August 23 - By land, sea and air - wrapping it up!

A few final words from soggy Southbank after our 2018 Odyssey. 

After such an ‘action packed', amazing journey blogging all the way, there is actually little left to say. Except “let’s do it again!” And also thanks to Wild Earth Travel who offers exciting destinations, to Sundowners Overland who have taken us to remote exciting places, and especially to our wonderful travel manager Bev Edwards who pulls all our wacky plans together and makes them work.

Four weeks back home and we have just about cleared the travel debris. We are now left with the enjoyable task of sorting photos, putting together a few slideshows and basically ‘chewing our cud’ - it has been a deliciously rich feast! 

I came home with close to 6000 pix and who knows how many Lindsay has. And while I am on numbers, would you believe on our journey Melbourne, Beijing to Dublin through 10 countries we traveled over 22,000 Km including 1300 on the high seas and 5500 in a campervan around Scotland and Ireland. The rest? Through deserts, valleys and over mountains .... and more. An absolutely wonder-filled adventure. 

We cannot wait to get back on the road again next year. Where to? North to the Arctic Circle travelling overland via North America as much as land will allow (then back again in the opposite direction). 

In the meantime we have a date with a live volcano in the South Pacific and we hope to get some outback dust in our hair after that. Life is pretty good! 

We start our Arctic expedition in Longyearbyen, Spitzbergen. In summer so maybe a little less ice!! But we are taking our woollies nevertheless.

August 8-10 The end of a wonderfully odyssey

Our last few days in Ireland have been easy touring on the Big Red hop-on hop-off Bus. Galleries and museums, Trinity College, etc - we were a bit toured out! The best of the tours was the Discover Dublin boat tour - our guide Ronan was fantastic. He gave us a running commentary on the history of not only Dublin but also the River Liffey and Port of Dublin. Along the banks of the Liffey is a replica of the Jeannie Johnston one of the many famine boats which took people from starving Ireland to the ‘new world’. She never lost a passenger but so many poor starving people died on most ships that they were called ‘coffin’ ships.

So much I didn’t know. If we studied it at school I wasn’t paying attention. The Vikings! They were a busy lot back in their heyday. Among a lot of historic tidbits, we learnt that it was the Vikings who established Dublin back in C8. Viking (Danish) rule in Ireland (795–1014 AD) began with raids of coastal regions and while they never controlled the entire island, Vikings exercised heavy authority, collecting taxes and dominating trade until their power was largely broken in 1014 after long periods of bloody fighting. But here we are today firmly on Irish soil ruled by the Irish! What with the Vikings then the Normans then the English, what a history the Irish have! No wonder they are a rebellious lot. 

Here there is a rich history of rebels and freedom fighters and they are honoured with street and building names. Daniel O’Connell, the Liberator, is still revered. In the early 1800s he campaigned vigorously for Catholic emancipation and generally to improve the lot of Irish Catholics in what was essentially a Protestant country ruled by England. Among many social changes he was instrumental in bringing about changes so that Catholics could be buried in cemeteries with protestants. Ireland has a dark history. Today the large statue of Daniel O’Connell at the end of O’Connell St sports a few bullet holes from the 1916 Easter uprising, but the city wears them proudly. 

We walked a lot in Dublin - fascinating city. In Temple Bar for instance there are a number of lanes dedicated to a range of the arts. My favourite was that dedicated to Irish women writers including the wonderful but rather tragic Iris Murdoch.

Such a place! What a journey! Tomorrow we board a plane for home. 

Daniel O’Connell himself

Great little footbridge over the river running beside Bachelor's Walk. No not Lindsay!

A replica of the Jeannie Johnston one of the many transorting syarving Irish to the 'new world'

The Samuel Beckett Bridge can swing open 90 degrees from its one pylon. Beautiful shape

The Ha’Penny bridge built in the early 1800s charged people a Ha’penny to cross 

Gorgeous front to the Merchants Archway through to Temple Bar

Temple Bar is a colourful place. It has a bit of everything and is a popular place to eat or take in the nightlife

The Dawson Lounge is the smallest pub in Ireland- it seats 12 people

St Patrick’s Cathedral is not Roman catholic but the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland (Anglican). 

The house where Mr Guinness lived with his family - wife and 21 children! 

In Temple Bar an intriguing place to wander.

Library Square at Trinity.

Fascinating sculpture beside one of the libraries -‘Sfera con Sfera’ locally called ‘Pomodoro Sphere’ (Pomodoro was the artist) 

Magnificent Irish marble pillars in the museum

Intricate filigree work outside the Museum at Trinity

Glasnevin Cemetery where many notable historical figures are buried - this tower stands over the tomb of Daniel O'Connell.

July to August. A floral tribute - Part II

This second lot are a mixture of odd succulent types plus others - as well as insects. Some of these and the last batch of pix I posted are introduced species which have become totally assimilated into the wild landscape. Some were once wild then cultivated for the garden and later escaped back into the wild. 

They are all fascinating things that have caught my eye and make me marvel again and again at the beauty of the natural world.  Give me a flower over a cathedral any day!

Annual mercury  (Mercurialis annua)

Green on green. Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum)

Sun Spurge (Euphorbia). More green on green - I love green flowers

Sea Campion with its patterned 'bladder'

So delicate - what insect wouldn't want to explore this shadowy chamber

Bloody Crane's-bill (Geranium sanguinem)

Birdeye speedwell (Veronica persica)

Common knapweed

A mixture of fragrant heathers with a predominance of Bell Heather

Common heather (Calluna vulgaris)

Ribwort Plantain. Their flowers are so delicate and attractive to insects

Hemp agrimony 'raspberries and cream' (Eupatorium cannabinum)

Pretty rose but it was the Hover fly that caught my eye. Peer into flowers and you never know what you’ll find.

Rather sweet these two sharing the nectar of this pretty daisy but seconds later the butterfly saw off the 'bee'!

You may not want these in your vege patch but it is all about maintaining a balance in the food chain. 

No fires in this lichen encrusted rocky place!

Tiny shards of light from the water droplets captured by this spiders web sent me back for my ‘camera’

Fungi, Nature’s most efficient recycler. And just look at the range of wonderful bark textures

July to August A journey with flowers - Part I

I know you’ve been waiting for this so .... here ‘tis. A little floral scenery. These beauties have hemmed our path, dotted the ruggedness of this rocky island and given us, particularly me, great pleasure.  I’ve been able to ID lots but many remain mysteries still to be cracked. I love my wildflowers book! It has had so much use - it was worth lugging it half round the world. (I’ve had to load the pix in two batches)

A pretty Buebell I haven’t found in the book - yet!

These red and purple Fuchsia continue to delight the eye

These pretty cousins seem pale and insignificant beside the red - but so delicate

Yet to be identified but pretty - and yellow!

Purple Loosestrife. It formed hedges along many roads with other pretty flowers and grasses

Rosebay have put on the most glorious display. Once tickets of flowers, they are putting out their wispy white feathery seeds 

Vibrant Montbretia

Sea Thrift or Sea Pinks cluster in huge pillowy banks on the most inhospitable cliffs as well as roadside

Orange lily-like Montbretia, mixing with Rosebay, Meadowsweet, masses of grasses and umbellifers which tease and frustrate me 

Ragwort blazing with colour

Sea Asters found growing in The Burren in cracks in the limstone pavement

Delicate pink Yarrow form clustered posies

Roadsides linesd with brilliant yellow - Common Ragwort. An unfortunate name for such a happy-looking flower