Bound for the Dingle Way
With 100 miles of the Dingle Way only a couple of days away, I got a little warm up just walking through airports on the way to Ireland. Casually checking my pedometer, it turns out that between walking through airports in the US, England, and Ireland I did a little over three miles.
I've been retired from flying for the airlines for about four years now. It was interesting to visit with the pilots during boarding. There were several small maintenance deficiencies that required refiling a flight plan. It all seemed very familiar and not too distant in memory from when I faced the same exact situations.
The initial delay made for a very tight connection in London. But the stars lined up and I was in Cork by 11:00 in the morning. The hotel even had my room available by the time I arrived.
Cork is one of the fastest-growing cities in Ireland and second only in size to Dublin. I walked a few more miles around town. People were very nice and the weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky and a temperature of about 70 degrees. I'm hoping for a little bit of this on the trail when I walk.
When I went out to grab lunch, I chose to sit at some tables out by the street to do some people-watching. A local woman was on the upwind side of me and lit a cigarette. She’s pictured below. I very politely asked if we could swap seats so she would be on the downwind side, and she couldn't have been happier to accommodate me. That opened up a conversation with her and a gentleman at the next table.
His name was Roy and he was working illegally out in the Hamptons on Long Island for five years. He always remained just a few steps ahead of being deported until it caught up with him. It was an interesting story to hear. While the US government did eventually deport him and send him back to Ireland, they froze all his bank accounts in the process. That is something I never knew about the outcome of a deportation. I should make it clear that I don't encourage people overstaying their visas and working illegally in the United States. It was simply interesting to hear how other people have lived their lives.
My sleep cycles are obviously off-kilter. I had a great nap after checking into the hotel and then passed out again for a few hours at 6:00 in the evening. It was then a bit of a challenge to find something to eat at 10:00 at night.—5 p.m. Florida time. The streets near the hotel were practically deserted. In the quiet of the evening there were interesting things to see, and it actually proved more enjoyable than the touristy sections of the city center..
Tomorrow it's a trip up to the Blarney Castle and then moving on to Killarney. I'm hoping to see more of the small town quaintness of Ireland when I get there.
