The silence of Co Donegal

County Donegal in the Northwest of Ireland has been a well kept secret until the discovery of the wild Atlantic way. The region has not changed much apart from the cursed satellite tv and mobile phones. The people remain the same, speaking their native tongue with a brogue as soft as Donegal tweed. I know tweed is not so soft but it sounds good. Donegal town is a modern town with a population of less than 3000 inhabitants. I never stop in the town because I’m always in a hurry to see mount Errigal and the beach of Magheragallon. Over the years (35) I’ve driven up from Waterford and the 4 hours it takes to hit Donegal town is not so bad. It’s after Donegal town where the fun begins and the roads diminish to undulating sheep trails winding their way over bog and mountain. I stop in wonder at the ability of some people to live in such remote areas. They must be good in their skins. You have to be to survive here. This part of Ireland is not one you’d come to to top up your tan. The wind rarely ceases and the rain is never far away. Having said that my last 4 trips have been surprisingly dry and sunny. September and October are turning out to be great months in this region weather wise. I mentioned the wind, well I love this wind. It carries the sweet smell of burning turf fires, the soft salt air from the Atlantic and the orchestra of the birds from the hills and the valleys. At the same time there’s a silence to this place that carries you away when you sit in its silence. It’s an area where one can allow the internal to be heard. Deep in the valley of the Poison glen where the land is lush and the trees rich green the dawn chorus is one to behold. It will speak to you. It’s here in this wilderness that feels so far removed from modern life that one can listen and hear. Today we have so many questions but no time to ponder them. No time to stop and listen to the answers. The answers are within us all if we could just switch off the constant background static, but instead we race from one source of static to another and another and on and on… from one social networking site to another without taking a breath. Neither Facebook, Twitter nor Instagram have the answers. Are we afraid of the answers, or of what we maybe confronted with…ourselves? I feel blessed to have discovered this region so long ago because it has never failed to bring me back. I spent years in the wilderness of fear, panic and uncertainty. My tours of Co Donegal are based on photography and my photography is based on mindfulness and being grounded in the moment. All we have is now. Today I choose Co Donegal as the only wilderness to be lost in today. Thank you Donegal