There we were happily bouncing along in our 4-man jaunting car (pony trap) being drenched by rain hurled at us from the mountains surrounding us - joy oh joy! ..... when the wheels fell off! Well the wheels didn’t fall off, but one wheel lost its hard rubber tyre and, according to the driver, it seems that was it. (My grandfather was a wheelwright I wonder what he would have said.) So what now!? Our driver called for assistance. Hallelujah and thank goodness for Sat phones. He off-loaded 2 passengers to another cart - leaving me and Lindsay on the roadside - sacre bleu - with mouths open! Wha... ! and half an hour later when our boots were full of water and we were soaked to the bone - drenched to the skin despite our wet weather gear - help arrived. Not for us the paying customer mind you, but for the bl....... wheel. Hello!? An hour later with two men working at the wheel - while we simply stood in the rain! Wryly I thought of all those Irish jokes ‘how many etc etc...’. You need to appreciate that we are a long way from anywhere out here in the mountains. The guys gave up on the wheel and gave us the option of walking through the mountain pass to the lakes... hello?, going on by car to the lakes - we were totally wringing wet and only half way through the Gap with a couple of hours on the lakes still to go in biting wind and rain, OR to abandon our tour and return to the start. Ummmmm .... what to do?? You guessed it. We went back. What a dismal day! Exciting? Weeelll just a little bit, the scenery, in spite of the shitty weather, was pretty awesome and chugging along in an old horse trap. Let’s say it was an experience!
Take home message for me is DO NOT try to relive memories! I had done this trip back in the 1980s with my kids and wanted Lindsay to experience it. He was ecstatic as you can imagine!! Maybe some new contingency plans need to be considered.
We’re warm and safe in our little van which now looks a bit like a Chinese laundry with our clothes strung about to dry. But onward and southward to the edge of Ireland.
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| Such a wee cart! |
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| I think this is where our hearts sank just a wee bit. Look at the sky |
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| Just a tad damp! Despite heavy duty waterproof coat, the rain was running down into my waterproof pants. I’m still smiling - even if you can’t tell !! |
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| Looking cute in spite of the rain. The tarpaulin was'nt a lot of help in this weather |
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| Just the very beginning of the Gap in the distance |
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| The scenery when you could see was rather speccy |
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| My poor darling walking up one hill because the poor horse couldn’t make it with a full load of 4 people! |
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| Getting bleaker - the things tourists do! |
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| Horses not looking too happy! Us? |
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| The sheep, branded in multicolours, were wisely sheltering under a big rock |
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| The mountains were awesome |
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| The offending wheel! |
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