Day: |
038 |
Date: |
Sunday, 1 May 2016 |
Start: |
Ballyheige |
Finish: |
Listowel |
Daily
Kilometres: |
31 |
Total
Kilometres: |
1061 |
Weather: |
Cool and overcast all day, with drizzle for
most of the morning. |
Accommodation: |
McMahons Guesthouse B&B |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner: Pizza and
apple slice |
Aches: |
Muscle/ligament strain/tear behind and just
below left knee was troublesome for the last hour or two. |
Highlight: |
Arriving in Listowel just in time for the
main event of the Listowel Military Tattoo, the reenactment in the
town square of a German SS Troop retaking a French village from the
Americans in Normandy during World War Two. It was
entertaining, if a bit bizarre. Firstly, the Irish were
neutral during WW2, and secondly, it's hard to imagine the
motivation for playing the role of German SS troopers (including
shooting the wounded) as a weekend recreation. |
Lowlight: |
The last two hours of roadwalking on a
dreary day when my left knee problem threatened to become an issue
again and my chronic right heel injury was playing up more than
usual. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
It was overcast and drizzling, with limited
visibility, when I left Ballyheige around 9:00am for the roadwalk to
Listowel. I mapped out a route using Google Maps and an
enhanced digital map I purchased online based on OpenStreetMap that
works with Garmin software. It wasn't quite the shortest
route, but mostly stayed off main roads, and I was prepared to walk
a few extra kilometres to avoid traffic.
The dismal weather
seemed to affect my mood, and I soon turned on my iPod to listen to
the latest audio version of "The Economist" to help pass the time.
The road was narrow and mostly straight, passing through lowland
grazing country, drained by large channels. There was an
occasional small woodland, and I heard cuckoos in the distance a
couple of times, while a large hare ran across the road in front of
me another time. Any hills were far distant, so there was
little variation in the footstrike on the flat hard road, a recipe
for tired feet, and as the day wore on that proved to be true.
The unexpected Rattoo Round Tower (~1100AD), a few hundred
metres from the road, was very impressive, but apart from that, the
scenery was not very interesting, though I was impressed with the
number of snails and slugs crossing the road in the moist
conditions. I just kept walking, knowing that was the best way
to quickly cover the distance, and didn't take my first, and only,
break until nearly four hours after leaving the B&B. I didn't
stay long because I was keen to finish the day, but not having more
breaks was probably a mistake as the last section seemed to go on
forever, made worse by the recurrence of pain behind and below my
left knee and the usual right heel pain that comes on every day
after about 20km. Tomorrow, I have even further to roadwalk
and will make sure I stop every two hours, to try and lessen the
feet and injury fatigue.
I reached my B&B in the busy town of
Listowel at 3:40pm. There was music playing from loudspeakers
around the town and everybody seemed to be walking in one direction
(apart from me). When I checked in and asked the owner what
was going on she told that it was the Listowel Military Tattoo this
weekend and that the military reenactment was scheduled for 4:00pm,
in fifteen minutes. I wanted to get my boots off and have a
shower, but it seemed stupid not to walk down to the town square and
have a look.
I found a place in the crowd of a few hundred
people, expecting to see something related to the Irish rebellion,
but instead watched a reenactment of a small World War Two skirmish
complete with explosions, gunfire, "casualties" and "civilians", set
in a French village in Normandy. It was all a bit corny and
incongruous, but clearly was being taken seriously by the actors,
who I presume do this at various festivals around Ireland.
There are probably other events and exhibitions on over the weekend,
and there were some Irish military recruitment kiosks.
Back
at the B&B I had a shower before walking around the centre of town
to get a some snacks for tomorrow and check out what there was to
eat. Couldn't find anything reasonably-priced in the pubs and
settled for a take-out pizza. Breakfast isn't being served
until 10:30am tomorrow, because it is a public holiday, so I told
the owner I would give it a miss. She said she would leave out
some cereal, juice and bread for me, which was kind, so I'll try and
make an early start. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|