Irish Reflections

We've almost done Ireland.  We're in Kilmore Quay in the Southeastern corner.  It's still hot and sunny and we've been motoring most of the way down the coast.  Hot weather tends to lead to more clothes to need washing and machines aren't always available so Val has developed a constructive hobby (above)!  Marion and Grant stayed a couple of days and we did some motoring, some birdwatching and some walking together - all very pleasant and a far cry from some of our Scottish experiences.  We notice a huge variety of places and huge contrasts in relative affluence. Three days ago we were in Arklow; a town that's clearly struggling, with boarded up shops, broken glass on the pavements and drunks in the street in the afternoon.  And now in Kilmore all is bright and freshly painted, with expensive restaurants.

In between we went to Wexford, a historic town with a very large and extremely shallow harbour.  Even with our lifting keel it took a certain amount of nerve to follow the tortuously winding channel for 5 miles, beteen mudbanks laden with large groups of seals, ready to laugh their heads off were we to run aground.  Cry into your Guinness seals!  We didn't!

But a constant feature of everywhere we've stopped has been the helpfulness and friendliness of everyone we've met (and it's very easy to meet people here!).  Nevermore so than in Wexford where we were found a mooring, welcomed into the sailing club, and ferried into town by people we'd never met before.  England isn't often like this!

A recent highlightwas a bird reserve in Wexford where in addition to a large variety mainly of water birds we saw a couple of mountain hares playing.  One came for a drink just across a small pond from us (see below).

We will be here  in Kilmore a few days until our friend Tim arrives from England on Saturday to accompany us on the longish (120 miles, 24 hour) passage to the Scillies.