Fill for me the parting glass

Old Clancy Brother's song. We're off to Rome tomorrow. Ireland, we'll surely miss ye, but plan seriously to come back. It feels like we've been here for months...

Things have been phenomenal since last post. We found a wonderful hiking trail along the river in Sligo yesterday evening, wandered through wetlands towards the mountains. Astonishing. It was like a hike into a wonderland... amazing that tourist office didn't seem to know about it. It is also a biketrail that we plan to follow one fine day.

Today we visited Lough (Lake) Glen Car, and Glen Car Falls. We hiked with an outdoor group, very knowledgeable folks. The lake is in a glaciated valley. The glacier supported the limestone mountains for many years; when the glacier retreated, some of the mountains collapsed, leaving peaks with very unusual shapes. Many are wildly angular, high green peaks rising above forested slopes. One resembled the Rock of Gibralter. Amazing place. We hiked high into the mountains, to a boggy area where we saw several skylarks hovering and singing  above the mountains. The higher country was boggy. Farmers have always dug up peat, which they dry and burn for warmth. Some are now using heavy equipment which is causing ecological damage to the bogs.

Ireland is not a  heavily forested island, although it's said that once forests were so thick a squirrel could cross Ireland without leaving the trees.  Our guide told us the British cut down many trees for shipbuilding. Spagnum moss, which soaks up lots of water, caused the demise of many others. Forests that are here have been planted for timber; there have been efforts to reforest Ireland; this move is gaining much support. The government is talking about selling some forests to Swedish logging companies, but this is meeting lots of disagreement.

Our guide also showed us a spot where he once discovered a hideout four IRA militants once used. This was after the partition of Ireland (1920s I believe). Part of the nationalist movement thought that a settlement where England kept the northern counties was the best they could get. This actually led to a civil war between this faction and those who thought the North should also be independant of England.  A rebellous priest, who also supported the more militant faction also hid in this area for a while. An old woman would bring him food once a week, and he would hear her confession. I do need to get more details on Irish history.

Glen Car Falls is astoundingly beautiful, very tall and very misty. Yeats described it as an entrance to the faerie world; again, much of his writing was based in local mythology. Yes, I know I keep talking about Yeats, but you can't turn a corner here without finding a reference to him. I love that... a culture that honors its poets.

We rode back to Sligo in a taxi. The driver gave us some sobering information. Ireland is reeling from the recession, with a current unemployment rate of 14%.  The health care system is hurting, and people are finding that their houses are worth far less than they paid. They don't expect a recovery for 30 years or so, and their economic fate is very tied to the rest of the European Union's.

Life here is not easy, and the history is bitter. But - we love Ireland, I hope I have given you ideas about why. On to Rome. Tomorrow is a travel day, I will try to post again on Thursday.