Notes from Co. Cork, Ireland

During our one-week stay on the Sheep’s Head peninsula, we encountered ten minutes of dark skies and rain. The rest of the time was sunny, windy, and dry, with regular overnight rain though.

These standing stones were mentioned in the tour guide book, so we took this little walk from our cottage  further up the hill.  With the clouds hanging so low, it made for an eerie feeling.

Standing stone

Old barns gracing the wayside.

barn roof

That’s how peat is sold at grocery stores.

peat

peat

A sign in Kilcrohane advertising Sunday’s carnival got us curious. For some reason, I did not expect a sports competition. One local had mumbled ‘Yeah, they try to outdo each other….’, but I had associated carnival with a parade. It was worth it – alone for the people watching. This little guy on the right (sitting on the pole) was a real fighter.

Irish carnival  Carnival in Kilcrohane

Somewhere along the shore, of which there is plenty. Based on the World Resources Institute, Ireland’s coastline measures 6.437 km.

Maria at the shore

Taking the South Tour Bus for Marsaxlokk on Malta

On day two of our visit to Malta, we hopped on the South Tour bus, which runs a total of 2:50h around the southern part of the island. There are 14 stops along the way, and with the nice hop-on/hop-off arrangement, one would expect to see quite a bit.

In reality,  if you take the bus by 10am, it is advisable to make three stops.  The first one is for lunch around noon, then you get on the bus around 1:30 or 2:00, you travel for an hour and get off for sightseeing once more. Wherever you are along the route, you will be able to catch the bus, e.g. at 15:30 from Marsaxlokk to be back in Valetta by 16:50. The very last bus brings you back by 17:50 (but not on Sundays – check your schedule).

Buses were somewhat unreliable, we missed two of them. One did not show up and the other we might have missed, but only if it had come early. Which I doubt.

Wish we could have stopped here in Marsaxlokk, but we were already on one of the later buses and we still had plans to see the Blue Grotto. This was at 15:30 in Marsaxlokk. It looks nice and sunny, but it does get dark and cooler around 16:20. The photos were taken from the bus as you can tell by the reflection.

Marsaxlok Fishing Village

This is an interesting fishing village with lots of vendors along the water promenade.

Marsaxlok in the sun

Loved these various colors on their doors and windows.

Colored doors in Marsaxlok

This photo shows  the traffic sign for various town names in Maltese. My iPad location told me I took this photo in the area or town of Multigas.

Multigas

Our next stop to get off was the Blue Grotto, of which I have some photos to share in my next post.

I recommend the bus tour, it is the best way to see the island. The ride is pleasant on these double-deck buses, the bus driver sells beverages, and he will let you off on his route anywhere near your hotel.

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