Day 17

Day 17 started with Claire and I finally admitting that we had caught a cold.  Could be the damp Irish weather who knows anyway we carried on with our travels.

On our voyage to Portuma Castle we passed several horse drawn travelers.  There are still people that travel on vacation place to place this way.

Once we arrived at Portuma, we realized that the friary was in bad shape and had gates and scaffolding up to prevent people from wandering around the unsafe grounds.  This did not stop Claire though and she was determined to find an upside down carving of a smiling face shown in the tour plaque.

We toured the castle grounds which was much more impressive when we realized what they started with.  The staircase for example had only one spindle left to recreate the entire staircase.  The roof that we could not see from the inside was replaced to historical replication mostly in order to protect the interior.  Windows and Timber Framing were recreated by local craftsmen based on old plans and historical data.

Much to Claire’s delight, the castle grounds had a garden filled with fruit trees, herbs, vegetables and countless flowers and shrubs.  We were warned not to pick the fruit but we couldn’t resist pilfering an apple that had fallen to the ground, it was delicious.

On our way back around Loch Derg, we stopped at a pub and met two couples travelling up the waterways.  It was wonderful company and Owen loved playing with their dog TJ.

It was getting late however we decided to visit another mountain pointed out by Trevor from across the bay.  The narrow road led up to the Millennium Cross and the graves of the Leinsterman.  The Millennium Cross was a bit of letdown, especially for the uphill climb.  It was a cross built in 2002 that was supposed to be done for the Millennium.  In Irish tradition it was not done on time like the spire in Dublin.  The view was again spectacular from this side as well.  Owen experimented with a picture taken all around the mountain and will paste them together for one panoramic view.

We carried on down the road to the graves of the Leinsterman.  The king of the Leinster travelled to the kingdom of Brian Boru to claim his daughters hand in marriage.  Unbeknownst to  King Boru, his wife did not approve of the marriage and had the Leinsterman killed.  It is one of the oldest known inhabited places in Ireland.

That’s it for today, we will meet up with Trevor and Barbara tomorrow in Kilarney for more adventures. Cheers.

Horse drawn travelers.

Portuma Abbey.

Portuma Abbey.

Portuma Abbey.

Portuma Castle.

Mom and Dad at Portuma Castle.

TJ!

WHICH WAY?

Millennium cross.

Down the hill we go.

Graves of the Leinstermen.