{"id":14557,"date":"2014-08-07T03:55:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T07:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=14557"},"modified":"2014-08-07T04:02:03","modified_gmt":"2014-08-07T08:02:03","slug":"day-39-tuesday-august-5-newcastle-northern-ireland-to-dundalk-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=14557","title":{"rendered":"Day 39. Tuesday, August 5 – Newcastle, Northern Ireland to Dundalk, Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Duckies said they wanted to go back to bed after their wonderful breakfast \"DSCN1419\"<\/a>instead of going out in the pouring rain. \u00a0And as much as we agreed, it showed no signs of letting up, so we bundled up and headed out into the cold (55\u00b0) rainy morning. \u00a0\"photo\"<\/a>The rain and fog were so thick all we could see was the wet road in front of us. \u00a0 \u00a0Occasionally we were afforded a glance of large homes on the hills or stunning shoreline. \u00a0But mostly, we kept our head down biking hard against the wind and rain as if we could break through or outrun it. \u00a0Almost two hours later, as we dropped from our climbing,\"DSCN1437\"<\/a>\u00a0the rain lessened and we could actually see a few miles ahead of us. \"DSCN1430\"<\/a>\u00a0The small villages \"DSCN1438\"<\/a>along the\u00a0Carlingford Lough were a refreshing site. \"DSCN1444\"<\/a>\u00a0Homes grew larger as did the stone walls that obscured the full view. \u00a0We traveled up the Newry River past the Narrow Water Castle \"DSCN1449\"<\/a>dating from the 16th century. \u00a0Though the rain had stopped, the clouds still hung heavy on the hills,\"DSCN1460\"<\/a> threatening to rain again.<\/p>\n

Unceremoniously, we crossed the border into Ireland, noted only by the many signs for money exchange. \u00a0At 1:30 and 38 miles completed, we finally stopped for a rest and a bite to eat. \u00a0Our quick stopped was delayed with a flat waiting for us as we left lunch, but within the hour we had completed lunch and the tire fix. \u00a0Best of all, the sun had come out for our final ten miles. \u00a0Our\u00a0road into town went right by the magnificent St. Patrick’s Church. \"DSCN1473\"<\/a>\u00a0A tour of the inside would be on our list, but only after we showered and took care of some reservations. \u00a0In a couple of days, we were crossing the Irish Sea back to England and were having a very difficult time coordinating everything. \u00a0Thankfully, Sin\u00e9ad at the tourist info office\"DSCN1476\"<\/a> was beyond helpful and got us squared away.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately by the time we finished, the church had closed it’s doors, so we headed for\u00a0refreshments, \"DSCN1480\"<\/a>dinner and desert.\"DSCN1485\"<\/a>Long day tomorrow, so time for bed.<\/p>\n\n\t\t