pink apples and midnight manicures (glamping phase two)

Oxford Dictionary defines "glamping" as:

 A form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping: glamping is likely to satisfy any city slicker seeking a little refuge in nature—without foregoing any of life’s luxuries.

Now I'll agree with most of this. We did sleep in beds, have access to a fully functioning kitchen and the ability to take hot showers, BUT we did build our own fire in a stove to keep the yurt warm AND had to use a glorified outhouse.  That's right, no flushing and a bucket of sawdust next to the toilet.  The site was lovely though, a real fairy land with loose stone paths leading to each yurt and twinkle lights strewn across the campground.  The proprietors have four kids of their own with a fifth on the way, so there were tree houses, rope swings and hidden oases creating a whimsical, youthful experience.

If I had to describe Jessie and Martin, I would call them modern hippies.  They have very "go with the flow" attitudes and a wonderfully simple outlook on life, happiness.  While we were chatting we discovered that Jessie was almost 7 months pregnant.  She had on a puffy green vest and none of us noticed at all.  They are awaiting the arrival of their fourth boy, Rocco. Logan Jasmine sure has the run of the house as the only girl.  Huckleberry, Maximus, and Ozzy (who turned eight while we were there) round out the family. Plus a few chickens here and there.

We opted to have our nails done that night, a glamping perk that is offered by Pink Apple Orchards along with massages, eyebrow and eyelash tints.  A woman named Agnes came to the site for our second round of pampering that day.  While Alena and I waited for Agnes, Sue and Jodi went into the local village for a few bits and to find an ATM.  

In the town, drivers simply stopped in the middle of the road to park and headed into the only grocery store in the area. I'm not exaggerating either. Sue showed us when we drove through it the next day. Life definitely has a different pace in the Irish countryside and road rage is nonexistent. Also, there wasn't an ATM for miles, getting cash back was the only option.  While Sue and Jodi were out hunting for an ATM, Agnes arrived with cases of nail polish and beauty supplies, an all in one nail salon.  When Jessie told us that Agnes would be arriving at 7:30, she also mentioned that our nails would take two hours each person, making for a very long evening. Jodi said something along the lines of "surely it can't take that long." Shellac only takes about 30 minutes.  

It turns out it was a miscommunication between Agnes and Jessie, but it became an inside joke between the ladies of the camp. We still managed to be primping well past midnight we frequent interruptions for stories and laughter. Agnes is from Poland and has been living in the West of Ireland for 8 1/2 years.  Alena, who is Slovak herself, noticed a slight Polish twang in her pronunciation of certain words. After being in the country for so long though Agnes sounded like any other Sligo native (At least to Jodi, Sue and myself). When Jodi and Sue returned from the village, I was already on my second coat and we were old friends with Agnes. Sue started making drinks and I was a bit jealous I couldn't partake yet.  


We were going to have a BBQ, but the drizzly rain dampened that plan.  So instead we had frozen pizza(glamping cuisine at it's finest!) and baked potatoes cooked in the coals of the now doused fire. I have never had such a delicious baked potato. I only added salt and paper and it melted in my mouth.  Throughout the night, Martin would stop in with scores from the Brazil vs. Holland game.  We had fans for both sides in the kitchen. Agnes was fabulous and after she left we headed back to our yurt to play cards and chat until almost 3am.


Inside we had a little stove fire which reminded me of my aunt and uncle's in New Hampshire. As a pyro I thoroughly enjoyed stoking the fire and keeping it warm in the yurt. I had the best night's sleep of my entire stay in Ireland in that yurt. I slept soundly and woke up to the sun's rays peeking though the ceiling. We lazily got ready for the day and headed to the kitchen for breakfast where we met the cutest baby girl, Alice and her parents. Her dad is Northern Irish and her mom is Floridian, go figure! She and I bonded over the foreign tea time concept. Every time Alice caught our eyes she would do a little dance in her mom's arms. Adorable.  

As we left the glamping site, I realized I would love to come back if I ever get the opportunity and take advantage of the lake that rests at the bottom of the hill. But it was off to our next pitstop, the Marble Arch Caves just over the border in Northern Ireland. 

On the tour you walk down into the caves, take a boat ride to the other side(as it's only passable by boat), walk through as the guide points out flow rocks, stalagmites, and stalactites, and finally climb 163 steps out. I sneezed once and you could hear it the whole length of the caves! The whole time I thought about Matt, my stepdad: the geology fanatic and our family trip to Mexico.  We went snorkeling in a cenote and the rock formations were strikingly similar to each other.  And wouldn't you know I got my Mexican food fix for lunch at Taco Loco in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Burritos and Orange Fanta, perfect end to a weekend away.  Oh and girls, the song in Taco Loco was Finally Found You, Enrique Iglesias. I knew it sounded familiar!

I'm heading to Galway tomorrow to meet my brother-in-law's cousin Michelle! Incredibly excited to be back by the ocean again :) We'll see what the weekend has in store! Sending love to all, especially the Canada bound contingency. I bet y'all can't catch a bigger wall-eye than mine last year!