07 - Up Your Coast, You Beach!

Above: Obligatory thumbnail image that the main table of contents eats...

Each of us having seen our personally-desired amount of Cork City and faced with a lonnnng drive today, we elected to take advantage of our BnB being near the highway and escaped town, hoping to beat the stormy weather forecasted during most of our trip. Here's our intended route, featuring only a stop in Waterbury (but more on that shortly.)

Once we reached Castlemartyr and, a few minutes later, County Waterford, the rain showers had backed off.

By the time we reached Dungarvan - an adorable, (despite being "twinned" with Erie, Pennsylvania,)  south-facing coastal community with a large, pretty harbo(u)r on the Muir Cheilteach (Celtic Sea) - the sun was bright and the weather warmer. 

As usual with the Traveling Wadeburys,^ plans change when the sun comes out, and once we saw the sign for the Copper Coast UNESCO Global Geopark site, it was obvious that we were leaving the comfort of the N25 for an R-class (remember, "R" is Gaelic for "bumpy") coastal road. You know, "just while the sun is out."  Here's our actual route:

^ A quick aside (or two): Back in the late 1980s, there was a "supergroup" of rhythm guitarists/singers called The Traveling Wilburys. It featured two guys (pseudonyms "Otis" and "Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr.") that my parents have never heard of, a Beatle (George, playing "Nelson,") some folk singer named Bob D. (born Robert Zimmerman, playing the role of "Lucky,") and Roy Orbison as "Lefty."  Lefty didn't make it to the second album - called "Vol. 3" - and I can't remember how their biggest hit, "Handle With Care," goes. Please don't remind me, either; I dislike most 1980s radio music, including this.

By the way, if you're in the Dungarvan area, a place we didn't stop but that looks interesting is Ballyvoyle Tunnel.

Anyway, back to our story...

To be clear: B.,who is not a fan of this "plans change" feature of being in our traveling band, prefers an alternate option called "Just Stick to The Fucking Plan." For example, "The Fucking Plan" in this case featured a stop in the city of Waterford for a virtual reality attraction called "King of The Vikings" that she suggested. I'd like to take a moment for us to apologize to her since we didn't stop there. The good news is I went to Waterford (alone) a few weeks after this trip - I'll add a separate post about it later - and checked it out for her so she can go when she's ready! If you're sensing that this wasn't a consolation for her, you're probably right. Thanks for putting up with us, B!

After Dungarvan, we stayed as close to the coast as reasonably possible, taking it easy to avoid stomachs turning in the back seat, reaching the Copper Coast UNESCO site - the "Global Geopark" can be considered as silent letters but I added a link in case you're curious - about 30 minutes later. The drive up to this point was incredibly green and pretty, though you'd think Mom & Dad, who (both, as far as I know) live in a pretty place that's also green for the few moments of the year when it's not white, would get bored with it. Then again, that's probably why they live there!

The UNESCO site visitor center (or, for the locals, "centre") was in an old church in the village of Bunmahon. In case you're tracking the church count (we're not) via Google Maps for this trip, it's probably the 4,725th old church we've seen on this trip. 

The real magic was across the street and down the cliff a bit where the Celtic Sea was keeping itself busy exploding against huge, ancient rocks at Bunmahon Geological Park, near Bunmahon Beach.

Once back in the car, we made it almost 2.2 kilometers before stopping at the ruins (yawn) of the Tankardstown Copper Mine, itself not that interesting by this point in the trip (and note that I put a link here so that I didn't have to include pics of the signs showing what each structure's function was when the mine was active 150 years ago) but featuring a parking area where the ocean-facing cliffs were visible for miles (or kilometers) in either direction. 

Above: One of the few thatched roofs we've seen.

Above: With the number of cow pics they took, you'd think my parents didn't live in Vermont!

Advice you didn't ask for: Should you ever visit Ireland, either with your parent who accidentally pushes you into a thistle designed by Satan herself or not, use a bit of caution. Vegetation doesn't survive on top of a windy cliff with plenty of nearby hungry sheep and cows without learning how to fend for itself. The good news is that, as I write this almost a month after this event, the bump of painful, necrotic skin is just about gone as are the sharp thingies sticking out of my thumb and palm!  If that's TMI, I won't tell you how they make black pudding.

As we wound around Kilmurrin Cove, we saw actual surfers in the cold water off the beach, 

...but then back up the hill we went toward and through Annestown. 

By this point, pretty ruins such as the one on Annestown Beach weren't even being given a name.

 After a few minutes on the beach...

...it was time to turn northward, away from the coast and, via Tramore, toward Waterford which, as mentioned above, we simply waved at on the way to the (N-class and M-class) highways toward home.

Our punishment for passing Waterford by started soon after leaving it. Within an hour after that - about the time we left County Wexford on the M11 - the skies opened and the wind roared all the way back to Dublin. 

Nothing on the M11 was worth stopping in the rain for that I couldn't (and later did) get to on the train or bus, and so I leave you with one last image - taken after sitting in traffic for three additional hours of weather-affected traffic, including Dublin rush hour, since the last of the green fields we saw in the previous pic - of the Convention Center building back in rainy Sydney.

But don't fear! The next day, Mom & Dad's last full day in Dublin, held more in store for us!

Coming soon: One last library for Mom!