Glendalough

Wednesday 1/12/11:

Ian drove me to Laragh this morning for which I am quite thankful, for there is no bus service from Wicklow, and it’s about 20km, a long walk. From there I walked about 2 km to Glendalough. Glendalough is a monastic settlement started in the early 6^th century by St. Kevin. It was more or less active for over 600 years until being burnt by the Anglo Saxon raiders in 1100 A.D. The name means Valley of the Two Lakes, and it is absolutely beautiful.

I am staying at the youth hostel not 1000 feet from the site itself. I can hear the water over the rocks from my room, and see the round tower from my window. And there is no one here, I am the only patron. This is the stillness I’ve been looking for, in the Wicklow Mountains I’ve found it. Even on my walk around the lower lake today I only saw about a dozen tourists.

I started at the monastic site, and it was quickly easy to see why this was a place of contemplation and meditation. The calmness is catching. There are multiple ruin sites at this place, the most dramatic being the round tower. These are surrounded by graves, some ancient, some modern. I wander among ancient stones, ponder the remains of graves long lost to time. I wonder if at my end will there be anyone to mourn me. When they die, will I be forgotten, like a grave on a hillside as the water and wind slowly eat away at the granite headstone till I’m nothing more than dust and my memory lost in time? I honor these people who have come before me, for without them, I would not exist.

There is nothing like stillness to calm. All I can hear is the sound of running water as is falls off the rocks on the hillsides. It rained earlier today, and about 10 new waterfalls have sprung up out of nowhere as the water finds its lowest elevation. The hillsides are quite steep, and very muddy, and I slipped twice trying to reach the water.

On the return journey to the hostel, I met a wild goat and we traded pleasantries until he decided to try the grass on the other side of the hill. His horns were quite long, so I decided not to follow.

Tomorrow I will do the long hike around the upper lake called Spinic and the Glenealo Valley. Included on this trip is the Poulanass Waterfall, Glenealo Valley, ruins of a mining town, and hopefully a herd of deer.

Cheers.