The Frank Delaney book, Ireland, A Novelopens with a traditional Irish storyteller’s tale of “The Architect of Newgrange” inspired us to want to start our journey through Ireland with a visit to this 5,200 year old Neolithic monument to the ancestors. What we didn’t realize was the need to start at the Visitor’s Center to get tickets for the bus ride and guided tour. We got to see this ancient passage tomb from a distance before making the trip to the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre to learn there were no more tickets available for today. We did get to see a brief documentary and to walk through the museum. And we gratefully availed ourselves of the opportunity to get some pick me up beverages and a slice of orange cake to share four ways. Although we would have loved to take the tour we definitely appreciated the chance to ponder the deep human history of this island.
Queen Mary 2’s arrival in the Port of Dakar, Senegal was heralded in the local press and greeted with ceremony. Our own excursion took us on a coach journey through the streets of the capital city to visit a Wolof village and the shore of Lake Retba, the salty lake famed for an intense pink color.
Today’s safari adventure transported us out into the Dorob National Park to have up close encounters with little creatures that are well adapted to the extreme heat and lack of water in the Namib Desert.
With a UNESCO World Heritage Site, two national parks, dozens of museums, and hundreds of tours offered in the Cape Town area there is more than plenty to do. For our two day visit we opted to concentrate on African wildlife visiting the Aquila Private Game Reserve and the Boulders Beach Penguin Colony for a wonderful chance to these fabulous animals in their own habitat.
Lou just found an article about new discoveries at Newgrange as a result of this year’s drought: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/newgrange-more-unparalleled-prehistoric-sites-discovered-1.3565502?mode=amp