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Published: November 2nd 2008
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"The Innocent and the Beautiful have no Enemy but time". Since visiting Yeat's grave, I've vowed to read more of his works. We left the western islands behind us and trucked up towards Donegal. Sean told us faery tales and funny stories, including his impersonation of the sing-song accent we were about to encounter. A quick stop in County Sligo to see W.B. Yeat's grave, at the base of Benbulben (525 m). We also stopped at the National Famine Memorial, after hearing the chilling tales and songs of that desperate time, not that long ago in Irish history.
Our hostel in Donegal was based on a farm, and I was ecstatic. The kind of set-up that when you go to the kitchen (which was in a separate building) you had to remember to close the gate behind you otherwise sheep and cattle would get loose. I loved it. 20 of us were situated in a separate house at the bottom of the hill. 4 showers! 2 toilets! A fireplace and Scrabble set! Luxury. As always, time was against us, and we all wanted to get going down to the pub after dinner. It was a 3 km walk, and I know some of us would have been up for it had it not been for the driving rain and wind. Sean arranged
for a bus from the village to shuttle us back and forth for the night.
....Just an observation about this part of the country....time is merely a suggestion, not really a standard. Everything's pretty relaxed. There's no rushing the locals to do anything. You very quickly get the feeling that this little place has been passed by in regards to technology or modern demands. Now, that doesn't mean there's no electricity or such, but Donegal didn't really seem to need it, if that makes sense. Our hostel perched on a hill with the valley below us could have held me for ages, I reckon.
So off to the pub we went. We were the only ones there upon arrival (it being a weeknight), but we made the most of the situation. Daniel and I decided that what the group needed 4 days into the trip was a good game of "I Never". I can hear you groaning now, those of you who have played and been burned by the I Never flames. Basically, you take turns saying things you've never done. Ex. I've never skydived, therefore everyone who HAS must take a drink. But you can be as
specific and mean as you want to get one of your friends to admit to some deed and then drink for it. As you can imagine, the game gets pretty graphic/sloppy/honest/shocking/disastrous. We played all night, in between bouts of karaoke (in which I slaughtered Garth Brooks and John Denver alike!).
Donegal was one of those touched nights again. The pub soon filled up, the music was great, and there was nowhere else in the world I wanted to be.
As the night wore on, a wedding party came in. The wedding was to be on Friday, and they were doing a bit of early celebrating. At one point, Sean dragged this guy over to me and initiated an introduction and slurred something about "countrymen". Turns out this guy (Mike) was from Toronto, and it was his uncle who owned the pub we were so enjoying. Small little world. Even smaller, he had been to Woodstock in recent memory. Bizarre.
The next day took us out into the wild, and then up to Derry for the night. I guess you could say that Derry was the precursor to Belfast for me. I knew that they both had dark
histories, but they still both knocked me on my ass. I would go back to Derry in a heartbeat. I think it's good to be in places like that...so much suffering, but so much change as well. Humble yourself and banish the sentence "I'm having a bad day" when you walk past columns that bear bullets and others the names of innocents. Derry was like a piece of black cloth pulled around the edges of the tour. I wanted to pull it aside and keep walking, and alternately wrap myself up in it.
Ireland's history of the last couple of decades is nuts. It's so confusing at times. I don't consider myself an overly religious person, so a lot of it (at the moment) is lost on me. But I do understand passion, and people's need for faith. But as I've mentioned before, I'm fortunate enough to have never had these things forcibly taken away from me. The more our compass swung North, the more I felt like I was wa
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Colleena
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HISTORY
I'm loving all the historical info. and sites I'm getting to see through you. Yeats headstone blew me away! Loved the mystical looking waterfall...even though it soaked you...hehe