I’LL HAVE A GLASS OF PORT IN THE SALON PLEASE

We look forward to a short road trip this morning to our next round of golf at Portsalon GC. Euro SIM Vodafone Google Maps 353874925679 tells me it is just a half hour away, but it should be an interesting drive. First things first however………..my MFI awaits in the dining room. Perfect as always. I did throw in a small “healthy” appetizer this morning consisting of all the fruit on the table, yogurt, and a sprinkling of nuts and seeds, which looked more like what I put in my bird feeder at home than something I should be eating. Fully charged, we are off.

Looking at the coastline in Donegal you will see much of it is a series of peninsulas or fingers of land, with long tidal estuaries in between. Rosapenna being on one (Roguill), and Portsalon being on the one immediately north of us (Fanad). Back in the day, you would have to drive inland to the end of the estuary, hang a double left, and head up the other finger, or, there was a small ferry at the narrows, just outside Carrigart, very close to Rosapenna. The ferry stopped operating in 1960, and a politician from the Fanad Peninsula decided a bridge was needed to increase traffic flow and boost tourism on his neglected home turf……his name was Harry Blaney, and now there is a bridge over the narrows named…….you guessed it……the Harry Blaney Bridge. The bridge cost 20 million Euro and is just about 300 yards long, and raised a lot of eyebrows whenever it was discussed……..Harry apparently used his influence to push it through. Often called the “Bridge to Nowhere”, the expected boost in traffic/tourism has never really happened since it opened in 2008. One thing is for sure though……if staying at Rosapenna, and you are playing at Portsalon……..you use the bridge, and we did. The next thing they should work on is the road to Portsalon because it is a tight and exciting single, or single and a half track, all the way to town.

The course appears busy with a lineup at the first tee, and it turns out there is a local tournament on, which we will be following………yuk. Play is incredibly slow and turns into a 5 hour round for us, sandwiched between the tournament, and a foursome from Ottawa. We have met so many Canadians here it is unbelievable. Only a couple of Americam foursomes, those annoying Swede’s, and a larger group from points unknown…….but Canadians everywhere. On or about the 16th hole a single appeared behind us, having just played through the Ottawa gang, and we invited him to join us to play up 18 together. He was on a solo golf trip……..played six rounds so far……..who goes on a solo golf trip? What, no friends, bad golfer, bad temper, BO……..seemed nice enough to us, but a little strange all the same don’t you think? So how was the course? Portsalon is very interesting, with some really challenging holes and great texture. It plays basically out and back along the sea shore with awesome views, but does get a bit tight in places………FORE was heard many times during the round………all in all it was a very good golf course and worth playing………Jutta would beg to differ………the five hour death march had a lot to do with her opinion of the course I’m sure.

All the courses here seem to name their holes……..the Ottawa group was talking about ways to make that happen at their home course………..what about Oslerbrook?………need to find an expendable member to ask Bill about that one.

Dinner tonight is a return trip to the Goose and Gander Pub with the pizza restaurant in the back………only the pub is open tonight, but they are serving the same great pizza we had on our last trip here. Fantastico. Really worth a visit if you are in town.

Playing another of our Rosapenna favourites tomorrow……Sandy Hills.