Carrick

Some Irishmen I met in Derry recommended visiting Carrick, which is about 40km west of Donegal. So I booked there for two nights, just to avoid my constant "one night stands" in each place I go. The hostel was quiet, with only a few people staying. Nina (a weapon of mass distraction) and Mary were nice young women from France and Belgium. On Tuesday night I went to a local pub with Nina and Simone, an outgoing young Italian guy. We were the only foreigners in the pub. It was a great night, with a group playing very good folk music. On Wednesday we had morning tea at David's place; David is an englishman who was playing the previous night and who lives in Carrick. I then took my "children", Nina, Mary and Simone, in my car to Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Europe. We walked up on the cliffs for about an hour. The cliffs were spectacular. We then went to Donegal from where Nina, Mary and Simone were catching buses. I returned to Carrick and had a very interesting chat with Shaun, the owner of the hostel. Among other interesting facts, he explained that many of the local farmers were older single males who were made to leave school in the 70s when EEC subsidies meant that there was a lot of value in farming, while the women left to go to university. A fascinating conversation.

Slieve League

On Wednesday night I went back to the same pub as the night before, with a pleasant French couple, Marie and Jacques. The pub was much more crowded than the night before and unfortunately the music was not as good.