Wimbledon - Day 24
Got up fairly early, hoping that our laundry would be back. We found out that they didn't expect it until after 10 AM!! That meant we'd be leaving Belfast pretty late, in our opinion. Today was the day we drive the length of the country, hoping to wind up in a Bed and Breakfast in Cork. Basically, driving from the Northeast corner of the island to the Southwest. Laundry came, fortunately, at about 9:30, so we were able to get packed and out by 10:30, but it was still pretty late and we had a long day of driving ahead.
Since the cell phone was back in a UK country, it was able to pick up Vodaphone in Belfast, and we were able to use the phone. Colleen called her mom and they talked about the Cliffs of Moher (Colleen pronouced as Mohair, but I believe it was closer to Moore) and she found them on the map, but we couldn't locate them in the GPS. So, we keyed in a nearby city, and knew that we'd find the signs to the tourist destination once we got close. That was supposed to be a 6 hour drive, give or take. Now, the Pugeot had no A/C so we had to ride with the windows down, and of course the sun beating in on us. Things started out reasonably well. Belfast to Galway is listed at 180 km, and that was pretty much the last major city before we had to get to the cliffs. From there, we estimated it would be an additional 60 km or so to get to the cliffs. What we didn't count on is the phenomenon I will call the Ireland road system.
There are several classifications of roads in Ireland. The first is major. This represents an Interstate. It is 3 or 4 lanes in each direction, and the speed limit is 110 km per hour. The next is a national road. This is similar to many U.S. highways like route 66, US-1, or something like 167 in Arkansas. It is mostly two lanes each direction, but goes through every small town, and has the speed limit drop to as low as 50 km per hour. While going through a small town, it may also have a variety of stop signs, signals, roundabouts, and one lane construction that mean traffic moves very slowly. The next is a regional road. Definitely only one lane each direction, and through small enough towns that you may have farm equipment on the road slowing the pace. The last is the 'other' road, which means it is one lane each way only in spirit, and may have livestock on the road, farm machinery, and is likely to be unmarked and have loose paving in some places.
So, once we got near Galway, we had to get off of the national road we were on and onto a regional road. That ended up actually being the same road name, but it was not the same kind of road. :-( We were slowed even more by the traffic, and suddenly it was approaching 3 PM and we hadn't reached the cliffs yet. Colleen suggested we get onto one of the 'other' roads as a more direct route and I was losing it. There were times I felt I was being pushed off the road as cars approached, and more than once I slapped foliage against Colleen's side of the car as I tried to make sure I didn't hit rear view mirrors with the oncoming car. I got so nervous at one point about a car behind us that I pulled off the road to let them pass, though the shoulder was very soft and we quite a bit of bouncing to get back onto the road. At least we hadn't done any damage to the car. We finally reached the cliffs, and we were only midly disappointed. As the site I listed indicates, the section with O'Brien's tower is closed for the 2006 season until the new visitor's center is complete. That was disappointing because the tower was at the pinnacle of the cliffs, and would have been a spectacular view. Still, we did walk to the official end of the park and out into the unmanaged area that was right against the cliffs with no security railing, etc. I was of course freaked out, but Colleen did get some good pictures. We had been there a little over an hour and then decided we better get back on the road. Galway to Cork was 128 km and while we had dropped down some of that, the distance East we'd have to go in my mind was roughly a wash.
We did avoid the 'other' road this time, and thought we had a good sneaky route to head out slightly North to Lisdoonvarna. That was fine until we got into Ennis. In Ennis, we had the worst experience of our lives in terms of driving, at least it was for me. We covered 10 kilometers in 2 hours. Basically, the national road cut through the heart of Ennis, and it had (literally) a roundabout, a signal, a roundabout, a signal, a roundabout, a roundabout, a signal, and then a one lane due to construction. With the Cliffs dumping folks out into this lone artery, we were stuck. I wasn't sure we were going to survive, as neither of us was prepared to deal with that.
Finally got through that nightmare and onto a national road that was a decent size again. We drove past what is most commonly known as King John's castle. I don't even know what time it was, but we guessed it had to be closed, as it rapidly approaching 7 PM. We ate dinner at a fast food chain named Supermac's and was surprised to see that the restaurant also had an arcade, a ten pin alley, and skee ball. We of course didn't participate in any of that. We were tired, and had once again not eaten all day. It was odd, though, as I swore that the woman at the counter asked me for my order in Gaelic, though it could have been that her accent was far to strong and I just was too road weary. Cork to Limerick was only 65 km but by the time we left the restaurant, it was dark. That put the time at well after 9 PM. We pushed on, feeling the rush of the food, the ache of the sunburn, and the general malaise at what was already 11 hours since our departure.
This is where the next saga began. We hadn't booked a room in Cork, hoping that we'd find a Bed and Breakfast. Most of those shut down around 9 or 10 in terms of new guests checking in (some even earlier) and we knew we'd arrive in Cork well after 11. That meant we were going to play hotel scramble again. No problem, right? Think again! The GPS this time abandoned us (we had established it was a real person and she was getting satisfaction from our plight, and had begun cursing loudly at the device) and said that it knew of no services in Cork. No gas stations, no restaurants, nothing. Now, we know that is wrong, but the question became now what? So, we thought we had the right idea. We chose to have it take us to Cork Airport. That's the other side of town from where we were, and I managed to turn too early, or too late when the GPS indicated and we spent quite a bit of time churning through downtown Cork. We finally reached the airport area, and sure enough, there were hotels. It was now almost midnight. We pulled into the first hotel, and the front desk was out smoking as we walked past him to the desk. He finished his smoke and came in to tell us that he had no vacancies, and we'd have to find another hotel. Desperate, Colleen asked (just as I was about to) if there was another hotel nearby that would have a vacancy. He suggested Great Southern Hotel adjacent to the airport. He even provided us with some basic directions. We stumbled back to the car and drove on, hoping the hotel would have room.
When we got to the desk, the gentleman did indicate rooms were available, but that they'd be 100 euros for the night. I said no problem. Colleen had heard him say 800 euros and was not about to pay for that. I explained it was his accent, and the rate was well within our allowance for hotel. We got into the room. No A/C here either, but it was otherwise a wonderful room. It even had a mini bar, and Colleen and I had a drink prior to collapsing in the bed. It was now well after 1 AM, and that meant we'd been up and on the road effectively since 8AM that morning. A very long day.
Cheers!
Since the cell phone was back in a UK country, it was able to pick up Vodaphone in Belfast, and we were able to use the phone. Colleen called her mom and they talked about the Cliffs of Moher (Colleen pronouced as Mohair, but I believe it was closer to Moore) and she found them on the map, but we couldn't locate them in the GPS. So, we keyed in a nearby city, and knew that we'd find the signs to the tourist destination once we got close. That was supposed to be a 6 hour drive, give or take. Now, the Pugeot had no A/C so we had to ride with the windows down, and of course the sun beating in on us. Things started out reasonably well. Belfast to Galway is listed at 180 km, and that was pretty much the last major city before we had to get to the cliffs. From there, we estimated it would be an additional 60 km or so to get to the cliffs. What we didn't count on is the phenomenon I will call the Ireland road system.
There are several classifications of roads in Ireland. The first is major. This represents an Interstate. It is 3 or 4 lanes in each direction, and the speed limit is 110 km per hour. The next is a national road. This is similar to many U.S. highways like route 66, US-1, or something like 167 in Arkansas. It is mostly two lanes each direction, but goes through every small town, and has the speed limit drop to as low as 50 km per hour. While going through a small town, it may also have a variety of stop signs, signals, roundabouts, and one lane construction that mean traffic moves very slowly. The next is a regional road. Definitely only one lane each direction, and through small enough towns that you may have farm equipment on the road slowing the pace. The last is the 'other' road, which means it is one lane each way only in spirit, and may have livestock on the road, farm machinery, and is likely to be unmarked and have loose paving in some places.
So, once we got near Galway, we had to get off of the national road we were on and onto a regional road. That ended up actually being the same road name, but it was not the same kind of road. :-( We were slowed even more by the traffic, and suddenly it was approaching 3 PM and we hadn't reached the cliffs yet. Colleen suggested we get onto one of the 'other' roads as a more direct route and I was losing it. There were times I felt I was being pushed off the road as cars approached, and more than once I slapped foliage against Colleen's side of the car as I tried to make sure I didn't hit rear view mirrors with the oncoming car. I got so nervous at one point about a car behind us that I pulled off the road to let them pass, though the shoulder was very soft and we quite a bit of bouncing to get back onto the road. At least we hadn't done any damage to the car. We finally reached the cliffs, and we were only midly disappointed. As the site I listed indicates, the section with O'Brien's tower is closed for the 2006 season until the new visitor's center is complete. That was disappointing because the tower was at the pinnacle of the cliffs, and would have been a spectacular view. Still, we did walk to the official end of the park and out into the unmanaged area that was right against the cliffs with no security railing, etc. I was of course freaked out, but Colleen did get some good pictures. We had been there a little over an hour and then decided we better get back on the road. Galway to Cork was 128 km and while we had dropped down some of that, the distance East we'd have to go in my mind was roughly a wash.
We did avoid the 'other' road this time, and thought we had a good sneaky route to head out slightly North to Lisdoonvarna. That was fine until we got into Ennis. In Ennis, we had the worst experience of our lives in terms of driving, at least it was for me. We covered 10 kilometers in 2 hours. Basically, the national road cut through the heart of Ennis, and it had (literally) a roundabout, a signal, a roundabout, a signal, a roundabout, a roundabout, a signal, and then a one lane due to construction. With the Cliffs dumping folks out into this lone artery, we were stuck. I wasn't sure we were going to survive, as neither of us was prepared to deal with that.
Finally got through that nightmare and onto a national road that was a decent size again. We drove past what is most commonly known as King John's castle. I don't even know what time it was, but we guessed it had to be closed, as it rapidly approaching 7 PM. We ate dinner at a fast food chain named Supermac's and was surprised to see that the restaurant also had an arcade, a ten pin alley, and skee ball. We of course didn't participate in any of that. We were tired, and had once again not eaten all day. It was odd, though, as I swore that the woman at the counter asked me for my order in Gaelic, though it could have been that her accent was far to strong and I just was too road weary. Cork to Limerick was only 65 km but by the time we left the restaurant, it was dark. That put the time at well after 9 PM. We pushed on, feeling the rush of the food, the ache of the sunburn, and the general malaise at what was already 11 hours since our departure.
This is where the next saga began. We hadn't booked a room in Cork, hoping that we'd find a Bed and Breakfast. Most of those shut down around 9 or 10 in terms of new guests checking in (some even earlier) and we knew we'd arrive in Cork well after 11. That meant we were going to play hotel scramble again. No problem, right? Think again! The GPS this time abandoned us (we had established it was a real person and she was getting satisfaction from our plight, and had begun cursing loudly at the device) and said that it knew of no services in Cork. No gas stations, no restaurants, nothing. Now, we know that is wrong, but the question became now what? So, we thought we had the right idea. We chose to have it take us to Cork Airport. That's the other side of town from where we were, and I managed to turn too early, or too late when the GPS indicated and we spent quite a bit of time churning through downtown Cork. We finally reached the airport area, and sure enough, there were hotels. It was now almost midnight. We pulled into the first hotel, and the front desk was out smoking as we walked past him to the desk. He finished his smoke and came in to tell us that he had no vacancies, and we'd have to find another hotel. Desperate, Colleen asked (just as I was about to) if there was another hotel nearby that would have a vacancy. He suggested Great Southern Hotel adjacent to the airport. He even provided us with some basic directions. We stumbled back to the car and drove on, hoping the hotel would have room.
When we got to the desk, the gentleman did indicate rooms were available, but that they'd be 100 euros for the night. I said no problem. Colleen had heard him say 800 euros and was not about to pay for that. I explained it was his accent, and the rate was well within our allowance for hotel. We got into the room. No A/C here either, but it was otherwise a wonderful room. It even had a mini bar, and Colleen and I had a drink prior to collapsing in the bed. It was now well after 1 AM, and that meant we'd been up and on the road effectively since 8AM that morning. A very long day.
Cheers!
posted by Derek Botti at
4:59 PM
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