Page 27 - ISI_151_AprilMay

APRIL // MAY 2019 • IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT
CRUISES•GETAWAYS•CULTURE•VACATIONS
Walking on the Emerald Isle
The view to New York. This is the westernmost point of the Beara Way. PHOTO BY CATE HUISMAN.
BY CATE HUISMAN
We decided to walk in Ireland almost by
accident. I had to fly to New York for a con-
ference, and as I was perusing airline flights,
I noticed it would be cheaper to fly on to
Shannon Airport, in Ireland, than it would be
to come back to Spokane—the nearest airport
to Sandpoint.
I have to admit this choice did not save any
money, but it did lead to a wonderful walk.
Walking is a great way to get to know a
country. Natural surroundings and historical
and cultural sites pass by slowly—unlike in a
bus or train—and there are many opportuni-
ties to talk to the locals. Of Ireland’s hundreds
of marked walking routes, called “ways,”
we chose the “Beara Way” in the southwest
because of its relative obscurity.
Over a 10-day period in late April and early
May, we saw only three other walkers—a Dutch
man and his two teenage sons.
From Shannon we took a bus to Cork, where
we had our initial encounter with legendary
Irish friendliness. We asked a woman at the
bus station for directions, and she had difficulty
describing the route through Cork’s ancient and
convoluted streets. So she simply walked with
us to our hostel.
Two days later, a small bus took us on to
Glengarriff, the jumping-off point for our hike.
Here the equally friendly Siobhan at the Blue
Pool Hostel was happy to store our extra lug-
gage while we made the trek with light packs.
Like Ireland’s other walking routes, the
Beara Way has numerous options for starting
and ending points, and the hospitable and
accommodating hosts along the route make it
possible to do anything from a series of short
hikes with only a daypack to longer days with
full packs for camping.
Villages are within a day’s walk of one
another, and each has at least one welcoming
pub where you can
get dinner and at
least one place you
can stay (although
some villages are so
small that they have
only one of each).
We stayed in
rooms in people’s
homes (AirBnB’s),
small hotels, and
hostels.
PAGE 27
Travel
Ireland is not an inexpensive destina-
tion, but for seniors who are spared the
constraints of summer vacations and the
school calendar, it has magnificent potential
for days of pleasant walking, at off-season
cost, among English speakers who are at
once foreign and familiar. ISI
Our main challenges were mud and the
Full Irish Breakfast. The former caused a
painful slip and slide for me on our first day,
but our host that night was happy to drive 208-733-5723
me to our next village the following day, so I 800-788-2843
could recover.
The Full Irish Breakfast, which is included 489 S. Locust St. Twin Falls ID
with most accommodations, was not so easily
dealt with. It includes sausages, bacon, eggs,
baked beans, black pudding, white pud-
ding, fried tomato, toast, and coffee or tea.
(“Puddings” are sausages made of cereal and
animal fat; they are an acquired taste.)
On our first encounter with the Full Irish
Breakfast, we were fortunately in the com-
pany of the two Dutch teenagers, who were
more than willing to absorb what we two
elders could not. After that, we took to asking
for a Half Irish Breakfast.
A typical day’s hike took us over dozens
of stiles as we crossed from one fenced field
to another, through high green meadows,
and on narrow lanes closely hemmed with
stone walls.
Sheep were everywhere, although they
and their numerous adorable lambs inevitably
scattered at our approach. The Atlantic Ocean
was often in view and never far.
Ubiquitous stone circles and standing
stones reminded us that we were A millennia Schedule a
later than the first humans to pass here. 3D Mammography
TM
At the end of the Beara Peninsula, a six-per-
son (or two-cow) cable car provides passage exam today!
across a narrow straight to Dursey Island. The
island has no tourist facilities and so was a day
trip for us, although our Dutch friends were able
to camp within the stone walls of a long-aban-
doned farmhouse at the very tip.
With high clouds, high wind, familiar mud,
occasional sunshine, and nothing but New Kootenai Outpatient Imaging is proud
York off in the unseeable distance beyond, to offer the latest in mammogram technology
this point at the western end was a highlight for patients.
of our journey. The 3D Mammography™ system provides
three dimensional views for more accurate exams.
The technology is currently available at both our
Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls locations.
Schedule by calling (208) 625-6300 or
online at kh.org/imaging
* Mammography is the most effective screening tool
used to find breast cancer. It can find cancers at an
early stage, when they are small and the chance of
survival is highest. 3D Mammography™ detects up
to 41 percent more invasive breast cancers and
reduces false positives by up to 40 percent.
Post Falls, ID
Coeur d’Alene, ID 208.625.6350
208.625.6300
kh.org/imaging