CLEAR ISLAND
Sunday 9.9 ~ Skibbereen to Schull via Clear Island, 15 km
An easy day today! I'm cycling just 15 km to Baltimore.
Baltimore is a small harbor town with ferries going from the harbor to several nearby islands. I'm taking a ferry to Clear Island and I'm so glad it's a clear day! The mate carries my bicycle on board and a seal pops its head up in the harbor as if to see us off. It’s a rough ride, but as we get closer to the island the fresh sea air, high cliffs along the coastline, and the island scenery make me forget the up-and-down motion of the waves.
I don't have as much time as I would like on the island, as the last ferry to Skull on the mainland leaves at 5:30, and spending the night on the island is not an option. I have found out, that since it is not high season, the ferry may not show up tomorrow! So, I decide to use the island’s taxi service and see as much as I can in the time that I have. The taxi driver offers a tour of the island for 5 euro and picks up local passengers along the way.
Clear Island has lots of scrubland and there are remnants of stone walls when there once used to be a dairy farms on the island. There are 120 residents - most live here part time. One of the island’s highlights is seeing the offshore Fastnet Lighthouse. It was built in 1904 and was the longest staffed lighthouse in Ireland until 1989, when it was automated.
The ferry ride back to Skull is even rougher than the ride out and there are only three passengers. I ask around and find a nice B&B up a hill on the edge of town.
The B&B owner tells me there is a music festival going on so I hurry back into town. I have dinner across from the pub where the music is playing. It's so loud I can hear it while I'm eating another great vegetable soup with Irish soda bread. I hang out outside of the pub and meet some interesting people - Meredith who has travelled all over the world and settled on this spot in Ireland to raise her children, and her partner Matt who used to lead bicycle tours and tells me I must ride Sheep's Head Peninsula. So I will!
I also meet Paul who is a seaweed harvester! He tells me that the health food store across the street has his seaweed, and invites me to stop at his place tomorrow as its on my route.
My mission to get local seaweed is getting closer!