The end is close

Well, after almost a month my adventure is finishing. I'm staying in Ireland for just 1 day more before visiting London. There were exciting, funny and boring situations. I've met nice and not nice people. But the adventure is the adventure.

I'd like to comment briefly some of the places visited during the last 10 days...

• Drogheda - In the catholic church of St Peter's, there is the head of Oliver Plunkett, an archbishop martyred in 1681. Slightly bad taste :D

• Monasterboice - The best of Monasterboice are its 10th century High Crosses. Muiredach's High Cross is the finest of its kind in Ireland.

• Slane Castle - It's a private property, a pity because we couldn't visit it. Famous for the concerts played there (the best U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle" of course)

• Grianán of Aileach - Circular stone structure, measuring 23m in diameter. The day was foggy, but in a sunny day it's possible to see 3 counties from there. I'll believe it.

• Londonderry (Northern Ireland) - My first contact with pounds. I have to say that there are British pounds and Northern Ireland pounds, and the latter are only valid in Nothern Ireland. So, if you go there, you must be careful and spend all that money there. Anyway, Londonderry (also know as Derry) is the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland. Nothing comparable with Avila walls :D Famous in 1972 when British troops shot dead 13 demonstrators. The city centre is nice but is deserted in the afternoon. Slightly sad. We had a guided tour in the morning.

• Dunluce Castle (Northern Ireland) - On the way to Causeway Giants. A big castle situated in an amazing place. We only stopped there to take some photos.

• Giants Causeway (Northern Ireland) - Ireland's only World Heritage Site. One of the most striking beauty places of Ireland, with hexagonal columns. One legend tells how the giant Finn MacCool laid the causeway to provide a path across the sea to his lady love, who lived on the island of Staffa in Scotland.

• Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (Northern Ireland) - An exciting rope bridge that hangs 25m above the sea.

• Belfast (Northern Ireland) - A big city. The day was cloudy, maybe because of that I didn't like it very much.

• Glenveagh National Park and Castle - Really beautiful. A nice place to go hiking. We visited the Glenveagh Castle. There were people recording a movie or an ad (I'm not sure).

• Croagh Patrick and National Famine Memorial - Ireland's holy mountain. Place of pilgrimage. Beautiful views of Clew Bay.

• Cong - Picturesque village that was the setting for "The Quiet Man".

• Ashford Castle - Just south of Cong, it's one of the Ireland's best hotels (Norman Castle).

• Connemara National Park - Other striking beauty place. The day was rainy but in some ways it was better like that.

• Galway - For some people, the best city in Ireland. The average age it's 25 (more or less), so it's a very nice place.

• Dunguaire Castle - You should walk round it thinking in a question, and when the day is finishing you will have the answer.

• The Burren - Rocky land. Nice sceneries.

• Cliffs of Moher - They rise to a height of 200m out of the sea and extend for 8km. This time was sunny, but I liked it more the first time I saw them. It was crowded.

• Shannon Ferry - This part of the trip was a surprise. I didn't know that we had to cross the river Shannon on a Ferry.

• Dingle and Dingle Peninsula - Were people go to rest. We could see the Sleepy Giant (see photo).

• Killarney and the Ring of Kerry - Killarney is a nice city close to the National Park. There, there are amazing sceneries of the lakes with the Ross Castle. I think it could be a very nice place to live because you can go for a walk or to go riding, hiking or cycling to the National Park. It's also a good place to visit the Ring of Kerry, a long-established route around the Iveragh Peninsula. There are three lakes, mountains and even a waterfall (Torc Waterfall). By the way, we went to see Riverdance show! A great show.

• Blarney Castle - Visitors from all over the world flock to there to see the legendary Blarney Stone. Kissing it is a tradition, intended to confer a magical eloquence. The photo shows where you kiss the stone.
  

• Cork - The second largest city in Ireland. I thought it wasn't very beautiful, but I realize that it has some nice places in the city centre. In the hostel, I met two young guys from Valencia and other guy from Argentina. I was feeling like speaking in Spanish :D