Friday Bantry

Full Irish breakfast plus. Irish breakfast entails eggs, sausages, bacon rashers, black and white puddings, mushrooms, broiled tomatoes, and toast. At Bantry they add baked beans, which nudges it toward English breakfast.

The morning activity is a bus ride up to Glengarriff, and a short ferry ride over to Garinish Island. Because of its sheltered location, it possesses its own microclimate, enabling cultivation of tropical plants. Passed out of private ownership, it now features exotic plants and trees, as well as fanciful buildings, pavilions, a martello tower from Napoleonic wars, an estate house, walled garden, and a reflecting pool. No pictures now, cuz we didn’t go over. We’ve been there twice before.

Instead we and another couple spent some quality time perusing the goods at a couple of retail establishments before walking up the road to Casey’s Hotel to check in with the hotel host, Donal, whom we befriended years ago. He, however, was laid up suffering with a bad back, facing surgery, and unable to come down to the pub. So we treated ourselves to a pint and chatted with Owen, his youngest son running the hotel and pub. And met Owen’s wife and 8-week old child. Owen is just as accommodating as his father, even when Jeff inquired about a “local” beverage.

The group returned from the island, got on the bus with us, and were promised a return to these shops when we pass through Glengarriff on Sunday on our way to Killarney.

Afternoon involves a downtown flea and food market (burritos in a cardboard bowl, seated on the curb) and while many of the group then go for a tour of Bantry House, another group engages in research and consultation regarding odds on horses in the British Grand National annual steeplechase (think National Velvet).

A small syndicate picks a few horses and lays down modest bets at Paddy Power, a chain of bookies, and people place a few side bets. We only do this whenever we’re in Ireland for the spring tour, hardened gamblers that we are, and we involve an absent member of the Usual Suspects through the miracle of electronic communication.

The race will be on Saturday at 5:15 PM, so we’ll need to conclude Saturday activities in time to find a pub, a seat, a pint, and a screen. Not always easy in Ireland on race day.