We arrived in Donegal to better sea conditions than the days before. The ropes came off the area near the dining room and it has been pretty smooth. Killings Donegal is known for its fishing industry, therefore the port is buzzing with activity.
I chose the 2 hour hike uphill along the coastal mountain range of Slieve League. Yes, uphill 1972 feet. Slieve League means flag stone, as in the large flat stones that were the primary source of material for building the houses, walls, walkways. The guide also told us that like Slieve League, many places in Ireland are named for geographic or human-made features of the area. Killybegs for example means little church. Most likely named after the bee-hive huts built on the island by the monks.
It was a beautiful walk where we touched peat, saw more glacier evidence and peered over the side of incredibly steep cliffs. On the walk we saw ridges in the hills that were remnants of potato planting. On the way down I spotted an interesting iridescent patch of moisture on the side of one of the quartsite - schist rocks. (The diversity of rocks from one point in the British Isles to the next is incredible. One island is sandstone, another granite, the next schist, and so on). So we got close up, touched it, it was not oily, but you could feel the fine grains of sand in the water and see the oily shine to it. The naturalists saw it and said that it was most likely water that was seeping from the peat above which is made of organic material, therefore oily. After al,l peat is a fossil fuel made of compressed dead things… the predecessor of coal - the process is much more complicated, but all related. As we walked along the steep trail, textbook examples of the layers of earth were evident, yet compressed tremendously demonstrating the lack of soil and presence of peat. The cold temperatures prevent decomposers from getting to work breaking down the dead organic material, which compresses over time, in extremely wet conditions, becoming peat. Peat is cut out in brick-like chunks, dried and used as fuel for heat and cooking. It has an earthy musty smell to it, is compact and does not break up like soil.
In the afternoon I joined the tour that went to a Donegal Woolen Studio. We saw the machines built in 1910 that took the wool, and made “string” out of it. Then a separate machine that spun the loose lines to become the yarn that is used for knitting and weaving. We went upstairs to where the men were weaving. This machine involved their whole body, using their feet to press pedals, their hand to send the new line across the weave and their head to count lines to keep the patterns even. Impressive process.
After finishing the Donegal Woolen Studio tour I ch ose to take a walk around town taking in the old buildings, sites and nature of the area before ending up in the pub of th e Bay view Hotel for a We Banjo 3 performance. We Banjo 3 is a Band from Galway, Ireland that plays traditional Irish, old time, and bluegrass music. It was an energetic and uplifting event.
Here is their website in case you are curious.
http://www.webanjo3.com