Glendalough and St Kevin's cave

As we flew into Dublin it was hard not to recall our last trip there, two years ago. It was the day that our shipment of stuff finally showed up after we waited three months, made few dozen phone calls, and sent several mean emails that got us nowhere. Since July it had probably been stuck on a container ship or forgotten at the back of a deserted warehouse in some English port. Two hours before we had to leave for the airport the movers came and told us they couldn't unload because the people we'd hired to block off the street had never showed up. We got them to leave our boxes at school (unloading a lot of them ourselves) and took off for the flight, realizing when we got to Dublin that Brian had left his wallet and drivers license at home and I don't know how to drive stick. Then we got lost in the dark leaving the airport, on the left side of the road.

This trip was smoother than that.
We started at Glendalough (pronounced Glendalochkgkch or something like that), in Wicklow Mountains National Park. Our most stressful moment was trying to find the hiking trail without get hit by a car. St. Kevin found it relaxing there too. In the 5th century he walked to Glendalough, found a cozy cave in the beautiful valley, and lived as a hermit for seven years. We arrived in a Nissan Micra and stayed at a B&B for one night, but we thought the valley was beautiful too. A monastery was built on the site in St. Kevin's honor, with most of the buildings dating from the 12th century. The cemetery is still in use.

On our hike up the hills we saw some lanky soldiers-in-training with their combat boots, pretend rifles made of wood and heavy packs topped with flourescent caps. The first few soldiers moved at a steady pace, even talked to each other and said hello to us. The last few let their wooden rifles hang, heads bobbing with every step, and barely grunted as we passed. The Wicklow Mountains were the heart of the 1798 Irish rebellion, where defeated rebels hid out in the hills for years. St. Kevin probably climbed all the hills barefoot and foraged some berries along the way. I don't think these last few troops would have been able to keep up. 
We just hiked a while and then jumped back into the Micra on our way to Clonakilty.