The Beara Peninsula

This is a wild and raw landscape that is devoid of tourist buses and tourists at this time of year.  The roads are narrow, thus preventing the tourist bus onslaught that takes hold of the Ring of Kerry.

The high pressure system that gave us days of clear skies and abundant sunshine has vanished.  We are back into unsettled conditions and woke up to rain this morning as the mountain tops vanished under heavy cloud.  We are resigned to having to partake in low level activities.

We set out on the Beara Way drive along the north side of the Beara Peninsula.  Upon reaching Castletown Bearhaven, we stopped at a coffee shop for a very good cappuccino, the best since we were in Ballybofey in Donegal, which feels like ages ago.

There is a very long walking path, referred to as the Beara Way which runs for 206 km through the Beara Peninsula.  As there was a break in the rain, we stopped in Adrigole to walk a small portion of the footpath.  This proved to be an abysmal walk, as they seem to be in the process of upgrading an overgrown section through forest.  A wide swath of trees were plowed down, leaving an uneven mucky mess.

Then the path went through bog where we could sink to our knees if we were not careful.  Finally, the path continued on a narrow paved road which led to nothingness, and that is where we turned around.

However, there are some fantastic mountains on Beara that are made up of huge slabs of rock.  An incredible road, called the Healy Pass, winds its way up to the border between Co. Cork and Co. Kerry, between the mountains of Hungry Hill and Knockowen in the Caha Mountains.  Luckily for us, there was virtually no traffic on the narrow, twisty road when we drove up.

On our way back to Kenmare, we drove on a tiny road to the Uragh Stone Circle.  The stones are sited in a beautiful landscape between two lakes, with mountains and a waterfall as a backdrop, it does not get much better than this.

Beara Peninsula Coastline

Ruined Church

Adrigole Mountain

Healy Pass Road

Glanmore Lake

Healy Pass Road

Uragh Stone Circle

The History of Ireland Continues....

In the 1970s a war raged between the newly emerged Provisional IRA and the British army, along with the RUC and the Ulster Defence Regiment.  Between 1971 and 1974, bombings, shootings and murders were a daily occurrence.  The political structure began to collapse as the Unionist Party split into the Official Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), led by Paisley and other fringe loyalist parties.  On the nationalist side was the Social and Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Fein, a Catholic party which later became the political wing of the Provisional IRA.

The Dublin leaders of the original IRA, were Marxists, they did not respond to the repression of the Norther Ireland Catholics by the RUC.  Therefore, the Belfast republicans and southern non-Marxist IRA members, established a Provisional Army Council.  At the Sinn Fein congress, there was a split in the IRA, the Official IRA retained a Marxist ideology and military aim, while the remaining members became the Provisional IRA and declared themselves to be the defenders of the Northern Ireland Catholics, many were IRA veterans.

Initially, relations between the Provisional IRA and the British army were quite good as the Catholics regarded the army as protectors.  However, everything fell apart due to several issues:

1.  A Falls Road curfew was enforced in 1970, people were ordered to stay home and the British army began a search of homes for IRA weapons.  5,000 homes were searched and severely damaged in the process.  Six civilians were killed and few weapons were located.

2.  In 1971, the Provisional IRA went on the offensive and shot a British soldier and three Scottish soldiers.  There were demands to inter IRA leaders, so 342 republican suspects were arrested.  Violence erupted, resulting in 17 dead, ~ 150 houses burned and greater than 7,000 people were displaced, mostly Catholics.  The violence escalated and there were many civilian and British army soldiers killed, the interment was a total disaster, but a propaganda boon for the IRA.

3.  In January 1972, a march was planned for Derry, the march was banned but the organizers went ahead.  British paratroopers, who already had a reputation for brutality, attacked the marchers and killed 13 unarmed civilians, this was known as Bloody Sunday.

An inquiry into Bloody Sunday placed blame on the organizers.  Recruits filed into the Provisional IRA and things went completely out of control as the IRA started bombing.  The British government reluctantly took over direct responsibility for Northern Ireland, but the government immediately started looking for ways to end their control of Northern Ireland.  A power-sharing executive was set up with both Unionists and Nationalists, but it failed.

Rambling in Coomasaharn Hills

We had another spectacular day in Ireland with fine weather, but the wind was wicked.  We set off to the north of us to a ‘remote’ area just off the Ring of Kerry drive.  The start of the walk was in sheep country, down some narrow single track roads, near the beautiful Coomasaharn Lake.  We were a bit uncertain regarding our start position, so we drove up a road between a few small farms and some houses.  After we figured out we were in the correct vicinity, we parked beside the road in front of a derelict building.

Just as we left the car, and started to walk down the road, a guy drove up with two of his sheep dogs running along beside him and one sheep dog was sitting on the floor on the passenger side.  He stopped and got out so we started talking to him, he is a sheep farmer who lived nearby.  The dog in the car was his best sheep dog, while the other two were in training.

His sheep pens were right there, so he took us in to look at his sheep.  All of the sheep are sprayed with paint to identify who they belong to, his mark is a bright blue, we see painted sheep all of the time.  He runs about 300 sheep and really likes what he does for a living, although, he does not think sheep farming has much of a future.

The sheep farmer was shocked that a couple of Canadians would be out in the middle of nowhere to walk in the hills.  We told him that we don’t like to travel to cities and he totally concurred with that notion.  He was such a terrific guy, and we had a great conversation, although his accent made it a bit difficult for us to hear everything on the first go, and I had to ask him to repeat things every once in a while.

The people of rural Ireland are gems, as they are such friendly and down to earth people.  We could spend our entire time in rural Ireland and be very happy.  If we didn’t have such a desire for a reliable Internet connection, we would never stay in a bigger town.

Then his brother, who is also a sheep farmer, came walking up and he told us that it would be windy on top of the mountains, was he ever right about that.  It was so windy, that when we got up on the ridge, it was throwing both of us sideways every now and again.  However, the first mountain had a flat top, so it was okay.

When we got to the area where we were to go up to the top of the next mountain, the approach was very narrow with sharp drops on both sides, and then a very steep and slippery, grassy sheep path, went up to the top.  We had to stop and consider the wisdom of taking on the narrow ridge in the wind and decided we must forgo the ridge walk.

We retreated to a knoll out of the wind and had our tea.  Then we made for a ridge overlooking Coomasaharn Lake, and then walked back down the mountain to the car.  This area is only 10 km east of the busy Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, but nobody but the local sheep farmers are around this gorgeous area.  Also, even though the Irish walkers think it is remote, it is only a few km from the busiest, most touristy drive in Ireland, that being the Ring of  Kerry.

Coomasaharn Lake

Coomaglaslaw Lake

Looking down from the ridge to the end of Coomasaharn Lake

The narrow ridge ahead

The end of Coomasaharn Lake

Small 'hanging lake' on the east shore of Coomasaharn Lake

Macgillycuddy’s Reeks from Coomreagh Mountain

Farms down below

Coomreagh Mountain

On the way back to Kenmare, we stopped in Killarney at a Tesco, which happened to be right in the busy, city centre.  Killarney is extremely touristy, and we couldn’t wait to get back into the car and get out as fast as possible.

Sheep’s Head

It was another great day with full sun so we headed to Co. Cork to the Sheep’s Head peninsula.  The Seefin Ridge runs down the length of the peninsula dividing it into two distinct landscapes.  On the north side is Bantry Bay and the landscape is steep, rocky and windy.  On the south side is Dunmanus Bay, where the land is a patchwork of green fields sloping gently to the sea.

We drove from the town of Bantry down the peninsula on the north side and then crossed over the Seefin ridge to the south side to drive to the very end of Sheep’s Head.  The roads are very narrow and twisty, so it makes for slow going.  As it was a fine day, quite a few people were driving around and more people than we expected were at the tip of Sheep’s Head.

The view from the parking area is quite banal, so there is a 2km trail to the tip of Sheep’s Head, where there is a lighthouse.  We took the well-made path expecting to find a typical coastal lighthouse, only to come upon a mini lighthouse, it was hilarious.

Rather than walking back up the 2 km path to the parking area, we followed a path through some boggy ground, that then climbed up the hills from the tip of Sheep’s Head.  This was a pretty good walk and was about 5 km in total.

View from the end of Sheep's Head Peninsula

Mini Lighthouse near the tip of Sheep's Head Peninsula

View from Sheep's Head

As we got close to the parking area a sheep and her two lambs were right beside the trail.  The mother started to bleat for the lambs to get in gear and follow her.  They both got a bit bogged down in the tall grass and heather and made some pseudo bleating sounds, but then got their footing.  Since they were right beside us, but were on the verge of bolting off, we talked to them so that they stopped to stare and then we got a few good photos.

Sheep on Sheep's Head Peninsula

I had planned on going to Mizen Head, which is the extreme southwest point of Ireland, but we were fed up with slow roads by this time, so we went to Skibbereen to get some cheese and meat, then we had a cappuccino and drove back to Kenmare.

There are a lot of dairy cattle in Co. Cork, and it seems to be the dairy region of Ireland, as we have noticed that the majority of cheese we purchase comes out of Co. Cork.  All of the towns in the area are also very pretty, as well as rather tourist oriented.

We tried a Powers whiskey in the pub tonight, as the old guy we talked to in Achill drinks Powers and suggested we try it.  It is a lot better than Jameson, and more like a Scottish whisky.

The History of Ireland continues...

The Beginning of the ‘Troubles’

The Troubles is a term that is applied to the thirty-year period of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.  In the mid 1960s, Reverend Ian Paisley, the founder of the Free Presbyterian Church, was on high alert for any politician who would betray Ulster, Unionism and Protestantism, by giving anything to the Catholics.  In 1968, Paisley forced the local constabulary to remove a flag of the Republic of Ireland, from a window in the Catholic sector of Belfast, rioting ensued for a period of four days.

Paisley drew support from working class Protestants whose jobs in heavy industry were falling away; they were angry with Union leaders and feared change.  At the same time, the Catholics were beginning to gain a level of assertiveness as they pursued secondary education and took up professional careers, although not in government, as those positions were for the Protestants.  The Catholics were not focussed on republicanism, rather, they were fed-up with blatant discrimination and the fact that they held few civic government council seats, even in Derry, which was predominately Catholic.

The Protestants viewed the civil rights complaints of the Catholics as just another strategy to end partition.  The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) re-formed in 1966, and some of their members fatally shot a young Catholic in Belfast, the killers were sentenced to life in prison and the UVF was banned.  This event was important, as it demonstrated that the Unionists would resort to violence.

The Catholics began to organize protest marches; when they marched in Derry, the constabulary went out of control and attacked the protesters, this was captured on film and broadcast to a shocked and outraged audience in the Republic of Ireland.

A group of students in a university in Belfast, calling themselves the People’s Democracy (PD) organized a protest walk in early 1969, from Belfast to Derry.  The walk started out with a small group, but gathered supporters along the way, including republicans.  The protesters were harassed by both Unionists and the constabulary.  Near Derry, the marchers were attacked and beaten by Protestants, which were organized by an associate of Paisley.

In August, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) wanted to enter a Catholic area of Derry, known as the Bogside.  The Catholics attempted to fend them off and the ensuring battle was filmed and broadcast to the world; the British army had to come in and put an end to the ‘Battle of the Bogside.’  Throughout 1969, rioting and killing ensued, to the point where the RUC used machine guns for crowd control in Belfast.  The British army had to come in and restore order; interestingly, British police forces refused to go to Northern Ireland to relieve the RUC.

The fact that modest reforms, such as ‘one man one vote’ exploded into such violence, demonstrated that the Protestants could not embrace any change, reform or inclusion of Catholics.  Northern Ireland was to protect and to promote the interests of the Protestants.  This ideology, along with the political structure of Protestant interests first, was the path to collapse.

More Route Maps

We keep forgetting to post our route maps.  The first map is our drive from Co. Donegal to Co. Mayo.  The second map is our long drive from Co. Mayo to Co. Kerry.  Unfortunately, we had to bypass a lot of wonderful countryside in Co. Galway and Co. Clare.

The south of Ireland is very different, as the towns are larger and all the towns and villages are very pretty and very tidy.  It feels much more urban here, busier and more populated.  There is also a larger variety of plant life here, as the land is more fertile.  We now know why our Airbnb host in Dublin told us that Donegal was 'wild and woolly.'   Of course, we love 'wild and woolly,' and we prefer the grittier places that are more rural.

Killygordon to Newport

Newport to Kenmare

Carrauntoohil Hike, Co. Kerry

Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland, it is part of the mountain range known as the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, I just love some of the names in Ireland.  Carrauntoohil is not that far from Kenmare, where we are staying; however, you generally cannot just drive across country and the highway from Kenmare to Killarney is closed right now, so we had to take a longer route.

A high pressure system has moved in and we were in for the best weather yet, full sun all day long with virtually no cloud and not much wind.  This was quite a change for us, and, the temperature got up to 19C, which is unreal.

The fine weather brought out a lot of walkers, so much so, that the parking lot was quite full.  We had to take curvy, single track roads to get to the trailhead.  There is nothing remote about trailheads in Ireland, as there was a farm there, with 2 Euro for parking, a tea room and a campsite.

There are several routes up Carrauntoohil, and we decided to take the shortest and busiest route, up the Devil’s Ladder.  The Devil’s Ladder is a very steep climb with loose rock and a lot of erosion.  It was a bit of a trial to ascend due to the boulders and loose scree, as well as water pouring down the rocks.  In some areas you have to scramble with your hands.

There is a rocky path prior to reaching the Devil’s Ladder, so this made for a longer walk than we have been accustomed to in the Irish mountains.  It took us about an hour and a half to reach the top of the Devil’s Ladder, then we had to take a steep climb up to the summit of Carrauntoohil, which took about 45 minutes.

You have to be a bit pig-headed to hike well and to be able to enjoy it.  Clearly, some people hate it and it is a slog for them.  We just decide we are getting to the summit and we don’t care what we have to endure to get there.  We never take any rest breaks until we reach the top, and as we get in shape, we just keep hiking faster.  However, today we could never get up enough speed to make it taxing with regard to cardio, because it was steep and the footing was marignal.

It was busy at the summit, and we have been spoiled by having mountains to ourselves recently.  However, the 360 degree views in full sun were spectacular.  I asked an older guy if he was local and he said not really as he lives in Wicklow.  I then asked him to point out the geography and then I got great suggestions on what not to miss in the area.

Then we talked to two young Irish guys who were not local either, they offered to take our photo and we discussed how beautiful Ireland is, and they also gave us suggestions of what to see.  The Irish are very forthcoming with information if you ask.  There seemed to be a lot of people from elsewhere in Ireland and some foreigners as well.

We spent about 45 minutes on the summit and truly appreciated our tea, and then we had to make our descent.  We figured that going down the Devil’s Ladder would be horrid, but it went really well, likely because we use hiking poles and because it is easier to pick out a route when looking down.  Also, there were fewer people on the trail.  People are hilarious, as we are all like sheep and will follow the people in front of us, up or down a trail.

Our Destination, the Steep One

Views from the Summit

Devil's Ladder

View from Devil's Ladder

We got back to the car around 4:00 pm, so the walk took us about five hours, including our summit break.  We decided to drive back to Kenmare through the Gap of Dunloe and through the Black Valley.  The Gap of Dunloe is a tourist attraction, as it is a very narrow and twisty road through a really cool gap in the mountains.  What happens, is that locals hitch a wagon to a horse and take tourists on a ride down the road, these are known as ‘jaunting cars.’  Luckily, it was late enough in the day so that the horse people were not operating, but the tourists were walking on the road, and for some reason, they are loathe to get out of the way, they are crazy.

It was quite the road to negotiate due to the walking people and oncoming cars, as there is only room for one car, so other cars have to move over or back up into passing places.  We stopped a few times to take photos, and then stopped at the very top of the road at the far end, where few people venture.

There was a guy there who was riding a Honda sports bike, so I asked him how his ride went.  He said the road had too sharp of turns to make it a good ride, I said well at least you are not riding a ‘Hog’ and he burst out laughing.  He is from Co. Clare and was down for a ride, we discussed places to see in Ireland, so we will be sure to go through the Conor Pass on the Dingle Peninsula in the days ahead.

Our drive through the Black Valley took forever, as it is a single track road with some really twisty sections.  When we finally reached Kenmare it was close to 6:00 pm so we rushed into the town centre to find a butcher.  We asked people on the street where to find the butcher, as there are a few, so we raced to one of the butcher shops and the butcher had most of his meat put away, but they are all about service.  He cut up beef and ground it for us and we bought some other stuff and talked about meat.  We are absolutely in love with Irish butchers.

Gap of Dunloe

The History of Ireland Continues....

In Northern Ireland, sectarian rioting in 1922 which left hundreds dead, mainly Catholics, had finally ceased.  Both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State arose amid bloodshed.  The government structures of the two Irelands were similar.  However, the IRA wanted to destroy the state of Northern Ireland.  The Ulster Voluntary Force (UVF) was raised again in the 1920s and incorporated into a new paramilitary force to fight the IRA.

Life for Catholics in Northern Ireland was fairly abysmal as they were essentially excluded from power, 50% of the Unionist members held government office, while the Nationalist members of parliament were ignored or treated with contempt.  Education was split into well-funded Protestant schools and poorly funded Catholic schools.

The Free State of Ireland received a Constitution in 1937 which was ratified by the electorate.  Ireland was basically a republic in all but name.  After gaining control of her ports from the British a year later, Ireland was a sovereign nation.

During WWII, Ireland remained neutral as she could not declare with the British while retaining her sense of sovereignty.  However, Ireland was an important source of recruits, labour and food for Britain during the war.  Many Irish went to Britain for work during the war and post WWII, emigration to Britain remained high, as the Irish economy was lethargic, and there was little increase in manufacturing.

The 1960s was a much better decade for the Republic, they achieved economic growth and emigration levels finally dropped.  Another important development was the granting of free secondary education to all, which dramatically improved the level of education.

In 1949, Ireland withdrew from the Commonwealth and declared a republic.  The IRA was active in the 1950s, they wanted to end partition and would do so with violence.  To that end, the IRA raided British army bases to gather weapons.

The Northern Ireland Catholic minority was indifferent to the IRA, as they were benefiting from the British welfare state.  The economy of Northern Ireland was modernizing, but they did not give any consideration to the political situation.  Political reform was necessary, as society was deeply divided and sectarian; however, the issue was not addressed, and this would have important ramifications for Northern Ireland.

The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher

We had a long drive today and the weather was amazing, as it was sunny all day and warm.  The landscape changed a lot as we drove south.  The land in the north is so terrible that one cannot even run cattle on it, only sheep.  Once we got quite a lot further south, there are many more trees and small herds of cattle start to appear in the fields as well as some tillage.  The cities are also larger and the highway system is better as well.

We stopped just south of Galway for a coffee at a garden centre which had a great little café.  We sat by the window and a guy was planting into the window boxes.  Then the plant woman came along and told him how to rearrange the plants for far more pleasing effect.  We walked through the garden centre and the quality of bedding plants were just astounding.  I told the owner that I had never seen such fine bedding plants.

Then we came across tables of small arrangements of plants in pots, it had to be the work of the plant woman as they were so well done.  We took a couple of photos as they were so nice.

Senetti

Small Arrangements

We decided to go off our direct route to Co. Kerry by going through Co. Clare to have a look at ‘The Burren.’  This is a very bizarre landscape of bare limestone hills.  As it was such a gorgeous day, we also decided to stop at the Cliffs of Moher.  We had not really planned on seeing the Cliffs of Moher but the people in the walking group in Donegal thought that they should be seen even though we visited Slieve League.

The Burren

Co. Clare is somewhat touristy and the Cliffs of Moher are on the tourist must see list.  There is a large parking lot where they charge a lot just for parking.  We turned around and drove back down the road to a place that had cattle pens and gates where a few other cars were parked.  Then we simply walked up the cliffs.  The tourist section has a lot of steps and areas fenced off with large slabs of rock and there is tourist infrastructure there as well.

We walked most of the way along the cliffs, which took about an hour and a half, and then we walked back down the end of the cliffs to the car, this all worked out great.  There were quite a few people around, even in the off season.  This area is rather touristy and after coming from the north of Ireland, we are not used to tourists.

Cliffs of Moher

Croaghaun Hike, Achill Island

We really wanted to revisit Achill Island, so we headed there this morning to walk up Croaghaun and then to check out other areas of Achill.

It was dry, cool and windy but there was a bit of sun, so this was a great day for a walk up a mountain.  The details of the route were sketchy, so we headed off, up some sheep trails.  I think we took the steepest route possible, but we think it ended up being shorter than the route we were supposed to be following.  There is no hiking trail on this mountain, you just have to make your way up.

Our route dipped into a bowl and then went up very steeply.  Just when we thought we would gain a ridge, there was yet another ridge behind it.  The ground was fairly heavy heather and grass, and there was also a lot of moss with heather and a lot of rock in places.

It felt like the summit would never be gained, but we made it up in an hour and a half.  The views from the summit were absolutely spectacular, as the mountain drops off sharply to the Atlantic.  We had just fantastic light up there for photos, as a lot of high cloud kept on coming in from the east.

However, it was so windy on the summit that we couldn’t go very near to the edge.  After taking a zillion photos, we retreated down the summit to some large rocks and sat out of the wind behind a huge rock that was wedged upright.  We guzzled our tea and then started our steep descent.

We could make really good time on moss and heather as it is not slippery, it is very spongy.  In areas of grass and heather it was slower going as it was slippery.  We decided to take a route down, that we think, was supposed to be our route up.  It was very steep and a bit longer, but it took us less than an hour to descend.

Our Destination:  Croaghaun

View from Summit

Keem Strand from Summit

Views from Summit

Then we drove a short distance to the west end of the island to Keem Strand, a lovely beach in a beautiful bay.  After we left Keem, we stopped at a pub for a coffee and the parking lot was full.  This was puzzling, as it was 1:30 in the afternoon, i.e., after lunch time.

There was an old guy sitting at the bar having a pint, so we sat beside him and I asked him what was going on.  Well, this was a big day for the Catholic kids as it was confirmation day, which only happens every two or three years, and all the kids on this side of Achill are confirmed together.  The other half of the island are also confirmed together in their local church.  The Bishop comes from Galway to perform both ceremonies.

Then the party starts in the pub, where a tonne of relatives and whatnot come bearing gifts and they have a big lunch in the function room.  This guy was very friendly and before we left, he told us to make sure we turned right just after Ted’s Bar and to take the road all the way around the Atlantic coast, and then we would end up coming to the main road, right before the bridge to the mainland.  He told us not to turn off, just follow the road, but that it is very steep, narrow and with sharp drop offs.

Were we ever glad we sat with him, as the drive was out of this world and we just loved it.  The views were stunning and there were a few historical sites along the way.

Views on the Atlantic Drive

Grace O'Malley Fort

Prior to taking the scenic route, we stopped at the Deserted Village, which sits at the foot of Slievmore.  It does not seem to be known why the village was deserted, but it is likely linked to the land being sold by the O’Donnels of Newport to the Achill Mission Estate, which purchased 2/3rds of Achill.  The Achill Mission Estate ran into financial difficulties and the land was ceded and eventually distributed to the people of Slievemore.  The descendants used to return to the village to pasture their cattle in the summer, staying in the abandoned houses, this was termed booleying.  Apparently, this was the last area in Ireland where booleying was carried out, as the practise continued into the 1940s.

While we were walking down the road of the Deserted Village, a sheep dog came running by and his owner was in a car driving behind.  We moved out of the way to let the car by and then we heard the man in the car giving various whistles, to which the dog responded.  After one particular whistle, the dog took off across the bog like a rocket.  Then he responded to another whistle and stopped.

The car had stopped, so when we walked up we told the guy his dog travels like lightening.  A long conversation ensued and we found it difficult to move on as the talking would not stop.  The old guy said he is too old to run after the sheep, so the dog does it.

We loved Achill Island, it is our favourite of all the areas we visited in Co. Mayo.  Achill is gorgeous and the locals are very friendly, if anyone ever finds themselves in Co. Mayo, you must visit Achill.  It was also recommended to us by a café staffer in Donegal, and we can understand why.  We planned on visiting Achill to hike the two highest mountains on the island, which we did, but Achill is so much more.

Tomorrow is a travel day, and it will be our longest, as we are heading down to the south of Co. Kerry, very near to Co. Cork.  We are skipping a huge chunk of the west coast of Ireland, but I wanted to explore the less visited Beara Peninsula, while hoping to hike a bit in Co. Kerry and visit the far west of Co. Cork.

The History of Ireland will continue tomorrow night as we will not have much content, given that tomorrow is a driving day.