June 8th
The village of Dooagh on Achill Island has been our home for some time now. Our host Marie has created a wonderful atmosphere in her house. We’ve felt like we’re in the lap of luxury with top-class accommodation, and we’ve explored the culture and environment of this small village and the entire island. Here, you can find the westernmost pub in Europe, sheep everywhere, turf being cut and burned in fireplaces, the smallest Irish pub in the world, sun and rain — and plenty of wind. There are rugged mountain landscapes and cliff faces. There are also elements that slow down life here. The word “rush” probably isn’t part of the local vocabulary!
In the morning, we drove to Keem Beach to see the westernmost beach in Europe! I didn’t go for a swim, though someone else did… I didn’t ask their nationality. It was windy enough on the beach that our visit was shorter than planned. On the way back, we tried to take some more thorough pictures of the surroundings. We brewed our morning coffee in Tellu (our camper) and brought it inside to drink. Our hostess Marie joined us, and soon cheerful chatter filled the kitchen.
After breakfast, we did a bit of work in the house’s garden. Outi went to visit Kieran in the morning and returned to us in the afternoon. We went with her to the neighboring village for lunch. Local fishermen have set up a seafood stall next to the campsite there, offering a variety of seafood to go.
After our meal, we drove to a local whiskey distillery. I tasted some of their products and took a couple of quality barley brews home with me.
Eating often makes one sleepy, so I took a nice afternoon nap. After waking up, we settled down for a chat with Outi. We ended our session when it was time to head to Ted’s pub to check out the evening’s musicians (on the way, we also took a look at the tiny Lynott’s Pub). This time, the offerings were less Irish, so we decided to spend the rest of the evening at Marie’s place. We sang a few songs and played some music there. Having not played for months, I was a bit rusty, but the atmosphere was the most important thing!
Tomorrow, we’ll pack up and leave this rugged and fascinating village and our wonderful hostess. This is a place we could visit again. Time will tell if we will.