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| Click on this image for our track in Google Maps |
Yet another "after-work" track.
But you should have guessed that already, since this is a midweek hike...
Looks like the overcast morning turned into a brilliant afternoon. Or, at least, it did over Fanad, as I could see all too clearly from my windows while I pretended to work. Then again, as you'll hear me profess time and time again, "The skies are always clear over Fanad".
The thing is, I wasn't really planning on going for a walk this evening, especially as I had plenty to keep me busy and the timeframe to accomplish it all, before the set deadline, was dwindling like crazy.
But the radiant sunshine, combined with the prospect of being away from it all, got the better of me and I decided that now was as good a time as ever for an evening stroll.
Besides, I am still at a stage where there are plenty of my usual walking spots I haven't shared, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to make you discover this one.
The destination, we've known for a while, since we do enjoy the Fanad "Highlands", which we got to visit from many different points of origin. Yet, the old farm we do park at this evening, and that marks the start of our path, we did find entirely by accident while looking for a different destination. Quite the happy mishap if you ask me, as we have gotten fond of this very narrow and sinuous road, that climbs up to nowhere (it's a cul-de-sac), and that we doubt many of the people from the region know... much to their loss.
I must also confess that I was aiming at sharing some pictures of this place with you, especially given this evening's outstanding weather conditions. However, that was not meant to be: not even a hundred metres in our walk, while attempting to snap a first picture composed of a friendly white horse from a nearby field and some snow-capped summits in the background, I found that I had forgotten to replace the memory card back in the camera!
This effectively kills our picture show for tonight...
Maybe I am a bit more annoyed by this than I care to admit ("That wasn't part of the plan!") because, in the soft evening sunlight and with the white blankets starting only a quarter of the way from the higher summits plus with the northern coast and loughs of Fanad being their usual selves, there were some unprecedented views to be had. Guess I'll just have to keep these to myself.
Then again, it's not like we're not going to be back here soon enough, and I was in a bit of a hurry anyway, as I do have a plane to catch early tomorrow morning...
On that subject, were I a reasonable person, I certainly wouldn't have undertaken this evening's hike in the first place, as I'm not even half way through sorting all the stuff needed for this upcoming trip. But we've long established that, reasonable, I am not. Therefore I'm gonna go make the rounds, and say some proper goodbyes when I have an oh-so-rare opportunity to do so, even if I'm probably going to pay a hefty price for it once I am back home and scrambling to pack some last-minute luggage...
Just where I am flying to is my own business, so I'll keep that under wraps. Instead, I'd much rather talk about the luminous sights of a snow-capped Slieve Snaght or Croagh Carragh, on Inishowen, or of Muckish, Errigal and co., on the other side, since we have pretty much a 360° view from the tiny plateau of Dun More. As a matter of fact, we're going to witness some of these still snow-covered summits in tomorrow's morning bus to the airport.
If that isn't a proper send off, I don't know what is!
Suggested Sound Track
I may tend to get a bit more philosophical on the days when I travel. Therefore, I am going to suggest one of the tracks I played during that long bus drive to the airport, which I hadn't listened to in a long time:
Of course, one would be hard pressed to consider sugar-coated soundbites, crafted for the mere purpose of rhyming, as bearing even a passing relationship with philosophy. Yet, if philosophy has taught us one thing, it's that one can misappropriate a flawed frame, and alter it to fit an alternate purpose or intent. Makes me wonder why us nihilists always have to believe we must dismantle everything we are being thrown at, instead of simply letting allegedly honest artistic efforts slide...
