Walking Towards Sustainability: Sunday in Glasgow- Mile 105.5

Hi all!

We've reached Scotland- two weeks of our trip behind us.

The last week of our trip was spent along the Dingle Way- a gorgeous- truly gorgeous, mostly coastal walk around the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland's southwest.

The week consisted mainly of long walks along the beach, ridge-walking stretches overlooking the

coast, and minor winding roads through small towns and farmland. With our arrival in Dingle came the rains- the first to hit the area in a month- so for most of the week, our never-ending views of the Atlantic were limited to the few feet we had surrounding us.

While walking through the violent winds was certainly frightening at times, it made alot of the walking very special. On our first day we met a misty path that skirted a green-as-can-be hill- Mt. Eagle it was called- that was covered with little stone 'Clochans'- thousand year old beehive huts, and that looked down upon the ocean hammering against the rocks.- No doubt it would have been beautiful in the sun, but to walk through the path in the mist was nothing short of spellbinding.

The beach walking was also amazing- long, long stretches of walking along hard-packed sand and the ocean. The last day, we had a 6 mile stretch on the beach- we took off our shoes and meandered next the water bearfoot- and we finally had some sun!

An undisputed highlight of the week was all the people we met. Stereotypes are stereotypes- but one that seems again and again to ring true is that people in Ireland are so friendly! Not only nice- but friendly, as in they seem to want to connect to really everyone they meet. We slept inside at hostels two nights this week- and the managers of both just talked and talked and spoke and said and told- the pace here works in such a way that it allows time for endless stories, one after the other. Without asking, we've been fed information about the Irish school system, a ladies sick aunt, someone's friend who l0ves music festivals- they just seem to skip the small talk and speak about real things, their own lives, and asking us about ours. We've hitched rides, been in a cab, been stopped by farmers in the middle of the road- and even when we can't make out what they are saying (which is most of the time) we feel welcomed and comfortable listening to them speak.

Another fun people thing about the Dingle Peninsula is that it is part of the Gaeltacht- the areas in Ireland that are mostly Irish (Irish Gaelic) speaking. It is a singing language that we both had t0ns of fun listening to- we even spent 20 minutes in a hostel watching Gaelic reality TV- the content was just as meaningless as other reality TV (we were helped by subtitles), but the language we didn't understand was a pleasure.

A beautiful morning was Wednesday, when we skirted a tall mountain, Mt. Brandon- the sun stayed out long enough to get us to the top and we got to see what Dingle looks like when it's clear- green and cliff against the blue of the ocean- this is the Ireland of the movies and our dreams. On top was an 'Ogham Stone'- a stone left from ancient times with actual language carved in. A few times we passed small cottages with 'for rent' signs and looked at each other with similar thoughts...

A last word about the week- we spent two nights on grass above the beach- one night was

beautiful and peaceful- with both sunrise and sunsets in view (think narrow peninsula)- but the other one was by far and away the most stormy of our tent-sleeping careers. We sat awake listening to the wind smack at our tent, and the rain beat down on it, honestly afraid that all of us- backpacks, tent, shoes and bodies would blow away- but we made it out okay, and the morning brought calmer skies- we subsequently named our tent Myrddin (Welsh for 'Merlin), for its courage and strength of character.

Well that's it for the Dingle Way- this is one of the world's treasures, no doubt- both in its scenery, its walking and its people.