I am sitting here in our new campsite, the
sun shining in the window, so much so that I am tempted to close the blind, but
what a shame that would be! There is a gale blowing outside, of such proportions
that Chris has just closed down the vent and the van shudders in the wind. We
are waiting for the water to come on so we can finish setting up camp, even
though we have now been here about three hours; frustrating for us but more so
for the camp managers.
And speaking of maintenance issues, we did
learn yesterday that the boiler problem at our camp at Curraghchase was not
going to be fixed anytime soon. Both boilers, installed just three months ago
had broken down, so it was to be a full replacement. Hopefully there was some
come back on the manufacturers or the installers.
But we are no longer too concerned about
their problems, having come away from that camp this morning in the rain. We
hung about hoping for some respite from the heavy showers, and to be fair, when
I finally ventured out to assist in a very minimal waay, just for the hook up,
the rain had abated.
One of the highlights of the day was a
wildlife sighting; no peacocks today, but two red squirrels, on two separate
occasions, dashing across the road in front of us before we emerged from the
forest; an absolute delight!
Reaching the N69, our route north, under the
River Shannon and on to the M18 was a repeat of that travelled a couple of days
ago, although this time we continued on north beyond Ennis, and even on to the “under-construction”
part of the M18, not yet known to our Tomtom who insisted every time we
ventured near a more minor road that we “turn left in eighty metres”. I would
have switched her off, but I think the Chauffeur was taking some obscure
delight in her ignorance, so we pressed on following road signs for a change.
We were both surprised and happy to find the “new” motorway extends as far as
the M6 that connects Galway with Dublin, and beyond, for this extension will be
that we will take when we relocate next.
Ignoring Tomtom’s relieved directing, we
followed the instructions in the campsite book, which finally, after travelling
in a semi-circle around the northern edge of the city, we arrived here at our
beachside camp.
While it does have a number of static vans
for hire, the area seaward is beautifully laid out with defined tarsealed
sites, all with water taps nearby and a grey water sump on site. The view out
our front window is directly across Galway Bay to the Burren, perhaps to
Ballyvaughan where we were a few days ago. Although we had phoned more than a
week ago to book, no note had been taken of our reservation, and it seems that
it is simply a matter of first come, first served, and in our fellow travellers
have poured since our arrival, obviously all cognoscente of the need to get in
quick or miss out. For the privilege of our spot here we are paying €34 per
night, €1 less than that hideous camp at Tramore, but still an awful lot more
than we have been paying in England, and certainly more again than we ever pay
in New Zealand.
I have sketched out the itinerary for our
four touring days here, although the Chauffeur has asked me to give him a clear
indication of mileage on one of the days, thinking it looks a bit excessive. So
that and cooking up a big batch of pork curry should keep me busy for the rest
of the day, or at least after I have updated and edited all the blog postings I
have been unable to attend to for the last five days or so. While admitting my
needs and material desires are few, I am ecstatic to have wifi!
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