Campsites,Ireland

The campsite in Rosslare accepted English £ (worth $2.40), since we didn’t have Irish £ (worth $2.15), but they gave no change. Good business for them. On the ferryboat yesterday we met a farm couple who are on vacation. We met them again in a bank, and later at the Waterford Crystal factory. They invited us to visit their farm, about 70 miles from Bracknell, England.

Found a campsite with electricity, near Cork. Good thing, it’s cold out there. Cork was a nice town, and had a street with the extraordinary name of Grand Parade — don’t believe we have ever seen that name elsewhere. We found a used-book store in Cork, and exchanged the paperback books we had already read a time or two, for others that were new to us at least. We have seen several horse-drawn covered wagons, the Irish version of a camper. Don’t know what facilities and furniture they have inside, but we see them going slowly down the road with someone leading the horse.

At one place we stopped a policeman to ask directions. He looked a little puzzled as he came over to us, and he was surprised to hear us speak English. He had seen our German license plate, and expected to hear us speak German. He was the consummate Irish policeman, right out of Central Casting, ready to appear in a movie. His appearance, his accent, and his syntax were perfect — or perhaps I should say, natural. There was plenty of very hot water for showers at Bantry’s lovely campsite on a lake shore, but the temperature control knob was broken, so the temperature could not be controlled.

We drove south from Dublin and found the campsite in Kilien. Houses are sturdy, and there are large estate homes along the winding road. We had a storm during the night, Emmy thought the high wind might turn the van over. While I had no opinion on that, I reassured her, so she could get some sleep. Awoke to a beautiful clear day, but still windy.