40 Shades of Wonderment on the Emerald Isle

The saying goes that there are at least 40 shades of green in Ireland. Katrina, our horsewoman from Long Stables, said it herself yesterday, although today when I asked a chocolatier on the quay of the Liffey in Dublin how the saying went, he scoffed at me and said half the sayings attributed to the Irish never originated here and aren't often heard in Ireland. I suspect he was having his fun with me, a tourist, but his real point in our brief conversation was that the green in the Emerald Isle can't be quantified, it is so myriad. It is, I think, like trying to count the wonders of the universe. Some simply refer to them as The Ten Thousand Things. The numbers and hues aren't important; the idea is that they coexist in a world that is as interdependent and and as diverse as the stars in the Heavens, the fish in the sea, and the birds on the wing. The trick is to be able to discern and celebrate the abundance of variations on a theme, be it person, place, animal, mineral, or plant.

On our way back to Dublin for our last night in Ireland, we decided to explore some of Erie's interior counties because we've pretty much been hugging the coast since we landed. We headed toward Tipperary. Although not an official national park, the Glen of Aherlow Nature Park in Tipperary County certainly qualifies in my book. The Glen of Aherlow is a long velvety swath of fertile valley set at the feet of the Galtee Mountains on the north and the Slievenamuck Ridge on the south, stretching for sixteen miles or so east to west, just south of the town of Tipperary. We took the scenic drive after turning off from the regional highway heading to Dublin and wound our way through the valley in search of the park, wondering when we'd get to it. Our book had mentioned a giant statue, The King of Christ, at the park's entrance which was also the trail head for a variety of marked hiking trails. The valley is said to be the Holy Glen of Tipperary and many early Christian sites are located here, though we would have needed weeks to discover them. All we had time for today was one last hike before heading home. After a few hairpin turns in the road following many signs pointing the way, we were breathless at the vantage point the entrance to the park finally provided. We gazed out at a crazy-quilted valley of greens that was spread below us, back lit with the blue Galtee Mountain range and the cloud-studded sky. What a treat for our last day! We enjoyed the view and then entered the wooded path and took the blue trail markers for a 4km hike before getting back on the road. We did take note of the giant stature of the King of Christ, his hand raised toward heaven in blessing to all those journeying who pass beneath his image.

We arrived back in Dublin in time to sit on the quay and enjoy a tea and cappuccino and a stroll into Temple Bar in the late afternoon. Being a warm Saturday evening, people were out and about and there appeared to be a Gay Pride celebration happening, adding to the street ambiance a carnival air. There were musicians playing on the streets, set up with their guitars and amps and drums or more simply with a fiddle and a microphone and the tunes ran from original contemporary to traditional folk, all with a distinctly Irish flair. We made our way back across the Liffey to have a World Cup Special at Madigans where we watched the game with high hopes for our American team's chances to advance another level. We've been fortunate to have caught almost all of the evening World Cup games while we've been traveling. Sadly, our team did not win the game tonight despite overtime play, but they were in the game heart and soul, the only way to play. It's also, I've learned, the only way to travel.

We ended our night with a traditional trio who took up their instruments and voices when the game was ended, so we came back to our hostel with music in our hearts. A grand ending!