NATURALIST David Stiriing heading for the Canadian prairies.

Naturalist leads tours

NATURALIST David Stirting leads two tours of the Canadian prairies this summer

in ‘conjunction with Capilano College and Great Expeditions.

From, May 27 to June 4 Stirling’s.. group will visit southern ‘Alberta, the transi- _tion zone: between the Rocky Mountains and the grasslands ‘of the. prairies. Highlights -include’™ the — Tyrell” Field Museum for the. rich’ fossil

“beds of the Badlands, Cypress Hill Provincial Park, ‘home to

_ over 200 species of birds, and

the. alpine ~ ‘meadows of Waterton Lakes National Park. --Later in the year (Sept. 23

29): Sticling will. take a group to Saskatchewan's Last Mountain Lake, Canada’s old- est. bird ‘sanctuary, for.a fall

birdin f spectacle. “Timed for : tion of whooping nee sand ill ‘ cranes,: geese, hawks ‘and thousands of other

migrating waterbirds the sanc-. ary is in the heart of North :

‘America’s central flyway.’ ‘For: information on: these

and other naturai history tours

contact: Great Expeditions at 7.

‘or visit their website ;

“ultra-smooth

More to

From page

suitable for an oversize lep- rechaun.

While Guinness is by far the largest brewer in Iretand, and its various beers are drunk in most of the pubs, the Murphy label, which co-spon- sors the Irish Pubs Tours, has a strong following in the ‘south of the republic.

So we headed that way, spending two delightful days in and around Cork. At Lady Well’s Brewery, the original brewery on Murphy's modera brewing complex, we watched the publican pull the tap and draw the stout ever so slowly

fo ensure thac it had just the right head. Some of the 10 North Americans on our tour also tried Murphy's lighter Trish Red ale.

The following day, we toured the Jameson Old Midleton Irish — Whiskey Distillery, a beautiful stone complex where Irish whiskey was made by traditional meth- ods between 1867 and 1975, until a modern distillery opened.

In the bar, I enjoyed an 12-year-old Jameson, while four nen who sat down for a format taste test ‘decreed that fine Irish whiskey

outperforms both American.

bourbon and (no Scots in sight) scotch.

From Cork we drove west. We stopped at Blarney Castle, not at all the tourist trap Yd expected, but a spectacular stone relic set in a lovely green

meadow, Then it was on to a. .

country-style pub, The Mills

Inn,’ in: the» Gaelic-speaking ‘ town of Ballyvourney, : ;

A huge advertisement for vo Walnut. Plug. (“sweet as a.

nut") chewing tobacco was

nailed to. the ceiling, and a ° Photo of the men’s Cork hurl-"-

ing team Irish field -hockey-

TRAVEL

hung on a wall. Most of our group, by nay committed to stout, ordered a pint. Some tucked into fresh-water oysters and mussels, pulled that morning from the Bandon River. Lunch for me was an amber lager, and a thick toma- to soup and a fist-sized chunk of soda bread.

In a countcy pub, the mood is discreet but the locals are friendly. Later, at the Red Fox Bar and Restaurant, | chatted with a farmer wearing big green Wellingtons. He said he was sorry he didn’t speak Gaelic, but seemed not at ail pur out by the coach loads of tourists that had pulled into the parking lot. We were all in the Red Fox Bar, hor Irish whiskey in hand, preparing to visit the adjacent Kerry Bog Village Museum. Tuis charming collection of thatch-roofed huts recalls the dirt-poor labourers who, in the carly 1800s, cur and hauled peat, the rich black sod once burned as fuel in most Irish homes.

The Ring of Kerry, on the southwest coast, is the route

irish beer than

that winds along Dingle Bay to the westerly edge of Ireland — with views of rugged Puffin Island and the Skellig Rocks — and back along the Kenmare River estuary. The scenery is spectacular: large swathes. of brown-black bog fringed with heather and yel- low gorse; steep green slopes dotted with black-faced sheep; and, below the road, stony coves with stacks of crab traps and the occasional fishboat.

Our coach turned off the main road, down to the sea- side village of Portmagee. At The Bridge Bar, really a big bungalow painted a bright yel- low, we were the only out- siders.

Here the tourism season was still weeks away, After a lunch of seatood chowder and Harp beer, | wandered down to the wharf where a fisher- man was mending his nets. At the edge of the village, 3

houscholder threw a pan of

garbage onto the stony beach. Back among the storetronts, a sign painter stood on step-lad- der, touching up a pub sign in anticipation of the summer

Michael Forrest invites his clients

to join him at

his new location

Call him at Travel Masters 904-8102

205-221 West Esplanade North Vancouver

BC reg #3235-1

ALL DEPARTURES ON.

Sunday, May 7, 2000 — North Shore News - 41

influx, If you go:

Pub Tours of Ireland offers six tours, all of six days. They include Dublin, Cork and Kerry; Dublin and the West Coast, including the Aran Islands; and a city tour of Cork, Dublin and Galway. Others take in the mountains

GNeSss

and valleys of Connemara and Slea Head, where the movie Ryan’ Daughter was filmed.

All feature visits to a variety of pubs, some with waditional music. For details — visit <www.irishpubtours.com>. For general information, con- tact the Irish Tovrism Board at [-800-SHAMROCK.

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