We set out in the morning on another very beautiful day. Leaving Ballydavid, we walked along the cliffs above the bay and the ocean for a long while. Turning to our left, we could look back to the west seeing the “Three Sisters.” We’re looking over the bay of Smerwick Harbour for some time, but then we find ourselves looking out over the ocean itself.
As we turn inland and head east, we can see the mountains, especially Brandon Mountain, the highest point on the peninsula. While today is a very easy day, we know that tomorrow will be one of the toughest as we must cross over the shoulder of Brandon Mountain.
Now there’s a lot of road walking with just a few paths through fields. We follow one path which is particularly overgrown and tough. We’re both in our shorts. The blackberries are thick and full of prickers. We try unsuccessfully to push aside the prickers, to step on the weeds rather than through them. But they’re all just too thick, so we both have scratches on our legs. Apparently, Sara was touched by nettles which leave a nasty sting on her legs. This bothers her well into the night.
We arrived in Cuas at our B&B, An Bothar, Pub and Guesthouse, about 12:30. We began relaxing with a drink in the bar, then retired to a lovely room with a nice table, TWO chairs, and good WIFI so Evan could try catching up on this blog. An Bothar was recommended as a very good restaurant (even if it was the only one in this small village), so we looked forward to dinner. Sure enough, our seafood dinners were both excellent. Today was a lovely relaxing day – except for the nettles — so we enjoyed this and prepped our psyches for a big climb tomorrow.
