Day five of our Ireland adventure was our off-the-beaten-path day. We started our day with a sheep dog demonstration where a border collie followed voice and whistle commands to herd sheep with amazing precision. Sparky could have totally done that. Haha.
Next up was described as a “moderate walk” up the mountain of Knocknarea to visit the great cairn of Queen Maeve. But we’d describe it as a steep uphill hike with a relentless number of steps. As Mike once said, we’re not trail people, we’re trail mix people. Once we made the halfway point, the boys decided to continue on as the girls turned to head back down the mountain.
After the long hike, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading to Sligo to connect with farmer Eddie Joe. Eddie showed us around his family farm and shared the history of the area and how the bog fields formed millions of years ago by glacier movements. We met some of his farm animals before Eddie showed us the techniques for turf cutting to dry over three months to form a fuel used to heat his home over the winter.
After the farm tour, we made our way to Galway where we had dinner with Katie before she made her way back to campus to finish up her last three weeks of the summer semester. With Joey heading to Seattle in a couple weeks, we’re not sure when the five of us will be all together again. ?