It’s a glorious time of year to be in Ireland — green, green grass; lots of daffodils, trees just thinking about budding out. I’ve been blogging about the trip for The Atlantic and if you’re interested, you can follow the journey by clicking here. Here’s the beginning of a post about canoeing in a lake near Killarny.
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Last evening I took such a lovely paddle around Ross Island in Lough Leane outside of Killarney. Nathan Kingerlee of Outdoors Ireland collected me from my hotel and I’m sure when he took a look at me (overweight middle-aged woman) he quickly recalculated how far we’d make it in the canoe. Nathan’s a young, strapping lad with close-cropped black hair and ruddy cheeks and hails from Killorglin, the small town that worships a wild goat annually during Puck Fair. He started Outdoors Ireland about five years ago and is making a go of it by selling adventure trips and teaching people how to do all manner of outdoorsy things. He’s smart and savvy and fully understands the role of carefully marketing his business. And because he’s a young guy, he blogs and tweets and is as comfortable around his computer as he is climbing a mountain.
The water was really high where the canoe was tethered — had innundated part of the forest — and canoeing out of there and toward the open water was a little like canoeing in a southern bayou. As we headed toward the lake, we passed mallards and a gray heron and Nathan told me to be on the lookout for a pair of nesting swans. [to read the rest of the post, click here.]
Falconer on the Edge 