Monday, October 21 – Thursday, October24

This week in Donegal (Dunfanaghy to be precise) has been priceless. Healthy doses of relaxation with good friends, walks on the beach, breathtaking scenery, visits to the pub, and exquisite homemade dinners.

Our days have a gentle rhythm. Everyone sleeps until they wake up and are ready for the day. We’ve been getting up between 9 and 10 am most days and aren’t always the last ones up. Some mornings everyone gets their own breakfast. I usually opt for Greek yogurt (I’m guessing 100% fat because it is SOOOOO creamy and delicious) with fresh raspberries and homemade muesli from “Without Waste”, a shop in Holywood where you refill your glass containers with everything from oils and vinegars to dried fruit and nuts, granola and muesli, and spices. Other days Maurice makes us a proper Irish breakfast, a fry consisting of white and black pudding, rashers (bacon), friend egg, grilled tomato, potato bread, and soda bread.

Somewhere between 11 am and noon, we head off somewhere for an afternoon walk or other outing, with lunch fit in somewhere along the way.  Depending on the day, we have a picnic lunch or eat at home. The meal consists of exquisite cheeses and meats, bread, crackers, chutneys, tomatoes and grapes.

Early evening means a pint at the pub. I’ve been amazed at how many 0.0% alcohol beers are available here, including Guinness, Heineken, Moretti, and Erdlinger. They are delicious and readily available, some even on tap. The pubs all have a friendly, warm atmosphere with wood all around, some gleaming, some dark and dull. There is always a bar with bar stools. Built-in benches with dark cushions ring the room, set with small rectangular and round tables. There is often a larger table where music sessions can take place and in many pubs a back or side lounge in addition to the main bar. The lounges are well suited for children and families. We usually have one or two drinks before heading home for dinner. One night we were treated to an unexpected session with about nine musicians at the large table. I was happy to see three women among the group. There were violins, guitars, mandolin, squeeze box, hand drum, and tin whistle.

Dinners have been quite gourmet, some prepared by Lucy in advance, including meatballs which accompanied macaroni and cheese, and turkey chili with my homemade guacamole. The first night we had a whole chicken roasted atop two whole garlic gloves and accompanied by a lentil sauce, along with roasted potatoes and multi-colored carrots. Lucy also prepared a dish of chicken with cream and spinach which we accompanied with mushrooms, green beans, and roasted potatoes. One night was fish & chips, meant to come from a local shop but when they were closed we opted for frozen. They were hot and delicious and we barely missed the ketchup and vinegar that we had forgotten at home. Tonight will be beef curry over rice. I even managed to make two loaves of bread and an apple crisp

Our first day we headed out to Marble Hill beach, not too far from our cottage. It is a wide, sweeping beach and the surf was still high from a recent storm. From the beach we had views across Sheep Haven Bay to Rosguill, and behind us, in the distance, the majestic Muckish Mountain. In the shape of a buffallo’s back (Muckish means “back”), it towers over this part of Donegal. We strolled along alone and in groups, everyone keeping their own pace, meeting up here and there and commenting on the beauty of where we were. The next day, Alison, Lucy, and I walked from the cottage to the beach just across the golf course from us. It is set in a half moon bay. The weather, like on most days, was changeable, with dark clouds swirling around us as the sun lit up the hills across the bay. At one point, we saw a rainbow begin to form, then watched as it grew gradually until it had completed its arc and dove into the sea. What a sight! The slanting light made the sea grasses radiate with a golden glow. It was magical.

One of our excursions took us all around one of Donegal’s many peninsulas along the “Wild Atlantic Way.” We walked another beautiful beach near Fanad, saw a pristine white and red lighthouse, stopped at a gourmet shop at Ramelton, where we enjoyed some old stone buildings, and finally landed at the Olde Glen Bar for a pint. The drive home from there showed us changing skies in colors ranging from orange and pink to deep blue and purple and eventually to black.

Our final excursion was to Glenveagh, a national park (one of only 6 in Ireland) which is home to a Victorian castle and gardens from the mid 19^th century. The walk from the visitor’s center to the castle is 4 km (about 2 ½ miles), mostly flat but with a few hills. I so hoped I would be able to complete the walk without incident—and I did! The landscape here was different from anything we had previously seen, with brown and orange mounds stretching along Loch Veagh. It was somewhat other-worldly, barren and beautiful, with low grasses swaying silently in the wind.

Yesterday was our day to shop, and we visited four shops in and around Dunfanaghy village. One was The Gallery, an art gallery and gift shop run by woman who lives upstairs. I heard her tell a customer that if she found the store closed, she should just ring the bell and they would come down! Another was housed in an old work house and a small shop in the center of town sold the work of its two owners along with other gifty items. I was able to find the summer purse I’ve been looking for and a pair of gloves there. The last stop was McAuliffe’s, a mainstay store carrying everything Irish in the heart of Dunfanaghy. It is where I bought my Aran sweater and Santo’s wool cap seven years ago. Sadly, the store has recently been sold and is closing. Sadder still, it was not sold as a going concern, so it is anyone’s guess what the space will be used for in the future. Alison, Maurice, and Lucy were truly heartbroken to hear of this. The store was such a part of their visits here and the place where many Christmas presents were bought.

Many days, by the time we finished dinner and cleaned up, we were nearly ready for bed. But the past two nights, we were able to introduce Alison, Maurice, and Lucy to Ted Lasso using our Apple TV account. They love it – and we are loving re-watching and sharing it with them.

In between and around all the above has been wonderful down time just relaxing at the cottage, everyone doing their own thing, reading, on phones and tablets, sipping tea, and of course talking. Alison, Maurice, and Lucy are so easy to be with. I am already starting to dread the goodbyes we will have to say in a few days. They are like family, but way to many miles away. They have helped me to relax, and have shown us, just by living their lives, ways that we can improve our own. We pray that we will be able to hold onto what we have learned and experienced here.