Dave Byrnes' Adventures

Round Ireland - 2016
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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)

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