Connemara
The Sky Road in Connemara is a spectacular coastal drive in western Ireland. Along the way is a short hike down a country path to Clifden Castle, abandoned and now surrounded by a cow pasture.
First day in Ireland
After an overnight flight to Dublin, we hit the ground running. After renting a car, we drove to Belfast and went to the Titanic Museum. Continuing north, we stopped at the Dark Hedges on our way to the (northern) Causeway Coast. As you can see, the gnarled beech trees make a spectacular tree tunnel–one of many Northern Ireland locations used in filming Game of Thrones.
The real reason for this detour through Northern Ireland was to see the Giant’s Causeway, which we will see tomorrow morning. Also along the coast are Carrick-a-Rede (rope bridge) and Ballintoy Harbor, which we saw as we drove to the Causeway Hotel.
Lalibela, Ethiopia
With our work at the hospital done, we decided to spend our last day in Ethiopia in Lalibela. Originally five of us were going to make the trip, but just before the small(ish) plane was going to take off, Mekdelawit left her seat and after much discussion with the flight attendants, they opened the door and she left the plane! She had mentioned earlier that she didn’t like small planes, and the claustrophobia got the best of her. Meanwhile, security was tearing her vacated seat apart, concerned that she might have planted something on the plane. Later we learned that she was detained by security until our plane had safely landed in Bahir Dar.
It is unfortunate she couldn’t make the flight. Lalibela is beautiful, high in the moucontains (8000 ft) and unbelievably green now at the end of the rainy season. The scenery should be enough, but the real attraction are the sunken churches.
We visited 11 churches, all different but all spectacular. As it was Friday, we also saw the beginning of an Orthodox Christian prayer service at one of the churches. Our guide saved the most famous church for the end of the day, the church dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of Ethiopia. Very poetic for a medical mission from Southern Utah.
We made it!
We arrived at Machu Picchu after completing the Inca Trail.
Spectacular! Arriving late in the day, we missed the crowds. The following day, though, we saw the changes that come with 20 years of increasing tourism: hour-long waits to board the bus, one-way paths, restricted access and a continuous mass of people snaking through the ruins. This made us appreciate hiking the trail even more, as we were able to visit many sites without anyone else around.
From the Andes to the Jungle
It is possible to drive from Cuzco to the Amazon basin, but it is quite a journey. We left our hotel at 4:30am, had breakfast in Paucartambo, and ascended even further to 13,000 feet before descending a steep, winding road through a cloud forest.
We still had a long way to go.
On our way to Peru
Our Inca Trail permits are not for another week, but a trip to Las Vegas to see Hugh Jackman was a great excuse to leave town early. The show was fantastic!
