Irish beers.

Views from the Hotel and Our Balcony

Pictures from the Locke Bar

Dinner was at Harry’s On The River in the hotel.

Night scene from the balcony:

Breakfast Sunday morning at the hotel. After breakfast it was off to Shannon Airport for the flight to Boston. We wished Eion, our car, a happy life. He did yeoman work.

First off, thanks to everyone for reading the blog and thanks for all the comments. We don’t always respond to every comment, but we read and enjoy every one. Secondly, this will be the last blog post of any depth for this trip. We leave Dungloe tomorrow morning for a Saturday night in Limerick. I may post something from there or I may not. It’s essentially just a travel day. Sunday morning we fly to Boston where we spend a brief night at the Airport Hilton before a 6 am flight home Monday morning. If I remember, I’ll post a “home safe” message on Monday. But I may forget. Next up on the blog will be our annual September/October trip to Depoe Bay, Oregon and Trinidad, California.

Friday was cloudy in the morning and essentially stayed that way all day. We set off early to do one last leg of the Wild Atlantic Way. This time it consisted mainly of the Fanad Peninsula including Fanad Head. Fanad Head is not the northernmost point in County Donegal. That would be Malin Head. But Fanad Head is close to as far north.

Our first stop was an overlook in Dún Lúiche on the highway heading toward the more westerly coast. Dún Lúiche, known in English as Dunlewey or Dunlewy, is a small Gaeltacht village in the Gweedore area of County Donegal, Ireland. It sits in the Poisoned Glen, at the foot of Errigal and on the shore of Dunlewey Lough. The Cronaniv Burn flows along the southern edge of the village.

Then it was on to the coast. More overlooks provided more spectacular views.

Remember the Silver Strand which I described as possibly the most beautiful beach in the world? Well, next up today was Ballymastocker Strand on Ballymastocker Bay. It may be even more beautiful. We first viewed it from above.

Then, a bit further along on the drive, we parked and walked on Ballymastocker Beach and the dunes and the rocks. I was enthralled with the designs that the tide had left on the sands.

Next we stopped at Saint Colmcille’s Well. Saint Colmcille was born in Gartan, Co. Donegal on 7th December 521 A.D. He was a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Ireland. Tradition has it around 550A.D. he was travelling in the Fanad are when he lost his prayer book. He came across a deer drinking out of this Well and his prayer book was impaled on the deers antlers. Delighted at having found it, he blessed the Well. The Well has been a place of pilgrimage ever since. In 563 A.D. he travelled to the Island of Iona, Scotland, where he established a famous monastery. He died in Iona on 9th June 597 A.D. We visited Iona and his monastery years ago.

Moving on, we stopped at the Great Pollet Sea Arch. It was a long walk through a private farm to get to it from the parking lot. Nice, but probably not worth the walk. Still, we need the exercise. Wait, I’m 80. Maybe I don’t.

Next was Fanad Light at Fanad Head. Click on that link to see fantastic photos in various lighting conditions. We had snacks (pistachio cakes) in the visitor center as a lunch substitute. You can go into the lighthouse (at an extra cost). We didn’t. Here are lots of pics (including one selfie).

After another stop for more pictures at the Harry Blaney Bridge which spans Mulroy Bay between the Roguill and Fanad peninsulas of County Donegal, we headed home.

Back at Sea House dinner was crackers and cheese and fruit and wine. Lots of packing up to do. It’s been a grand five weeks, and we enjoyed sharing it.

I was tired of driving every day. We don’t cover that many miles in a day, but driving in Ireland is tiring mainly because of the narrow curved roads and the need to be constantly alert. So, with two days left before we head back south toward Shannon Airport, we decided that today would be a stay at home rest day. The weather forecast for today looked worse than tomorrow, so it was the better choice for resting.

It turned out to be a good decision because it rained most of the morning and well into the afternoon. The rain stopped and we got sunshine from about 2 pm on. We did drive into Dungloe (five minute drive from the cottage) to pick up some knickknacks and souvenirs of County Donegal. Downtown Dungloe is basically one (rather boring) main street. There are some shops, a betting parlor, McCafferty’s Bar and Restaurant, quite a few pubs (some rather sketchy looking), a barber shop, a second hand shop, and an old hotel (Sweeney’s) that is being regentrified. We walked around and stopped in the one shop that seemed to have what we wanted – genuine County Donegal products.

The shop was called Under the Toadstool, and we had a nice chat with the owner (Sean) who is half American (from Kennebunkport, Maine) and half Irish (from Dungloe). He is living in Dungloe now to help care for his 91 year old mother. We bought a bunch of little souvenirs.

For lunch we wanted something small. We decided to visit Caprani’s Restaurant, a small place that is part of the SuperValu supermarket. It was very busy, usually a good sign. Elaine had a chicken and mushroom pie. The waitress warned her it was huge and suggested a smaller version. Elaine concurred. I ordered, with low expectations, a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Well, the small version of the pie was actually pretty huge in its own right, and Elaine loved it. The sandwich was delicious. This little place could actually be called a hidden gem. The staff and the manager were wonderful. We would go back here in a second. They serve breakfast all day, and we saw several people get the Full Irish and it looked superb (and huge). I didn’t take any pictures (no camera with me), but I wish I had.

Cocktails at home were inside despite the sun shining because it was pretty chilly out. Anyway, my cocktail of choice at home this trip has been Dingle Vodka with a splash of Elderflower Cordial and Fever-Tree Tonic Water. Elaine has a glass of Pinot Noir. Interestingly enough, when I had to buy a new bottle of Dingle Vodka here in Dungloe, it was €6 cheaper than in Dingle. Weird. Dingle Vodka, besides being very smooth, has a distinctive bottle that can be used as a decoration or a vase. The Dingle Distillery is most noted for their fine whiskey, but I love their vodka and their gin has won major awards. Dingle Gin attended the World Gin Awards 2019, where industry experts shortlisted the best gins from 400 entrants from 20 countries. Dingle Gin received the award for World’s Best London Dry Gin and the overall award for World’s Best Gin 2019. Happily, we can now find Dingle gin and vodka at one liquor store in Scottsdale.

We decided to venture back to McCaferty’s for dinner. We had had a decent very late lunch there on Tuesday. And they had that luxurious ladies room. Going back would give me a chance to check out the men’s room. Dinner was very good. Pictures follow (including shots of the men’s room).
Elaine had:
Crispy Breaded Brie with Winter Berry Compote
Baked Filet of Cod & Tiger Prawns Gratin with Gratin Potatoes in a Creamy White Wine & Cheese Sauce
Belgian Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie with Vanilla Ice Cream
Joe had:
Bruckless Bay Wild Mussels in Garlic Butter Sauce
Crispy Honey Roasted Silver Hill Duckling with Bramble Berry, Apricot, & Orange Stuffing
Apple & Mixed Berry Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

Too much food! Home to bed. But first, yet another sunset. These sunset pictures were taken at 9:25 pm.

Wednesday turned out mostly cloudy, a little hazy sun, and no rain. We’ll take that. We decided to drive a little more of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW). As an aside, the WAW runs the whole west coast of Ireland, starting in about Kinsale in the SW and going all the way to Greencastle in the NW (1,600 miles). It runs right through Dingle on the way. And it follows the Donegal coast all the way around. Key sights are marked with the traditional WAW signpost that you’ve seen in many of the pictures, perhaps without noticing them:

We started off backtracking to our day one visit, going through Burtonport and going on to the Airport. That’s where we turned around on the previous day. Today it is the starting point for the blog. Donegal Airport, the only airport in County Donegal, is a one runway affair with one terminal/admin building. The only scheduled flights are on Emerald Air, a subsidiary of Aer Lingus, with daily flights to Dublin and Loganair with daily flights to Glasgow during the summer. We saw one Emerald Air plane there in our various trips past. A private plane flew by today but didn’t land. Because of the adjacent beach, the airport was voted the world’s most scenic landing spot in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Near the airport we drove down a VERY narrow road for a couple of miles and didn’t see much (nothing ventured, nothin gained) except for an oyster farming operation and a cow. Oysters are big business in Donegal.

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Practically next to the airport is Carrickfin Beach (Trá na Carraige Finne), a blue flag beach. There were lots of live snails crawling around. Escargot for dinner, anyone?

We drove a long way along the coast, stopping here and there, before heading back to our house. The scenery is just breathtaking. Here are the photo results of the rest of the drive including a stop for lunch, a visit to a church to light candles, a sighting of a strange license plate, and the ocean views.

To wind up today, here are some pictures of the inside of our now messy house/cottage. Also included is a picture (or two) of tonight’s peat fire. And there is Elaine’s picture of fat me reposing after dinner. And another picture of another sunset. Dinner was at home: leftovers from our last meal. See you tomorrow.

Lots of pictures again. Enjoy. Also lots of links to interesting history. (Yeah, I know. You are only here for the pictures. No problem. You don’t have to click links. Smiley Face!)

We had a quiet morning at home. It was overcast, but we’ve got to do something, right? So we decided to return to Burtonport and take the ferry to Aranmore Island. There are actually two ferry companies. We chose one by chance and booked online. (€45 round trip for car and two passengers) These are small ferries as you will see in the pictures. The ride to Aranmore is only 20 minutes. We left at 12:45 and were scheduled to return on the 3:20. We really didn’t have time to grab lunch on Aranmore. If we had had time, we still wouldn’t have had lunch – nothing was open. The things to do on Aranmore, which is only about five miles long, are to drive to see the Aranmore Lighthouse, to visit a monument in a lake on the way to the lighthouse, and to savor the magnificent views. That’s Eion, our car (license plate 231-D-6260), on the left front in the ferry photo. You have to back onto the ferry, and the cars are inches apart. Fortunately a ferry attendant backs the car on for you. Can you spot cows on the beach? Do cows swim or are they just getting a tan?

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ON THE FERRY (with videos)

It was cold and chilly, but at least the sun had come out.

AT THE LIGHTHOUSE

One notable feature of the lighthouse, located on a bluff, is a set of stone steps down to the sea which were used in rescue missions. You can see them on this link. I was never in a good position to get a photo of them. The road to the lighthouse is a freaky narrow strip of asphalt.

AT THE BEAVER ISLAND MONUMENT

Remember the Blasket Island people who relocated to West Springfield, MA that I mentioned in an earlier post? Beaver Island is a similar situation. Many people from this area relocated to Beaver Island, MI during the Irish Potato Famine. The story is told here.

AT THE FERRYPORT ON THE ISLAND

The red ferry shown is the one from the other ferry company. Our ferry was blue. They are almost identical ships though. The monument is about a famous shipwreck (of the Dutch SS Stolwijk) and the lifeboat rescue mission. If you are reading this on a computer, you can read the story. On a mobile device, it’s probably too small. The whole story is here. There is another memorial to another shipwreck, but we didn’t come across it. The sad story about that one is here.

RANDOM PANORAMA

We got back to Burtonport at about 3:40 and we were starving. Unfortunately, the Lobster Pot, where we ate on Sunday, is closed on Tuesday. So we drove back to Dungloe and had a late lunch / early dinner at McCaferty’s Pub. Chowder (wonderful) and Roast Beef Special (OK) for me. Cheesy Garlic Bread (Very Good) and Chicken Curry (Very Good) for Elaine. The usual Smithwick’s and Guinness to drink. Elaine was so impressed with the ladies room that she took two pictures. (See her in the mirror taking the picture?) I should have checked out the men’s room, but I didn’t. Oddly enough, McCaferty’s is a chain with branches in London, Oxford, Donegal Town, two in Spain, and four in the United Arab Emirates (of all places).

Then it was home for a cocktail outside to start and inside to finish. We had a real peat fire in the fireplace. It was grand and smelled great. Tourists rarely see real peat anymore. Peat extraction is tightly controlled by the government (Bord na Móna). You can buy processed peat logs pretty much everywhere, but raw peat is hard to find. I guess that is not so true in County Donegal. We have a good supply in the house. I didn’t take a picture of the fire. Next time maybe. Long day and early to bed.

This will be long with LOTS of pictures. Fair warning. Feel free to scroll.

Forecast was iffy and the morning wasn’t promising. There was some sun, but also intermittent showers. But the day turned out to be beautiful. Cool (low 50’s) but lots of sun. There is a lot to tell you and a lot of pictures.

In the morning we watched the oystermen arrive for work early. There were lots of them – a dozen at least. Alas, we didn’t get to chat them up. Maybe tomorrow. They were moving crates of oysters up the road for delivery to customers. You can see their little boat checking the oyster bed crates in the bay.

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Hoping for the best weather-wise, we headed out on a road trip. First stop on the trip was an overlook that viewed Narin-Portnoo Beach in the far distance.

Then we actually arrived at Narin-Portnoo Beaches. It’s a beautiful setting, and we had a nice walk on the beach. One woman was swimming. 52º!! Interesting beach concepts in the last two pictures. Kudos to the beach admins for that. (Two pictures are darker than they should be because I had accidently changed a camera setting. I could have brightened them up, but I didn’t bother.)

The town is above the beaches, and it provides another spectacular view looking back down. Below the normal pics is a panorama. (Sue: the graveyard pic is not the Val Brady you knew well!)

Some random pics along the drive:

Next stop was in Ardara, a pretty town in Donegal. We visited the church to light candles, and we stopped in the Donegal Tweed Center. 25+ years ago we stopped in Ardara to visit Eddie Doherty’s Pub & Weaving Shop where we bought two woolen throws that he weaved in the back room of the pub. We still have them and use them all winter at home. Now he is a world famous weaver. The throws are exponentially more expensive than when we got them. We drove by the pub/shop, but we didn’t stop.

Next stop – Glengesh Pass (Malaidh Ghleann Gheis), a beautiful mountain pass on the road. Pictures are all that’s necessary. Tried a selfie which worked but didn’t show the background well.

On then to Malin Beg and it’s beautiful Silver Strand, often called the most beautiful beach in the world. We chatted with a nice couple from Massachusetts (Cape Cod and Jamaica Plain). We lamented the Bruins, celebrated the Celtic’s advance to the East finals, and applauded the Red Sox who seem to be doing better than expected. There are stairs down to the beach – 174 steps. We skipped that and enjoyed it from above. That was a good decision because of some walking coming up later. Anyway, here are the Silver Strand pictures. The greens and the blues are beautiful.

Next we started looking for a place for a late lunch. There are a few scenes along the roads including one of a lighthouse on an island (using telephoto lens). Also, there’s a panorama below the gallery. We stopped in An Charraig (Carrick) for lunch at Kelly’s Kitchen Pub. It was good – Elaine had open faced prawn and smoked salmon sandwiches; I had fish and chips. Elaine had a Smithwick’s. I had Coke Zero – lots more driving to do. Guinness tends to encourage a nap.

As you can see from the Kelly’s menu cover above, Carrick is the town nearest the famous Slieve League cliffs. It was getting late (3 pm), but the cliffs were only five kilometers away, so . . . Well, when you get there, there is a lower parking lot right off the road and an upper parking lot well up the mountain. We didn’t know any better, so we opted to park at the lower lot and walk up. (It turns out the upper lot was full and there was a wait to drive up to it.) But exercise is good! Well, the lower lot is MUCH lower. It’s a long, steep uphill slog (well over a mile) to get to the upper level. We barely made it, and several times considered turning around. I’m glad we didn’t. From the upper level, you can climb even higher to the top of the mountain. Maybe fifteen years ago we might have. We got good enough pictures from where we had struggled up to with our Sherpa guide. The Cliffs of Moher are more famous and more visited and easier to get to, but the Slieve League is fantastically beautiful. Note our photo that a nice man took for us – you may see it again on our Christmas card. Also note the “Eire” in stone on the side of the mountain. And those sheep have a great view. Do sheep (or cows) look at the view?

The climb down was much easier but still tough on the knees. I brought my elastic knee braces with me to Ireland, but I haven’t needed them. The old joints are holding out. From there it was straight home. There were a couple of views along the trip.

Dinner consisted of Magnum Bars at home after outdoor cocktails. We got another great (for Ireland) sunset. Note Elaine taking her own picture.

We woke to sunshine, always a good sign. It remained sunny for much of the day, but there were intermittent showers (and even a rainbow).

It’s too far to walk to town in the mornings, but we can walk around our area. and we did. First up, some pictures of the outside of the Sea House, the official VRBO name of our cottage. The last picture is a reflection in the door to the cottage.

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Just 100 yards or so down the path toward the ocean is a working oyster operation. On the way down, you pass some old stone ruins. No oystermen in sight today, probably because it’s Sunday. Maybe we’ll meet some of them some day this week and get some free oysters. You’ll see bags of oysters ready for market in the pictures. And there’s no one around, so I suppose could help ourselves (and maybe spent more time in Ireland – in a prison) . In these pictures, it’s low tide. And there are LOTS of oyster shells. (Find Elaine waving in the distance in one picture.)

Then we took a ride to nearby Marghery Beach. It’s only about 2 miles away.

Next we drove a bit north to Burtonport (Ailt an Chorráin in Irish). It’s named after Burton Conyngham. It’s home to a 20 minute ferry ride to Aranmore Island (which is not part of the Aran Islands near Galway). We could have gone over, but didn’t. Maybe we’ll take the ferry trip sometime this week. Burtonport is also the home of the Lobster Pot Restaurant.

We drove on a bit, but after awhile we decided to return to Burtonport for lunch at the Lobster Pot. It was a nice meal, and we had a good chat with a couple at the next table from northern Donegal. Beers were good – usual Smithwick’s for Elaine and Guinness for me. Elaine had fish and chips again – it’s so good here in Ireland that it’s hard not to get it. I had the Fisherman’s Special – a cup of delicious chowder and an open faced prawn sandwich with salad.

Then it was home for relaxation and naps. We had a brief downpour followed by more sun. And we got a rainbow. Not a great picture, but it was better than it looked.

Dinner was at home. Spaghetti with meat sauce. With a salad and garlic bread.

You don’t get sunsets in Ireland very often with all the clouds, but we had a decent one tonight.