We've been so lucky here in Ireland!

One of the benefits of staying in this fancy hotel is that we get a full breakfast included. And I mean full... it's done buffet style, but there is a large selection of items. We had stayed up fairly late the night before, so we slept in a bit and went for breakfast about 9:30am.

And we ate so much for breakfast that we didn't need any lunch!

A wedding story...

We got up and drove again Thursday morning... about two hours on the motorway to the outskirts of Dublin to a town called Leixlip.

We're staying at the Leixlip Manor Hotel. A fancy place! Not the type of accommodation we would normally stay at, but we're here for a wedding. Let me tell you the story of how this came to be...

Cahir Castle and the Swiss Cottage

We got into Cahir early, well before any of the shops were open, and we found a perfect parking spot right in town beside the river. 

We're finding that because most motorhomes end up on the coast, there are very few inland. Actually, it makes us want to rethink some of our routing because although the coast is beautiful, there is a lot to see inland as well. 

Italy by Train: Tips for an Unforgettable Trip!

Italy is a country rich in history, art, gastronomy, and breathtaking landscapes. One of the best ways to explore all that Italy has to offer is by traveling by train. With an extensive railway network, the country provides a convenient and captivating experience for travelers. Italy is located in southern Europe, with a peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea. It boasts an impressive diversity of landscapes, from the Alps mountains to the beautiful beaches of the Amalfi Coast. Italian art is also world-famous, with artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli leaving a lasting legacy. 

Heading towards Dublin

It's pretty slow going on the backroads of Ireland. But once you get on the motorway, you can cover ground quickly, and you soon realize that Ireland is actually a pretty small country.

So, we had to make our way to the motorway, and that meant going to the city of either Cork or Limerick. For no particular reason, we decided on Cork.

Our wedding wardrobes are coming together

Up and on the road at 6:30am again to beat the traffic. Not a long drive, just about 40 minutes from our peaceful overnight spot at the cemetery to the Westlodge Hotel Motorhome Park.

Campgrounds in Ireland are pricey enough... usually ranging anywhere from €20 to €40 a night. We would rarely have the need or desire to stay in a place like that. But there is the occasional dedicated motorhome parking area that is €10 ($15 CAD, $11 USD) a night and has a service area to empty your holding tanks and fill your fresh water tank. If we can't find a free place to do those chores, then this is the next best thing.

Fantastic hike out to Dunlough Castle, and two good deeds for the day...

We had been in the very touristy visitors center at Mizen Head on Friday and decided that we didn't want to spend the €7.50 each for the tourist experience out across the bridge. We knew there had to be a nice coastal walk in the area that didn't cost, and yet was a similar experience. And we were right!

Just as we were leaving the parking lot, we met a guy riding a bicycle and asked if we was from the area. Sure enough, he lived just 20 kms or so away. We told him what we were looking for, and he was quick to come up with "Oh, you have to go out to Dunlough Castle!"

Exploring British Columbia's Hidden Gems: A Traveler's Guide

British Columbia, Canada, is a land of breathtaking natural beauty, boasting an array of magnificent landscapes, from rugged coastlines to towering mountains. Nestled in the westernmost part of the country, this province offers a myriad of unforgettable experiences for travelers. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast or a culture seeker, British Columbia has something for everyone. In this article, we'll unveil some of the best places to visit in BC, allowing you to embark on an adventure like no other.

Mizen Head, the most southwestern point in Ireland

We were up and on the road early Saturday morning. Sunrise is now just after 5:30am, so we can easily start driving when we get up at 6:30am. The narrow Irish roads are much more enjoyable at that hour when there's not much traffic on them!

We were headed for Mizen Head, the most southwestern point in Ireland. 

We needed some wedding clothes!

It's just about time for us to head up towards Dublin. We are going to a wedding on May 25th in a town called Leixlip that is located just 20 kms or so west of the center of Dublin. We're going to stay in the nice hotel where the wedding is taking place for two nights, so it'll be like a little mini vacation for us!

Before we left Kilbrittain, we went for a nice trail walk through the woods into the village.

Another beautiful coastal hike

We sat by the sea and had our hot drinks and breakfast, then headed off on a hike to the Old Head of Kinsale lighthouse. 

Once again, a beautiful morning, but we could see some clouds rolling in and they were calling for the wind to pick up.

Parked for free by the sea

We haven't been driving very far each day, but sometimes it's nice to take a break and not drive at all. So we decided to stay put in the parking lot near Kinsale. Not the most scenic overnight spot, but it was quiet at night and there was still a walk we wanted to do on the other side of Kinsale.

We wandered around a bit before lunch, then went back to Max for lunch, then the longer walk after lunch.

Our route map so far

We've been in Ireland for about 8 days and we're only 219 kms (136 miles) from where we started. But we've driven 330 kms (205 miles) since we arrived. There's so much to see, and we haven't been taking a very direct route.

Yesterday, we headed up to the busy town of Midleton, then decided to skip the city of Cork. Friends had been there recently, and said that while it's pleasant enough, we like the smaller towns better. We'll be getting enough city when we visit Dublin later this month.

5 Things To Do On Mauritian Waters

Mauritius, which is a subtropical island off the coast of East Africa, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Not only does it have a beautiful natural environment, as well as a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse population, but it is also home to some of the best water sport activities in the world.

Driving a motorhome in Ireland is not for the faint of heart

Our free Sunday parking in Youghal was over by 9:00am Monday morning, so that's when we left. But boy, was it ever busy getting through town at that hour... due to the school kids being dropped off by the excessive number of buses and cars. I guess nobody walks to school anymore.

We were headed to the coastal village of Ballycotton where I had read that there is a coastal cliff walk. The only problem was getting there unscathed!

It all comes out in the wash, as they say.

They were calling for an overcast day with rain, so we figured it was a good time to find a laundromat. Here in Ireland they have over 500 locations with a Revolution Laundry. They are located at some fuel stations, and in the parking lot of some grocery stores. 

They're convenient... but very expensive. The only problem is that there aren't many other options.

A beautiful day in Dungarvan, Ireland

We hit the road early again and arrived at our destination at the seaside town of Dungarvan before 8:30am. 

There is a popular paid motorhome parking area here that has dump and fill facilities and a nice view facing the water. We wanted to arrive early to try and secure a spot. We were almost too early!

Who doesn't love Ireland?

We went for a wander around the village of Inistioge, and ended up getting sidetracked onto a beautiful four km walk that led up to a castle ruins with a view of the village.

And, we're really lucking out with the Irish weather. We had set our expectations low, as we always try to do, so when it turns out better than expected, we're very happy! 

Shaking hands with President Kennedy

There's a big Tesco superstore on the outskirts of the town of New Ross, and we needed to pick up some groceries. So we headed there first thing.

This gave us our first real look at grocery prices in Ireland. It's far cheaper here than Canada, in fact we think that groceries here might be cheaper than in Spain! If you're a drinker though, you'll make up for it in alcohol prices, which are similar to Canada. Maybe even a little higher.

At this rate, two months in Ireland won't be enough!

This is our third day in Ireland, and we're exactly 50 kms (30 miles) from where we arrived at Rosslare Harbour. There's so much to see, packed into a fairly small country. Ireland is about the same size as the state of Indiana. Or from a Canadian perspective, the province of Ontario is 15 times larger than Ireland!

The population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 2 million in the north, and 5 million in the south. 

We think we're going to like Ireland!

If the first day is any indication, we think we're going to like Ireland! 

We did get a few drops of rain at various times throughout the day, but not enough to stop us from getting out to do things. More sunshine than we expected, and the temperature was a pleasant 17C (63F).

And wait till you see our overnight spot! Now, this was what we had visions of!

Welcome to Ireland, country number 59 for us!

It's hard to believe we've never been to Ireland. I was traveling with our son once, back in 2003 where we had a flight stopover in Dublin, but we never left the plane so of course it doesn't count. It's always been on our list though, and exploring it by motorhome seems to be the best way to do it!

When we left you in yesterday's post, it was morning on the ferry and we were about to sit down to breakfast...

Reporting to you direct from the ferry!

So, here we are out in the middle of the sea and able to communicate with you all. Amazing! And even more amazing is that we get an hour and a half of satellite internet included in our fare. The internet access is per device so each phone/laptop/tablet gets it's own hour and a half. Plus, it resets at midnight, so you get another hour and a half the next day... per device. And, we figured out that if we only connect with one laptop, you can hotspot off that laptop to the other one, essentially doubling your hour and a half!

The burning question on everyone's mind must be... did we have problems exiting Spain and the Schengen zone?

Next stop, Ireland!

We board the ferry in three hours for a scheduled 28 hour trip from Spain to Ireland. I think this will be the longest that I've ever been on a boat. The last longest time was when we took Sherman from La Paz to Mazatlan in Mexico. That ferry ride was 17 hours. 

Ruth has been on a cruise ship before, when she did a party cruise with her work from Tampa Bay to Cozumel back in the 1990's. But I've never been on a cruise.

It turns out we can fly direct from Paris to Ottawa!

Kind of a quiet day yesterday. We drove about 15 kms (8 miles) to the town of Mimetiz and parked in the dedicated motorhome area. Walked in to pick up some groceries. Had a nap. Played some cards and backgammon. Did a 5 km (3 mile) power walk after dinner.

And, checked out some onward travel.

Two sleeps to go!

The last month has gone by quickly for us! Although we've been enjoying Spain, we've been looking forward to Ireland. 

It's going to be kind of odd.. we haven't been in an English speaking country since we left England at the beginning of October. Seven months of having to check Google Translate if you want to ask a question! Not so much here in Spain because we can get by with the language, but you get my point.

We always seem to get sidetracked!

I don't think we told you that we've signed up for another house sit through Trusted Housesitters. This time, we'll be just north of Dublin on a 300 acre farm for five days looking after Juno the dog from June 2nd to the 7th.

We will be at a wedding west of Dublin near the end of May, so we'll be in the area anyhow. Looking forward to getting our doggie fix, and of course lots of walks in what looks to be a beautiful area.

The pretty little town of Lierganes

We got up at 7:00am and drove right away to try and avoid any traffic issues around Santander. And we were pretty successful, although it was still busy enough.

We weren't going far... only to the town of Lierganes about 35 kms (22 miles) away.

Beautiful spot, but not so great when the wind picks up!

Monday was a beautiful blue sky day, but the wind picked up as the day went on.

We went for a hike late morning heading west along the coast. Quite a few other people out enjoying the day as Monday was also a public holiday here.

Beautiful overnight spot with a view of the sea

It started out overcast, and we even felt a few drops of rain when we were out on our hike, but by afternoon it had turned into a beautiful day.

We're parked up on top of a cliff with a beautiful view of the sea, and are able to watch the ships coming in and out of Santander harbor. It's actually amazing that this quiet spot exists so close to the city.

April Expenses - pretty much on budget!

The month of April took us from Seville to the northern coast of Spain. It was actually a great month. And, we fully expected it to be a fairly inexpensive month. At the end of March, I mentioned that our planned budget for April was $1,380 CAD ($1,018 USD).

That's not very much money nowadays, and while we were ambitious with that goal, we came pretty close!

Max almost got hit! I had to lean on the horn...

Saturday was another dull overcast day. Supposed to be like that again today, but clearing on Monday. Many of you might be hearing on the news how hot it is in Spain, but that's really only south of Madrid. Here in the north, it's actually about normal, with today's high forecast to be 17C (63F).

And we're quite fine with that. And even though it was overcast, it didn't rain on us so we went out with Linda and Steven to do some more exploring of Santander.

Wandering around Santander, Spain

We walked into Santander with Linda and Steven yesterday. It's a bigger city than I thought it was, with a population of about 180,000. 

Interesting that Santander has no medieval central area, despite having a history dating back to the 12th century. That's because there was a massive fire in 1941 that totally destroyed the center of the city.

A nice hike, then into the city of Santander

We really liked the area around the Erbo River Valley, so we wanted to do one more hike before we left. But we still had some driving to do as well because we were meeting Steven and Linda in Santander later in the day.

We set off at 10:00am planning to do a 10 km (6 mile) return trip to a viewpoint. But we changed plans once we were at the top, and made it into a circular route that ended up being 13 kms (8 miles)!

What a cool little village!

Had a nice peaceful night by the castle just north of Burgos. Then we headed further north towards Santander along a route recommended by friends Glen and Steve who had done it within the last couple of years. 

There's a little village called Orbaneja del Castillo that is nestled on the side of a canyon formed by the Ebro River. What a cool little village!

A quick stop into Burgos for another photo match up

Some of you were curious as to what it was that brought my father to Europe. He did two trips, one in 1954, and one in 1957. I'll tell the story based on my memory of events, although I might get some figures wrong. I should probably ask my mother for clarification if she remembers, but here it goes...

His mother (my paternal grandmother) came from the northern part of Czech Republic, close to the German border. She arrived in Canada by herself sometime in the late 1920's, met my grandfather, and my father was the first born (in 1929) of six children. I think the fact that his mother was from Europe probably instigated some of his ambition to see that part of the world.

Another photo match, and another fantastic overnight spot

Headed a little closer to Burgos yesterday. Made a stop along the way to see the town of Tordesillas and to match up one of my dad's photos there. Then carried on to bypass the city of  Valladolid and found a great overnight spot just east of Palencia.

So, first stop was in Tordesillas. The main road goes right by the single photo that Dad took there.

Planning for Ireland

We do the 30 hour ferry crossing to Ireland in two weeks... May 7th, to be exact. So we've been doing some planning. We're going to be there for probably two months, although we've got some flexibility. If we want to stay longer, we certainly can. From there, we'll go to either Scotland or Wales. We haven't decided yet, and it can be a last minute decision depending on how long we stay in Ireland.

The cheapest fuel in Spain!

We actually had a fair bit of rain on Friday night! Haven't heard that noise on Max's roof in a long time. I think we had a few drops the last night we were in Morocco, but that was just spitting. This time it came down fairly hard for a few hours.

But at least it was overnight, and by the time we got ready to walk back into Salamanca it was clearing up.

Salamanca is worth a visit!

We are parked just over 3 kms (2 miles) from the city center of Salamanca. We set off at 10:30am to walk downtown, do some exploring, and try to match up three more of my dad's photos.

The first one was taken from the south side of the Tormes River looking towards the cathedral.

An update on our Schengen visa problem

First off, some of you may have missed yesterday's post due to a technical error. The problem is now solved, so if you didn't see it yesterday, you can read it here now...

https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2023/04/the-walled-city-of-avila-spain.html.

Yesterday, we drove the rest of the way to Salamanca. When we arrived, we got sidetracked by a big Walmart style store, and Ruth needed some new walking shoes and a few other things. So we went and did some shopping. 

The walled city of Avila, Spain

We left our nice spot by the stream as soon as we got up at 7:30am. It was only a short drive to the small city of Avila, and we were headed to a laundromat that opened at 8:00am. We figured if we got there early, we could get laundry done while having breakfast, then go explore the city.

Found a great parking spot right by the laundry, and close enough to the center that we could walk in.

Police in the middle of the night

Another gorgeous day in Spain. We left Max in his spot by the dirt road, and set off on a morning hike. We didn't really have any plans, but there are so many different trails that we figured we would just choose something and make up our route as we went along.

Didn't really plan on doing 13 kms (8 miles), but that's the way it worked out!

A gorgeous free camping spot

Our friends Glen and Steve had told me about a waterfall near the village of Riofrio where there was a difficult to access, but beautiful overnight spot. 

It turned out that we couldn't access it all, but we found an even better spot nearby!

Drive through the mountains

Sunday was a day of rest, but we did do a 50 km (30 mile) drive through a mountain pass just for a change of scenery. I had read of a couple of vans that had done the drive, but no motorhomes. The only problem would be the width of having to pass someone coming the other way.

And it was only 50 kms (30 miles) but it took an hour.

We hiked 19 kms (12 miles) to see a tree!

And of course we saw thousands of trees along the way, but this one tree is special.

It always makes a hike better when there is a destination of some kind... a waterfall, a cave, or maybe a viewpoint. But I'm not sure we've ever done a hike to see a tree!

We finally made it into the mountains!

Mostly cloudy yesterday as we made or way into the mountains west of Madrid. We ended up at the town of La Adrada where they have a motorhome service area to empty and fill our tanks, and somewhere to park for the night.

The parking isn't ideal, it's in a kind of a residential area. But the area surrounding the town has so many hiking trails and walks that we can do that without having to drive anywhere that we'll probably stay put for another night.

Sidetracked by a castle

Our original intention was to get into the mountains for some nature and peace and quiet after having spent too much time in cities. But we stopped for lunch in the town of Escalona, and decided to spend the night.

But along the way, we stopped in the town of Torrijos to do some shopping. They had a Lidl and a Mercadona right beside each other with easy parking for a motorhome.

Photo matching in Toledo, Spain

For those of you new here, my father had done two extended trips to Europe in the 1950's, one in 1954, and one in 1957. He took a lot of photos in slide format, and Ruth has digitized them and we have them on our laptops. So when we are in the same place as he was, we try to match up some of those photos by standing in the exact same spot that he might have stood almost 70 years ago.

We were pretty successful in this exercise here in Toledo, Spain yesterday!

We're actually a little ahead of schedule

Yesterday. we did the drive to the small city of Toledo, located just south of the big city of Madrid. We don't have to be at the ferry port in Bilbao until May 6 which is still three and a half weeks away.

So we're actually a little ahead of schedule. If we drove directly there, we're only 500 kms (300 miles) or so from Bilbao, but we've got quite a lot of things to see along the way, plus we're going to do some zig zagging to get up there.