16/04/08

16/04/08
It is much chillier this morning though the sun is only just behind that (very big) cloud. We are parked up near the visitor centre at Glendalough meaning Glen of two lakes, I am reminded of home and Rotorua, also meaning two lakes. Lough is pronounced similarly to the Scottish 'loch' of the same meaning.

Yesterday we purchased Irish Heritage cards. For €21 each we get free admission to a number of gardens and historic places unique to Ireland. Daniel was a little irked to realise a number of locations have free admission without using our cards, so he has earmarked all locations which have the most expensive admission price to ensure we 'earn' our money back. More importantly though, having some other destinations to visit does help us plan some sort of itinerary.

Here at Glendalough is one of Ireland's premier monastic sites dating back to the 6th century. Because we had just purchased our new cards we were invited to join in a guided tour of the surprisingly well preserved ruins. Our tour guide (from Slovenia) was much informed and we were able to go inside St Kevin's Church, unlike the ordinary folk. After our tour, our bellies informed us ''time for lunch.'' It was 1530 already and we needed some sustenance before the 3.5 hour hike we were about to set off on. I do use the word 'hike' loosely, although we were advised that maps and compasses were necessary, this was a fully marked path and half of it was boardwalk. The boardwalk is a necessity to a) prevent erosion and b) enable a safe crossing through the boggy marsh underneath. The physics of how a bog exists on the side of a cliff is beyond me, isn't water supposed to flow downhill?

We returned from our hike to find that solar shower had warmed it's contents sufficiently for me to wash my hair. With Daniel holding the bag and my head over a bucket, the whole process was relatively pain free; excellent because I'm intolerable if my hair goes unwashed longer than two days.

We then sat down (outside at 8pm in April) for dinner – three different salads and, for the 'official opening' of the tour, our bottle of Moet. A present for our engagement, we had been waiting two years for another suitably celebratory occasion (turning 30 does NOT qualify).