Field trip to Sligo

Our four day field trip with the Belfast Naturalists field club was a great success. Blue skies and sunshine lasted for four full days.

We started by visiting the Cavan Burren- a limestone area near Blacklion which is just across the border from Enniskillen. 

Then Glencar waterfall where we met with Michael Bell who opened his moth trap. 

Hence to Sligo where we had an evening guided walk of the town.

Day two took us to Mullaghmore with Michael Bell and Leo Leydon. A walk on the dunes produced a Forester moth [photo by Michael Bell]

 

Also small Heath butterflies and later on Streedagh Strand the rare small blue butterfly.  We also studied the geology of Mullaghmore Head. 

Streedagh strand is the site of four Armada wrecks. 

Next to the amazing Ballyconnell coast with limestone shelving covered with well preserved fossils of sea animals. This limestone was laid down when Ireland was 10° south of the equator.   

 

In the evening Dr Sam Moore gave a highly interesting talk on the pre history of Sligo which has the greatest number of Neolithic monuments in Ireland and which pre-date those in England. 

The next day we visited Knocknarea glen then onto Carrowmore Megalith Cemetery below Queen Maebh's cairn. 

There were up to 65 tombs here although only 30 remain. 

 

Visited Slish Wood on the edge of Lough Gill. 

On our last day we first visited Arigna Coal Mine. Closed in 1992 but now opened as a visitor experience. My first visit to a coal mine. The seams here are only 18" deep and very difficult to work. Miners lay on their sides in a narrow shelf - say only 30” high and shovelled coal in heaps as they worked towards the buggies that took the coal out. It was a horrific working life in dangerous, cold, wet conditions with water streaming down through the rocks. 

Our final visit was to a workhouse at Bawnboy which is being restored by some locals, as they get some money, as part of Irish history. The driving force is Dympna who is about to publish a book saying that the reason for the famine was the workhouses and the Poor Laws which forced people who couldn't pay the punitive landlord taxes into  workhouses ...which were like jail. There was no escape. Children were taken from their mothers at the age of 3 and put into separate accommodation. Girls, boys, men and women all separate and forbidden to communicate with each other. 

Anyway by this time of the day at least 10 people were suffering from food poisoning..me included so we were glad someone else  was driving us home. 

Time flies

Since I last wrote I've fiddled away the time...sometimes shopping at the market, sometimes at the beach and sometimes panting under a cooling fan.

 

We made a return trip to Offthegrid.in near castle rock railway station in Karnataka. I was able to trap a few moths but the one shown here was slumbering in a rolled up blanket. 

We made an early morning walk up onto the plateau and were rewarded with 

this magnificent landscape view in early morning light. We saw leopard spoor and heard the mellifluous  dawn call of the Malabar whistling thrush.

We said our farewells to Vijay our favorite taxi driver and Umesh.

I'm writing this on the flight to London with legs outstretched along three seats. Once more we've had a very pleasant journey. (Even the Goa airport experience seems to have improved!)

Almost back to the UK now and considering plans for next years trip!...where to...undecided!

Beach

Vijay drove us to a quiet section of Mandrem Beach. It's a long stretch of white sand edged with coconut trees. A few beach huts provide drinks and food. Nothing to disturb your peace. 

Walking, some shopping and crocs

Helens daughter arrived yesterday. In the late afternoon, after a morning at the poolside to try and turn our pale skins a shade darker, we set off. Took a bus to Baga beach and then walked by the sea shore to Candolim. There aren't as many restaurant shacks on the beach as in previous years and less hassling from beach traders.   

The phone recorded our walk as five miles which seems a little exaggerated!  We dropped into FabIndia sticky and sandy from the beach. This shop owns a 25% stake in East.  Of course it's hard to leave empty handed......

Today, Friday, we had booked an afternoon trip on the Zuari River. As far as birds are concerned this is a waste of time whereas the morning is excellent for birding. It turns out the afternoon is good to see large mugger crocodiles basking on the banks.

Anyway, in a repeat of last year's " Get out!" taxi incident, where our driver ejected us for a more valuable fare, we had another event.  Our boatman said the water was too rough for us all and dropped us off at a pier to get the local (free) ferry back!

Relaxing

After the days of action in the hills we spent yesterday  chilling out and checking emails etc.

 We finally went out in the late afternoon to stock up the fridge with pao (bread rolls), tomatoes, milk, a melon, a pineapple and  oranges.

A delicious fish curry at You and Me completed our feeding requirements for the day.

Today is Saturday and we went back to the Literati  bookshop garden for part two of the drawing workshop. Liz Kemp taught us different techniques this time. We used charcoal which is very messy. I prefer a soft pencil.  The lesson was  completed by us drawing a scene in the garden. I chose the Literati Portuguese style house.

Tonight we are attending a  performance by a troupe of Canadian dancers called Kathak

Swapnagandha

Our driver collected us at 9:10, twenty minutes early which is a miracle! It takes 1hr 40 mins to drive although it is only 64 km away. The roads are twisty.

We were shown our cottage inside the Madei wildlife reserve. The view on waking up is below.

This is tiger, leopard, wild boar, sloth bear and Indian Gaur country. The steep hillsides are covered with mixed evergreen deciduous shrubs and trees. Each cottage has a large bed, bathroom and veranda. We have an enormous plate glass window looking over the verandah and  the Swapnagandha  valley. Prehistoric-looking Malabar pied hornbills fly in the early morning just after dawn. 

This eco tourism development arose because a manganese company bought the pristine valley. Captain Nitin and his brother heard about the potential ruin of this landscape and proceeded to buy up the land which bordered the road. The mining company, having no access, eventually gave up and sold the land to the brothers.  So, accidentally, they ended up spending much more than they intended. 

There are two small cottage-style clusters; one at Wildernest with 16 cottages and one at nearby Swapnagandha with 8 cottages.  Each has a communal open air dining room and an infinity pool. 

 The communal dining room at Swapnagandha 

On our second morning  we were driven to the plateau where Ravi is carrying out his butterfly research for his PHD. Having seen the method for marking Marsh Fritillaries he is well into a  study of the movements of one particular butterfly on the laterite ridge-grassland. He numbers these tiny butterflies with a waterproof marker. He took us on his survey walk and pointed out some interesting food plants. He told us the butterfly names and we spotted a total of 23 species.  

Monday 18th

 This morning Helen went to check if her phone was unlocked yet...'no madam, come back later'. We looked into a tiny supermarket and bought pickle and  purchased stamps at the part time post office. 

We chatted for a short time with the woman who runs the 'vegetable and grosary shop'. She was battling with a couple of cows sticking their noses into a covered basket of waste vegetable trimmings. The only thing which would chase them was a thin stick! They get to eat it at dusk and this was far too early. 

Back at the apartment our simple lunch of tomatoes,  bread rolls and veg pattie soon vanished.  Then I got ready for my Bridge date.

I met Kitty last Saturday who said she needed a partner. So I taxied to kitty's house and met Meera and Santoosh. We played Chicago scoring for three hours in the balmy air outside. Kitty's husband is recovering from a stroke. About thirty years ago he won the international bridge tournament in Taiwan. His partner was Hershel/Hershey(?)who is now the Vice President of Canada.  

Santoosh on the left with an old friend from student days.

We will probably be out of touch for a few days as we enjoy walking in the Chorla Ghats. If you want to know more look at www.swapnagandha.com. 

Saturday and Sunday

We attended a drawing workshop at Literati run by Liz Kemp, a Scottish artist. We were using the right side of our brains and followed some exercises to help us see things better. The lesson was held in the garden. It was a highly enjoyable session and we are returning next week. 

We paid a quick visit to Mapusa by taxi to order some new specs for me. It is so tempting to visit FabIndia while we are so close. This Indian chainstore company owns a 25% stake in the UK store East. They aim to support artisanal workers who normally get very little for their labours.  The fabrics are silk, cotton and wool. 

 Inevitably I came away with a lovely silk number!

Today, Sunday, we went with friends to a beach further north. It was quiet, unlike the hectic hubbub at Calangute or Baga Beach. This little chappie was one of many spotted. (About 2 inches across)

Those of you in colder climes will enjoy the fact that it wasn't wall to wall sunshine  for us today. It turned very windy and a bit cloudy in the afternoon. 

Day two

Our mission today was to return to the phone shop to check the phone connection as it still isn't working.  Here you have to have a photograph and give a copy of your passport.  All completed and we should be connected shortly. 

The big annual craft fair is nearly finished so we took a taxi to Panjim to inspect the stalls of sarees, wooden items, pottery, crochet work ( a Goan speciality), food from Gujurat and Rajasthan, Jewellery, woven cane bags, sarees lengths, rugs, artificial flowers. So many stalls. 

Panjim market was so quiet that one stall holder is sleeping on the job.

In the evening we went to our favourite bookshop, Literati. Set in gardens with frangipani, hibiscus, ancient mango tree and coconut trees. This old Portuguese house has been partially converted to a bookshop. We sat in the former living room surrounded by books.  Murad Ali Baig talked about his book Ocean of Cobras.  I've bought it so that I can learn a bit about the Mughals. I've already learned that these Mussulmen first found and published the ancient Hindu writings such as the Bhagavad Gita.  

The evenings jaunt after dinner was Mackies market however we discovered that it is  tomorrow night. 

Day one

Didn't get into bed till 5am which is 11:30 pm at home. Inevitably sleep was hard to catch and I arose at 8:30. Today's mission as always on the first day is to get connectivity. We took a taxi to the phone shop and watched while one man dealt with our query and seven others at the same time!  Then onwards to the big expensive supermarket to get basic supplies such as olive and sesame oils.

Back to the flat for lunch and a quick snooze then out again to the hairdresser for maintenance! Now ensconced at You and Me waiting for our first local meal. I've ordered dal fry and curd with roti. 

Hopefully we get our connection working tomorrow.  . 

Doha

We flew to Doha on an Airbus 330 which can take 247 passengers. Only 48 were on board so everyone could stretch out on empty seats! I've never been so comfortable on a plane!

Heathrow

The journey has begun. The wind blew hard and the rain fell heavily this morning as I left Belfast. The female Captain announced that we would be on time landing at Heathrow. I haven't seen any daylight because I entered the airport via an air bridge  and then worked my way to the Hotel Hoppa bus to the hotel- all under cover.  When Helen arrived she commented on the lovely weather on her journey to London. 

We leave the hotel at some yawningly early hour as the flight leaves at 8am.