Day 4: Rambling around Kinvarra

Day 4 has been a wonderful day! I left the planning to Andy today since he is bringing his Achilles heel up to full health. He chose a cool hike called Abbey Hill Loop only six miles away that turned out to be a perfect ramble with a few unexpected and delightful surprises.

First, we had to find the trailhead, and like yesterday’s hike, was not marked in any way. In Ireland, if the hike you’ve chosen is not a national waymarked trail it will most likely not have any marking. We used a combination of a screenshot of the AllTrails map with some saved Google Maps to find our way to the narrow farm lane leading to a parking spot. From there we just pointed ourselves up the Burren landscape to the top of Abbey Hill.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this landscape it is profoundly beautiful in it’s stark and rugged beauty. Here is a description of the unique geologic phenomena. And here is a short clip of what it’s like to walk over it.

It’s mesmerizing to hike over it as the shapes of the rocks under your feet change in beautiful and often elegant ways. Here is one great example:

If the shifting rock shapes weren’t enough to carry one away than the wildflowers will. Spring Gentian, Mountain Avens, Primrose, Irish Eyebright, False Oxslip, Dark-Red Helleborine (a wild Orchid)So many varieties. My favorite is this delicate one — the Herb Robert:

With no trail to guide us, Andy and I had a lot of fun finding our way over Abbey Hill and down into the Valley, guided by the ruin of a 14th century abbey —  Corcomroe Abbey. To get there we had to climb over rock walls and through some brambles and past some really big cows. It was worth it:

From there we crossed another pasture and emerged 100 yards down from a gourmet gluten free bakery and chocolatier!! 

With a belly full we headed up the Burren on the other side of the Valley. This time we came across a large herd of feral goats!

The landscape is magical. It seeps into you over time. Andy did a great job of capturing it in this video:

 

After this magnificent ramble we headed down to the Atlantic and jumped in! Brrrr! (But not as cold as the brook at home!) 

Tomorrow we are off to Limerick to find our Great Great Great Granfather Garrett O’Shaughnessy’s gravestone.

Day 3: Doolin to The Burren and Kinvarra

 It was my turn at the wheel today as we headed out for The Burren. We said goodbye to Betty, a wonderful host at our BnB in Doolin and pointed our rental car South along the Wild Atlantic Way.  This highway has some similarities to the famous Western U.S. coastal highway, route 1, accept instead of a metal guard rail its a rock wall and instead of 12 feet, you have 10 feet or less for two cars and the occasional coach bus!

Despite some confusion we found our trail pull-out on the other side of Black Head. No signage at all, but we knew it was a lesser used access to the Blackhead Loop. We planned to do a shortened version of  the Blackhead Loop (16 miles) by heading up the Caher Valley back to the coast to cut off 4 miles. Well.. we stopped for lunch in the Caher Valley, along a stream and when our bellies were full we looked up at the beautiful trail running up the mountain and lost all sense of which direction we should go. We followed that gorgeous line and found ourselves 4 miles later with the ocean on our left — whoopsie. No regrets as we descended back down to the coast at Farone Beach, knowing we could hitch hike back to our car. Neither of us were up for the 16 miles.  

Sure enough, Igot a ride for 1 back to the car and I picked Andy up after we went for a short walk along with beautiful beach.  Off we went along the most beautiful stretch of this Wild Atlantic Way to Ballyvaughan. We stored up on groceries before our destination of Kinvarra, at the Atlantic Retreat Lodge. How lovely to make a huge dinner of veggies, rice and chicken! 

And.. I got the hang of driving and shifting on the left side quite quickly!

Day 2: Aran Island - Inis Moir

 What a grand time we have had! 

After sleeping for nine hours after our very long and wonderful 36 hour day, we headed to the largest of the Aran Islands - Inis Moir.  It was a cloudy day with high seas and the ride out was pretty exhilarating. We stopped first at Inis Orr, the smallest island to pick up a group of Irish students. 

When we landed, we headed straight for the bike hire, got ourselves two bikes and headed down the island. It was drizzling and grey but we didn’t care. We also did not really know where we were headed! We ended up at a tourist place that we later understood to be the entrance for the much talked about ring fort. We carried on through the rain to the round hut, pictured below and the seven churches.We rode those bikes all the way to the end of the island before we caught the tailwind back, just in time for a cup of soup, some Irish soda bread and a pint of Guinness. The sun came out just as we boarded the ferry and we enjoyed beautiful views all the way back to Doolin.

After cleaning up and drying out we headed to the Doolin Inn for a dinner on Ben, who gifted me with some money on Mother’s Day to buy Andy and I a proper meal. We did him proud with a huge fish and chips, mussels and fish tacos— all locally sourced. Yum. These culinary delights came with some live Irish music. What a day!

Day 1: Cliffs of Mohr and Driving on the Left

 We made it!

Andy and I hit the tarmac of the Shannon Airport at 5:30 AM. A short stop to get our rental car and a few deep breaths by the driver, we set off on the left side of the road. Nerve-wracking for all but soon we were on the slower roads outside of Liscanoor and Doolin and taking a beautiful sunny day. What a gift!

After a lovely Irish Breakfast and Porridge in Doolin we headed back to hike along the Cliffs of Mohr. What a treat to get there early and in the middle of the week. We stopped many times to take in the ocean, the birds and the breeze. After about 4 miles we found a sunny spot on top of some tufts of grass and slept for 20 minutes. Just what we needed to carry on. 

On the way back we were astounded by how many people filled the trail and parking lot! Wow. Still, the massiveness of the cliffs and the sound of the ocean dominated.

Back in Doolin, we had our first Guinness on Irish soil at Gus O’Connor’s pub and then checked into our B & B. After some cleaning up and resisting sleep we rallied and ate some wonderful stew and steak at the pub. 

Tomorrow we go to the Aran Islands. Right now, I finally get to sleep after 32 hours awake!

Almost ready to leave!

 A few more days and I will flying above the Atlantic Ocean on the way to Ireland. What a gift to leave my every day life and step into a very different one for three weeks. It's been a wild few years for this planet and for us humans walking around on it. 

When things are really challenging I have an image I bring to mind that always helps: I imagine the view of Earth from space as it hurtles along through the blackness. I see myself, outsized, standing on it as it spins — my feet held by gravity and my arms up in the air waving wildly. I am smiling and wide-eyed.There are many others' too, screaming and laughing the way we do on carnival rides — half terrified and half exhilarated. In a real sense, that is what life often feels like and for some reason seeing this view from space allows me to relax into it. 

So then what a gift it is when I can go away and slow it all down. Even as I prepare these past few days, I can feel myself beginning to unwind the coil, loosen the spring, open the breath and the belly.

I will be traveling the first week with my brother Andy O'Shaughnessy who has never been to the green Isle. I look forward to seeing his face as he looks out over those rolling Limerick hills where our ancestors lives and survived. What a miracle that is! That our ancestors survived Cromwell's invasions, Viking marauding, the famine, the trip across the "pond" and the harsh conditions waiting for the "black" Irish. Mother's day always brings to mind the mother's before me doing whatever was needed to feed the children. 

We will spend our week together in Doolin, Aran Islands, Kinvara, Beara Penninsula and Killarney. We will walk and fish and take in the ancient rings of stone and beautiful, endless rock walls.

In Killarney, I will begin my two-week walk of the Kerry Way on my own.  This is a 140+ mile walk around the Diveragh Peninsula.  I have paper maps and plan to only use my phone to coordinate accommodations and check weather. The loop has a little of everything: mountain passes, village roads, seaside trails and ancient sites. I have the first three days planned out and then I will just see what comes my way. 

I do not plan to post along the way, but that could change. Here are some of the highlights I hope to encounter in the first four days:

Day 1: A bit of sightseeing before I hike through Killarney National Park with a stop at Muckross House and a stay at the Muckross Riding Stables

Day 2: My walkabout officially begins with a 14 mile hike to Black Valley Hostel

Day 3: After about 11 miles, I end my day in Glencar at the Loch Acoose house.

Day 4:  I've decided to try and do a significant side hiking trip over the tallest mountains in Ireland: Carrauntoohil and Coomloughra Horseshoe Loop and will stay another night at Lock Acoose.

Day 5:  An 11 mile walk to Glenbeigh.

Day 6: A big day to  Cahersiveen. 17 miles (we'll see! I have a tent and might end up camping along the way. If I make it, I will sleep at the Sive Hostel.

That's the basic gist! I might do some writing while on route, but will just wait to see what my soul needs! 

The Power of Intention and Imagination

A big shift occurred in my life when I learned the power of intention and imagination.

It was the year 2003 and I lived 40 minutes from the town where my kids went to school and lived. When I drove to pick them up I was often filled with nervous anticipation since the transition for them from life with Dad to life with Mom was not easy. And sure enough, the ride back to my house was often stressful. And then a dear friend suggested that as I got closer to their Dad's house I should envision what I hoped the reunion to be like, feel like, sound like. This person asked me to imagine what it would feel like to hug them, smell them and hear their voices. And so I tried it. The impact was profound.

There were other experiences too, where the power of intention was exposed too baldly to deny. One was a younger friend who was weary of dating and pessimistic of her chances of finding the man with whom she would co-create a family. I said to her, "The truth is that there is a man out there who is preparing to be part of your life. He doesn't know you yet but he is imagining you. Imagine him too. Make a place for him at your dinner table. Get ready." And she reports that this exercise resulted in the man who is now the father of her beautiful little girl.

Unfortunately "setting intentions" feels a bit too "New Agey" for many people. That's a shame. We could use all the help we can get. No harm in believing that our thoughts have power and setting out to think them with clear and hope-full intention might just change our lives. 

Setting intention is not the same as holding cherished outcomes. Nothing like rigid expectations to ruin a party, a marriage, a trip. So with this trip I begin by filling my mind with images of the landscape and how I will travel through it—slowly and wide-eyed. I imagine meeting fellow travelers and sharing lamb stew and a pint. I imagine my inner clock getting reset by the sun and the moon. I imagine my mind unwinding like an old-fashioned clock and my body following its own rhythm. 

What have you been imagining lately?

Following My Muse

In May I will be walking through western Ireland alone with a backpack and a deep longing to lose myself in that landscape. When Todd and I rode our bikes there in 2017, the green hills of Limerick made me cry and even though rain soaked me through on our way to Doolin I felt a love for this land like none other. Sitting in the pub that night, packed tight with warmth and smiling faces, the fiddle music wooed and held me on moist air. When we flew home two weeks I knew I would return. 

With the pandemic in 2019 came a new intensity to my work as a consultant in schools that has not let up. First it was to pivot my work to the online demands, then it was the call to collaborate in order to better meet the growing need for restorative work. Ironically, as I increased the focus of my trainings to support educator's mental health, mine faded. This year however, I've taken more and more steps to practice what I preach, which is to create more quiet, unplugged time to rest and connect with what feeds me.

My decision to travel back to Ireland was fueled by re-listening to Krista Tippet's interview with John O'Donohue called the Inner Landscape of Beauty. He begins by saying,  

"What amazes me about landscape, landscape recalls you into a mindful mode of stillness, solitude, and silence, where you can truly receive time." 

He goes on to talk about the landscape of his youth—The Burren in Western Ireland. As I recalled walking on that stark landscape with Todd I could feel my body and mind relax. O'Donohue says, 

"Well, I suppose I was blessed by being born into an amazing landscape in the west of Ireland. And it’s the Burren region, which is limestone. And it’s a bare limestone landscape. And I often think that the forms of the limestone are so abstract and aesthetic, and it is as if they were all laid down by some wild, surrealistic kind of deity. So soon, being a child and coming out into that, it was waiting, like a huge, wild invitation to extend your imagination. And then it’s right on the edge of the ocean, as well, so the conversation — an ancient conversation between the ocean and the stone going on."

Only a few weeks after listening to these words, I had booked my tickets for a three-week walkabout starting on The Burren Way. From there I plan to travel North to Gort by bus where Sir Dermot O’Shaughnessy and his family lived in the Gort castle until 1697 when King William III confiscated the property. Galway will be a short bus ride from there where I will stage another walkabout along the Western Way. All this is a sketch of a plan. All I know for sure is that I will walk the Burren, I will walk alone and I will let the rest unfold.

Me on top of the Gap of Dunloe, 2017