Off to Hanoi again....or are we?

More than the usual frantic scramble to leave.  Editing and sending book 6 off to print...Always a trauma! Getting our first sponsored challenge ready to launch in October! Preparing our apartment for a home exchange with a fabulous couple Martina and Dean from Manchester, who are lending us their gorgeous cottage in Taddington, Derbyshire.  Trying to tee up meet ups with friends and family in 3 different countries and emergency trips to dentist (cracked teeth) for both of us! No we didn't fight!

The day before we left was also the funeral of my lovely friend Branka. Oh how I will miss our Monday meet ups full of laughter, music, dancing, writing and crazy stories.

The stress levels rose when a typhoon hit Hanoi.  The airport was closed and we were unsure if we would be able to fly, but suddenly we were on our way ... Vietnam here we come...

While we are travelling, keep in touch via WhatsApp or Skype... email is a bit dodgy!

We are off again on our travels!

Well actually we are starting off in a shack on the beach at Newcastle and it is glorious!  Watching surfers, whales and dolphins while we have breakfast, listening to jazz, sunsets, walks on the beach, breakfast in the camper,  What joy!

 Keep logging in for more of our travel news.....lots of adventures to come!

 

Scream at Sneem

Found a beautiful spot to camp.... right next to the river.  Good idea ... not ...  river rising fast...packed and headed West to Mannix Point Camping.  One of the highlights of our trip!

Unfortunately we passed some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland without seeing a thing!

What a drive!  Mannix Point was just fab.  We parked right next to the ocean ... which we didn't see until the next year.... and then...A lovely walk along the beach...

In the evening what a joy... the whole campsite gathered together ... to sing.  French, Swiss, German, English, Irish, Australian.  Great fun.   So glad we are still in touch with some of them.

Go Glengarriff

And so to Glengarriff.. a campsite which advertised an Irish band... oh my goodness what a serious bunch they were... not a smile between them!

This was the liveliest tune of the night the rest were all about the sad times Ireland!

The storm clouds gathered but we were snug in our camper that is until the next day...

Over the hills and...

Came across Molly Gallivan's place by chance.  She was a widow with seven children and had to find a way to survive.  She was ingenious, determined and a hard worker... Ran the farm, raised her children, wove and knitted clothes and had the first tea shop for tourists. She opened a “Sibheen” (illegal pub), where she sold her own home made “Poitín”  locally known as “Molly’s Mountain Dew”.

 Let's hear it for Molly!

Now surely these fine gentlemen weren't here for an illegal tipple were they?Molly's is still a tourist spot.  We picked up the wooden key and let ourselves through the gate and up the hill.  We were greeted enthusiastically by sheep who have obviously got used to being fed by well meaning tourists.  Great little video in the cottage that made the whole place come to life.

In the carpark is the Druid who looks across the valley to the highest peak “Barra-Bui”, where a Cairn on the summit marks the resting- place of an ancient Chieftain.

The druid represents the first settlers in the Sheen Valley more than 6000 years ago. These people had a great devotion to their Gods and their dead. They had an advanced knowledge of astronomy which is evident from the vast legacy of burial and ritual sites that they have left us. At Molly's there is a Neolithic Stone Row (3-2000 BC) - we were to discover lots of stone circles and monuments on our travels in Ireland.

A final pat of the sheep and we were on our way!

Wild camping

Joined about twenty other campers at a free camping spot at Kinsale fab.  Sat by the river for lunch and watched the tide come in before exploring the town... it was just full of fun cafes. bakeries, pubs and of course music.

Now that's what I call a yummy meal!

Famine - Skibereen

Oh my goodness ... the famine such a sad story...I can't believe that the current Conservative government is threatening to starve out the Irish people unless they back down on the border issue...incredible ignorance