We arrived at my husband's aunts house in Ballygeary or as it is written on the signs, Béal Átha'n Ghaorthaidh. It's about an hour west of Cork in an area they call, geeltach. It means that it's a predominately Gaelic speaking community. In fact R's cousins go to a school where they only speak Irish and there is an Irish college in the town that people from all over come to learn Gaelic. Makes the town a little hard to find if you don't know how to read Gaelic.
Anyways, the car journey was about 6 hours, but travel time was about 9. We stopped in Belfast for a shop stop and then got through Dublin and had lunch at Brown's Bar. It was an old stable converted into a restaurant/bar. Very cool. Than it was straight to Cork from there. Being in a backseat with a grumpy infant and no room makes for a very long journey. The house here is over looking a lovely lake. (I'll have more pictures when we get back to Tobermore more of course).
Today was a lovely day. R and I took a 12 mile bike ride around the whole lake. Through Ballygeary and then to the next village of Inchigeela. Both villages were so quiet and peaceful today. They roads were also pretty empty so we had a nice leisurely bike ride. The roads were the kind of roads you picture when you think of back country Ireland. No cars, no lines, no signs, just cows, sheep and fields. With a few cottages for good measure. However, because I hadn't been on a bike since who knows when, my bum is very sore and there were a few hills I walked up, but overall a very easy ride. Miss O went with the grandparents for a 2 hour walk around the mountains.
After the bike ride, there was a nap and than I went with the 3 cousins and Uncle L up to the river Paudeen. It's a small river just past their house. To get to the swimming spot, you go under two electric fences and through a cow pasture. It's the perfect swimming hole. A nice current to keep the water clear and deep enough that you can actually swim. However, when we were getting the ready, the "locals" as I'll call the cousin were all dressing up in wetsuits, that doesn't sit well when all you've got is a small swimsuit. I am proud to say though that I did dive in and it wasn't too bad, if only the air was warmer it would have been perfect. I'm proud to say that I'm made of stronger stuff. (The water was a hair bit warmer than the Maine ocean water).
Tomorrow we're probably going on a boat ride around the lake, more swimming and a BBQ. I might also go to mass tomorrow if the service is going to be Gaelic. Very interested to hear the difference. Here's a few pictures taken from my phone of the swimming hole.
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| Looking up the river. On the left |
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| Looking down the river towards the bridge |
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| The locals looking for small fish. |
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