Day 82
December 24, 2021:
Having spent the last two full days listening to audio books, my phone was totally out of battery by the morning of Day 82 (Dec 24th). Had my phone still had some charge, I think there’s pretty good odds I’d have spent a third day listening to Oathbringer. It’s just… addicting to listen to. But, forced to put it down, and now with essentially nothing to do inside the tent, I packed up. I can’t believe I spent three nights there. Today’s the 24th, and had my conversation with my brother gone differently just a few days ago, I’d be approaching Sligo at this point already. Crazy to think that. Anyway, time to make a decision. Do I head north to Wild Nephin/Ballycroy, or do I continue back west for Keem Strand? Well, since I’m in no rush to make Sligo now, I may as well see the signature discovery point Keem Strand. It’s not that far across Achill Island, so it’s possible I’ll end up right back here this evening and set up my campsite in the very same place.
I set off, stopping again at the SuperValu in Achill Sound for breakfast. I loaded up on fruit, and bought a salad. The salad didn’t come with its own dressing, so I bought a small bottle of vinaigrette to go along with it. I recall once having a conversation with some friends about what type of salad dressing we’d bring with us (to a deserted island or something) if that’s the only type of dressing we could have for the rest of our lives. And my answer was vinaigrette. Obviously. And if I had to specify a specific type of vinaigrette, well that’s hard. A simple balsamic maybe? Or a raspberry vinaigrette?
Anyway, I carried on. The road from Achill Sound was steep. I followed signs for the Wild Atlantic Way. This turned out to be a bad idea. I’d wanted to just follow the main road across Achill Island to Keem Strand, see it, and possibly turn back and make it all the way back to my campsite, stopping at the SuperValu again if needed, if they would still be open. Instead, by following signs for WAW, I naturally went along the coast road south. WAW has a tendency to go the long way. While I am generally following its path, I reserve the right to deviate where I see fit. I may be a completionist in some respects, but it’s still my trip, and I get to decide where I go. I’m not letting WAW completely hijack my trip. By following it through so much of Ireland, I’ve definitely spent weeks longer in Ireland than I had ever intended, but I don’t regret having done so. I’ve had the time of my life here. The road took me south toward Cloughmore Pier. Right into a stiff headwind, I should add. And while riding this way, it started raining lightly. I decided to turn back for the Derreen road that crossed the peninsula to Dooega. The road there followed cliffs that towered over the small bay.
I followed a road back east. It would drop me off near where I made the error to detour south, meaning I would have spent well more than an hour battling wind and rain for almost nothing. It rained harder and harder. And now the wind seemed to be coming from the east. I couldn’t escape the headwind. The going was slow, and soon, I was thoroughly soaked. I got pretty cold, and I hoped I could find a place to stop. My phone was dead, so I wasn’t able to check maps. But when I emerged from the road from Dooega, I saw a Circle K and a pub up the road, so I’d go there rather than heading back to Achill Sound. Before pulling in to the Circle K, I saw wisps of smoke rising from one of the chimneys of Ted’s Pub, and saw the front door was propped open. I was surprised to see a pub open the day before Christmas, but didn’t let that stop me from heading in.
I propped my bike up outside, then walked in, dripping. “How are ye?” “Wet.” “Here, have a seat by the fire.” “Thanks.” I showed my covid cert. It was wet, almost falling apart. I will need to get it laminated. I know I’m not supposed to, but it’s no use to me if it crumbles. Plus, I already have the booster. I pulled the chair closer to the fire, and let the warmth of the coals seep in. Steam soon rose from my shoes and pants. I held up my buff to the fire as well, rotating it like a chicken. I ordered a toastie with soup and chips. I wasn’t very hungry, but knew hot food would help warm me up from inside. I also had a Guinness. I ate the soup first, since I wouldn’t be able to take that to go. I had half the toastie. I asked for the other half and most of the chips in a to go box. When my clothing was mostly dry and the rain had mostly stopped, I continued on towards Keem Strand.
The road took me through Bunacurry and Keel. There, I saw a nice beach. I wondered if I’d end up camping there now. Then I continued on to Dooagh. I stopped at Gilty’s pub in Dooagh. It’s advertised as the ‘Most Westerly Pub in Europe.’ I went in to warm up. This time, I just got tea, since the hot water again would warm me from the inside. It’s cheaper than a Guinness. And warmer. Dooagh is pretty close to Achill-Henge, but I didn’t see it on the way in. I should have been looking more closely. I used the time to charge my phone in Gilty’s. I spoke with the bartender there since I was the only one at the pub. His name is Owen. He was very impressed with my story, and had me repeat it to another employee - Allan. I assume he’s the bar owner. He said he could never cycle this far. He said he probably couldn’t even make it up the hill I had cycled to get from Bunacurry to Keel. “I just came from Ted’s, actually.” “Oh yeah, Ted’s. Good pub. They have good Guinness.” “It’s weird to me how much the taste of Guinness varies between pubs.” This was something I had heard from Peter McColgan in Dublin, and had since come to appreciate for myself on my trip. “Yeah, Ted’s has good Guinness. So does..” and he rattled off the names of several other pubs on the island. He said if he wants Guinness, he doesn’t go to the other pubs. There’s something like 14 pubs on Achill Island. “There’s nothing else to do around here.” “You should cycle more.” “Haha. Ha. I mean, if I didn’t work as a barkeep, I’d probably be out vandalizing.” I grimaced. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. “So the most westerly pub in Europe, huh? You know you’re not the only pub to claim that…” “Haha, so you’ve been to Kerry, huh?” “Yep.” “Yeah so, we are actually more westerly than they are. I’ve checked, with longitudes and whatnot on a map.” “How close is it?” “It’s close.” “Like a km?…” “No. So. Basically, our pub is wider than theirs. They start more westerly than us, but our western wall ends about a meter more west than theirs does. So we’re the more westerly pub.” I suppose. I suppose there’s an argument both ways though. I was stunned that it was so close that there would even be an argument. “I’ve been down there before to contest it. Me and some pals went to defend Achill, and we got thrown out of their pub for the fight we caused. We painted over their sign, but they’ve since put it back up.” “That’s quite a bit of loyalty. Did you grow up on Achill then?” “Yep, born and raised. I even worked at this pub when I was 11, just helping in the back. Now I study at college in Galway.” “What do you study?” “Accounting and Law.” “So you want to be a solicitor?” “Nah, an accountant. But I took the law so I stay by the books.” I laughed at that. “So where are you headed to next?” “Keem Strand.” “Oh, that’s a climb. It’ll take you at least half an hour to get there. Good ways down the other side.” I used the restroom, and when I came back in, another gent had joined me at the bar. I decided to head out, so I paid up and left. Owen offered to look after my phone and power bank while they charged, so they’d be more full when I got back, but I figured there was a good chance I’d camp down in Keem Bay, so I took them with me. Owen said the locals do camp there in the summer, so I might be able to find a few spots.
The climb over the ridge to Keem Bay was steep. I ended up walking most of the way. So much for feeling like a badass before. Then I went down the other side. All the way down. Keem Strand is beautiful. It’s a thin beach with steep cliffs on each side. Normally, it’d be relatively protected from the prevailing southwest winds that often strike Ireland, but today the wind was coming from the southeast, directly into the cove. I looked around for good campsites. There were ‘No camping’ signs everywhere. In such a remote place, I figured the odds of getting caught, especially on Christmas Eve, were rather slim. Yet nevertheless, I was shocked by how many people came and went to the beach while I was there. I found two good spots. One was on a grassy outcropping about five meters above the beach, well above the waves. But it was in clear view of everyone. The second spot was weirdly hidden, despite being right beside the road down to the beach. It also had a little protection from the southeast wind.
I waited until dusk, and spent the time on a video call with Mama and my little sister. I had managed to charge my phone just enough to make the call, and it was nice to talk to them. I discussed my dilemma, and asked their opinion if I should camp there or continue back towards the spot I had found before, on Achill Beg, some 30+ km back. It’d be a hell of a night if I went back, especially since the lights on my bike are broken. They’ve been broken for a while, actually. A really long while, actually. Back in Kinvarra, for instance, when Alex? remarked that my rear light was dim, my front light was completely broken, and I had used my power bank as a front light. They’d been broken for a while before that too. What had happened was that the internal electrical connections had become so corroded that they had shorted out and drained the battery. I literally couldn’t turn the lights off, and they died. It wasn’t worth replacing the batteries, since I’d just have the same problem. I really should have gotten them replaced in Galway or Clifden, but managed to forget both times. I also had diarrhea, which would make cycling back a bit of a nightmare. I wasn’t sure what had caused it, but it could be any number of things. For instance, was it the sausage rolls? The fish balls? The water I had squeezed from my clothing? Was it a bad filter? The eggs? Or all of the above? Kind of hard to pinpoint.
While on the phone, I really had been considering going all the way back anyway. But as soon as I hung up, rational thinking took back over. I promptly made camp. My phone battery wouldn’t last much longer, so I just used the last bit of it up listening to more of Oathbringer. It had been a cold, miserable day, but there had been a few high notes, like both of the pubs, and the video call had warmed my spirits.
