Phew, what a scorcher!

At one point we were walking along a road and it was so hot that the tarmac was melting and sticking to our shoes. Bet that doesn’t happen often here.

Today we walked from Tooreen, where S finished yesterday, back down to our accommodation in Kilcrohane. One of the B&B staff drove us up to the departure point, filling us in on local gossip en route. She is part of a very large family — Christmas lunch is 26 people — so I reckon she has a finger on the pulse of everything that goes on around here. She told us that Mr Norton himself is getting married. There are a further two weddings going on this weekend, no doubt decidedly less glam (see freespiral’s blip). So everywhere you go people are talking about weddings.

I say we walked back down, but we started by hiking up from the hut you can see on the right in the extra. Yes, more fine views of bright green hills and deep blue sea dividing one peninsula from the next. You can see why freespiral and Himself fell in love with this place. After the ridge walk we gradually descended to sea level and then climbed a little to walk through fields. Shade was impossible to find; we eventually ate our lunch by sitting down in the middle of the track where a lone tree provided a patch of shade. A later stop was in the sun but with a breeze … I fell asleep for 15 minutes.

The last couple of kilometers were along a road. Better than it sounds, as we unexpectedly stumbled upon a cafe — it would have been rude not to stop for an ice-cold drink. I arrived there looking like a drowned rat as S had just poured part of a bottle of water over my head. Stats: 11.8 km, 200 m climbing, 330 m descent, just over 6 hours including the stops. A shower, a lie down, and some chocolate were definitely needed, and I am still shattered.

Even earlier dinner than usual, then a visit to the unusually quiet pub (no doubt everyone was at weddings) where a glass of wine (me) and a half of Guinness (S) were modestly consumed. It will be an early night I think!