HH Challenge, Day Six

Destination: Moville

If I'm staying in a hotel I usually have a look in all the drawers and cupboards.  I don't know why, I'm just interested to see if anything has been left behind by previous occupants of the room and missed during the cleanup. Sometimes there's a book, sometimes a phone charger, you never know.  So after my shower this morning I idly opened the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom and found a cardboard box full of old cassette tapes (although I suppose you don't get 'new' cassette tapes anymore).  This led me on a voyage of discovery around the rest of the room, whereupon I discovered another box of albums and loose photos under my bed, in which I recognised a much younger version of the owner who had greeted me on my arrival, and presumably her family and friends.  There was also a suitcase, but thankfully I left that alone, as that turned out to belong to a fisherman who was also staying in the B&B, but in another room.



I donned my pair of wet underpants for drying before heading out on the road.  Uncomfortable to begin with, but once they'd warmed up they were fine.

Before too long on the road, I'd more or less decided that I was going to have to risk going through the north, or else I was going to be on the road all day.  So from Cavan I started hitching towards Belturbet with the intention of going on towards Enniskillen.  After about ten minutes waiting for a lift I decided to take off my bright orange t-shirt.  No point in asking for trouble.

Enniskillen (there's a town too, but I just liked this view from the bridge!)

I made it through the southwest corner of Northern Ireland in very good time, although I got a bit of a land when I went to a petrol station just outside Enniskillen to buy a mars bar and realised that I didn't have the right currency.  I decided to hold out until I made it through to Donegal again.  The four people that picked me up on my way through the North completely assuaged any misgivings I had about travelling around up there, as they were all so helpful and friendly.  In fact by the time I had arrived in Beleek and had text my mother to know that I was still in one piece, I had made up my mind to come back at some stage soon to check out Northern Ireland properly, as the countryside and the people had really sold it to me.

As I stood outside Ballyshannon, just about to stick out my arm I was approached by none other than Kirsten and Segolene, two other HH Challengees, who had already deviated from their destinations in favour of seeing Connemara (and who could blame them), and were now straying further towards the Slieve League cliffs in Donegal.  We would have stayed talking for longer, but a couple, who must have thought we were the laziest hitchhikers ever, as none of us were even facing the traffic, stopped to see if we wanted a lift.  They were going north towards Derry, so I hopped in, leaving the two girls to make their way west towards Glencolmcille and the cliffs.

I arrived in Muff, on the Inishowen peninsula, and took a picture of the sign, just because...well, just 'coz!  I startled the poor man who I thought had pulled in to pick me up, but had, in fact, only stopped to answer his phone.  Nevertheless, he very kindly offered to bring me to my final checkpoint of Moville and then, after I'd taken my picture there, went on to drive me most of the way to Carndonagh, where I was to stay with another Couchsurfer.

My host and his housemate were complete legends, and I really enjoyed their company and the enormously entertaining banter.  In the evening, we made our way over to another Couchsurfer's house, who was also hosting and we sat around there sharing stories and more laughs.  When we left, I was weary and sore of side (from laughing, not any manner of abuse or assault).

All checkpoints completed, and only the rendezvous in Bundoran to go.