Slibh Liag, or Slieve League in English—Mountain (Slibh) of Flagstones (Liag). The highest cliffs in Europe at 1972 feet above the sea—yes, higher than the Cliffs of Moher, which, gorgeous though they are, are only a paltry 390 feet above sea level. The cliffs here are the entire mountain, and, just so you know, the vertical layers of rock really do peel off in flagstones.
We waited through two days of soggy weather in County Donegal* for a good hiking day. And then, on the way to Sliabh Liag, I twisted my ankle doing something as simple (stupid) as walking off-trail at some minor ruins (so minor there were no trails) that I really had no interest in seeing to begin with. I was just passing time. The ground was very uneven and the grass so long I couldn’t see where I was stepping. The sprain wasn’t bad, and we were able to hike a bit up the mountain with the help of supportive hiking boots, but not along the ridge to the summit as I had hoped.
As the Irish might say: Come along with us so and enjoy the walk. It’s a grand day to be outdoors!
See the sign in the grass to German pilots during WWII? 
Eire, meaning: This is neutral Ireland, not England. Please do not bomb us. 
Don’t know what this was… 
…but Marcus had fun playing with it. 
Watch tower from the Napoleonic Wars on right ridge. 
Get a load of those horns! 
lighthouse 
the mountain 
Love the coves! 
Love the caves! 
reflection of clouds on the water 
lake + ocean 
Those colored jackets on the trail in the center are as far as we got.
* Bonus Irish/history lesson, for those of you learning Irish along with me: County Donegal is named after Donegal town, or Dún na nGall (dune-na-GALL), which means Fort (Dún) of the Foreigners (Gall) because the town had a Viking fort back in the day (8th century?).
When we were in Cork, we met a retired teacher of the Irish language who was fascinated to hear where we were going on our three-month tour of the island. When I mentioned Donegal, I pronounced it DON-a-gull, like the Americanized surname. He quickly corrected me, out of habit I’m sure, and explained the meaning of the name. I am so glad he did because 1) I find the historical derivations of the names fascinating, 2) the breakdown helps me understand the names of other places we are visiting, and 3) saying it the correct way is so much more fun.
We’re deep in An Gaeltacht (the Gaelic/Irish speaking part of Ireland) now. Go on, give it a try!
Howdy! You’ve been long back, and I’m going thru your blogs. Don’t remember seeing this one before. Love the attention to the language and pronunciation. I wonder if I’ll remember it. Very cool…you know I love languages!
I love languages too, but I doubt I’ll ever be good enough to speak a second language fluently. Still, they fascinate me. We need to take an immersion course, you and I. Germany? 🇩🇪 Spain? 🇪🇸 You pick!
I’m way behind on my reading….but now that we are in CT… I am catching up! Just read a few blogs, and I must say you guys are an awesome travel pair. Marcus’s pics are awesome – interesting, level, and sharp, and your storytelling is wonderful! And, I know it’s a lot of work…..so I appreciate it even more! Then of course, the fact that we get to see and learn all about the region is just fantastic!
And I am behind in my responses to comments! Glad to hear you are settled in CT. Hope you are enjoying good weather. Yes, we seem to have hit our stride as far as travel photos and storytelling go. We each love doing what it is we do, but are amazingly independent when it comes to our inputs. It’s fun to see what each of us comes up with. I definitely feed off of his “catch” of the day, and he anticipates the stories I conjure from them. Thanks for your comments, Nancy. They keep us going!
Wet rain, that comes with the territory 🙂 but you can also have four seasons in a day….
…on a good day!