It’s all relative of course isn’t it, but putting wanderings and 2021 in the same headline or sentence is an achievement in itself!
Needless to say, these wanderings didn’t take me very far from home – and there was certainly no SKIPPING or JUMPING!!
For the first half of the year I ….. well….. I didn’t do much of course – mooched around Dublin mainly but, if you must get stuck somewhere, then Dublin isn’t a bad place!!
By mid year we were ready to venture forth – a whole 250kms to the west of Ireland. We headed to County Mayo for 11 days- a place in which we hadn’t spent much time over the years. We had a ball – despite the bad weather! I’ve written 6 posts about this small corner of the globe since then – and be warned – I’m not finished yet!!
A month later we were on the move again, this time to the south west, hoping that our booking to Skellig Michael would work out – and it did! What a highlight – real bucketlist stuff – and on my own doorstep so to speak!
That same trip also found us in nearby County Clare. There is just so much to see and enjoy in this tiny country!!
The end of August saw a small leap – but a giant step for us – a FLIGHT!!!
Yes – we were off to Spain!
Full of trepidation (and I’m not just talking covid – I’m talking back to hand luggage after 18 months travelling around by car!) – the only thing that could get us off this rock we call home was the wedding of pals C and M – no way were we going to miss their 4th attempt!! We’d a fabulous week in Cordoba and Almunécar, squeezing in as much as our travel-starved bodies could handle – Cordoba mosque/ cathedral, Alhambra, Caminito del Rey, Nerja Caves (all right – they weren’t so great!) as well as beach time and wedding celebrations – were we on vacation or what!!
Emboldened by the success of that trip, we headed to Cyprus in late October – chosen because it was a new destination for us, not too far away and promised a good chance of decent weather. It was great – archaeological sites, interesting divided city, beach, sun, good food…..and plenty of Covid precautions.
A few overnighters in November saw us just north of County Dublin in the fascinating Boyne Valley…..
….and also on a quick trip to Belfast.
Finally, we went to Bremen in late November – yes – a third trip abroad! How lucky were we!!!
I’m starting 2022 with a blank canvas. People are asking about our plans and don’t quite believe me when I saw we’ve none. That’s not really unusual – we’ve always known the when before the where and many trips are planned at short notice. But I can’t even guess at the when right now.
If pushed, I’ll admit that I can’t see a long haul trip happening this year – things would have to improve hugely before I’d get my head around that. So it looks like, at best, a year for Europe – I’d love the Greek mainland and maybe a quiet location on the Med coast somewhere (is there such a thing?).
One thing’s for sure, I’ll continue discovering and rediscovering plenty of Irish gems.
Here’s to a healthy and safe 2022 my friends and (fingers crossed!!) happy travels!!!