Timing the ferry incorrectly (4 November 2024)

 

A very cute bridge in County Donegal

We were up very early to catch our ferry to Holyhead.  I had said we needed to be there by 7:25am to give us some wriggle room for a deadline check-in time of 7:35.  It seemed to be a reasonable time to me.  Bev wanted to get there a bit earlier but I thought hanging around would be too much at that time of day.  The uber driver seemed in no hurry and as the traffic built and we seemed to be going slower and slower my anxiety rose.  It felt to me that the driver had taken us the long way to the boat.  As it turned out Bev was right to go a bit earlier as we arrived a few minutes after the check-in closed and despite entreaties to let us on we were told that the gangplank was up and we could not board. 

That resulted in a six hour wait for the next ferry.  There were other people in the same position with a lot of grumbles about the company’s inflexibility.  However, we did meet some interesting people who were wanted to chat and were interested in where we came from.  While we were there we watched a film crew filming for a new Netflix series set in Ireland which features an American woman coming to find what happened to a family member.

 

Six hours later the next ferry did not board people until twenty minutes before departure (If they had done the same for us we would have made it). It was a smooth sailing with the only worry I had was about getting our rental car as it was unlikely we would be on land when the office closed.  I made a number of phone calls to Enterprise Rent-a-car who were very understanding and they had Thomas willing to hang around until we landed.  He was a delight and despite the long wait he gave some of the best customer service we have had. 

 

The next challenge after getting the car, a Mazda CX5 which is a bit bigger than the previous car was finding our way to our accommodation in the dark.  All went well until we had to get off the expressway.  I missed a turn then went onto the wrong road and the GPS  then directed us down some  very narrow roads which challenged my driving skills and my eyesight.  Finally we got to the street where our Airbnb was but we could easily identify the place in the dark.  Bev knocked on a door and a lovely woman direct us to the correct apartment.   We were rather relieved and for me the stress of driving in the dark along narrow and unfamiliar lanes was over without any damage done to us or the car.  I think I would have preferred a smaller car.