February 11,12,13,14,15,16,17
This is our last major town in our 5 ½ week tour of Ireland. We are a little sad, but, of course, looking forward to our next adventure: Mainland Europe.
We were scheduled in to a time share for a week. Turns out the Galway Bay Cottages, located in Barna Beach, just outside of town, are a step above camping…I may be a little harsh but I have been spoiled by our hotels. The check in was a whirlwind tour of switches in our cottage: Turn this one on for tub water, that one for sink water, this one for this heater, 3 euros for laundry...culminating in being informed that we were paying for electricity. What we did get was a beautiful view of Galway Bay and the Burren from all rooms in our 3 bedroom home away from home, our first peat fireplace, stunning sunrises AND we got to do our own cooking…we settled in nicely.
Since we still chose not to have a car we are elated that we need only to walk down to the street and raise an arm for a passing bus that will take us into Galway town. I might even ride a bus if I could do this at home.The people in Ireland and England must eat more chips (French fries to us) than all other countries combined. In Galway we were told to head for McDonough’s for the best fish and chips- so we knew we had to make one trip…what we did find was the one place in the world that charges for catsup and tartar sauce. The fish was just ok.
This town has what I love most, pedestrian streets. You turn a corner and people are teeming about: In and out of pubs, stopping in at the bakery,
checking out the butcher’s offerings, 
picking out something special for tea at the elegant dessert store, going to the post office, sitting next to street sculptures of famous sons and daughters, 
listening to street musicians. The river through this town is a mass of powerful, churning, bubbling water. Apparently there is a lock up stream and it is most often opened. Lots of young people, some coming in from outlying villages to attend high school (college), most attending the university here. This is where my goddaughter , Tara, attended Galway University and met Phelim, her Irish lad. We scheduled day trips to Connemara and the Aran Islands and it feels good to fully unpack.
For Elizabeth : A beautiful wedding cake from the most elegant bakery in Galway: Goyas
For Bo: An outfit next door for the wedding day.
Gerard checking out the book and in out of the mist to check out his sodoku.
Market day....tasting those fresh Galway Bay oysters...
These two guys are in bars and on streets..
Connemara – The Wild West
Our tour of Connemara was impromptu as the connecting bus for the boat to the Aran Islands forgot to pick us up. We were assured by the captain of the boat that he would pick us up, personally, the next day. We switched gears and hooked onto the Connemara tour. The sun is shinning and it is another “mild” day…. “mild” being the favorite adjective for a nice day here in Ireland.
Our driver, Brian: Short, single (hadn’t found his mate yet), heavy set with a
heavy brogue and affable manner changes us into a larger bus and we are off. He repeats everything a minimum of three times: “Today we’re going to Connemara, yes, Connemara, yes, that’s where we’re going today…beautiful Connemara.”
Besides beautiful, unspoiled countryside with no cranes and construction, the highlight was Kylemore Abbey. The castle like structure is now a Benedictine Convent and school for girls….looking a lot like The Academy of Our Lady of Peace where I did some time! It is breathtaking beautiful, set on its own personal lake. This is a neogothic structure, with, why not, their own personal adjoining church.
It was originally built in the late 19th century by a wealthy man for his wife. We are again reminded that in the high season there are a minimum of 40 bus loads of people here at a time as opposed to our one bus of 13 people…we count our blessings.
The tour continues to Clifden, where we, unfortunately ,were unable to spend an extended period of time This town comes highly recommended by seasoned Ireland travelers, hi Matt.
Brian is encouraging singers to come forward with the promise of a bottle of Jameson as the lure….I bite…it is Valentines Day and this would go well with my Valentine cookie I purchased at the bakery yesterday. I dedicate my medley of Irish tunes (taught to me by the nuns) to Gerard… my Valentine…. We continue through the countryside as I sing, “Jaunting Down to Kerry”, “Toora Loora Loora” and “That’s How You Spell Ireland”….home to Barna. Joke’s on me…Brian says there is no Jameson, “No, no Jameson….. there’s no Jameson today….no, no Jameson for the singer.”
Aran Islands
Tom Farhety, our captain, shows up on time and we drive down to the port at Rossaveal where we embark for the islands on another clear and crisp day. From this port it is only 9 miles to our destination and the ride is smooth on Tom’s year old French 100 ft ferry boat. Enroute we stop at a “plot” (15 acres on the bay with view of all) of land his family is developing with a hotel in the process of being built….Tom tells us about his offices in town with two more at the port, he also lets us know that his bus will return us home that evening. Turns out Tom has many fires going….all this and while we will be touring the island, he will be farming his land on the island where he also has a B & B. Busy Tom, and such a nice, unassuming guy.
Upon our arrival on Inishmor (1 of 3 Aran Islands) we meet our eventual tour director, Peter McDonough. He was standing next to his mini bus slightly waving a pamphlet to attract people to his tour…four of us sign up. He says that in the high season 2500 people a day make this trip and the narrow Irish roads are filled with tour buses. Turns out Peter is more like a driver than a tour conductor. When he does speak his brogue is so thick and fast it is incomprehensible. Often times he forgets to put the microphone on…but the van is small and we all listen up.
We drop a boogie boarder, Brian from Clare, off at “Seven Churches” and continue on to the highlight of the day, Dun Aengus.
(the last protestant church , went to ruin 200 years ago)
We get side tracked from our climb to Dun Aengus by the couple of hand made sweater shops. Here is a place where people still knit…they even have particular patterns which depict events in your life. An often recounted story is one where a woman identified her brother as being one of the lost fishermen by the socks she had knitted him…she had dropped a stitch and made three slash marks in a knitting stitch to signify that this was only the third pair of socks she had made. It has inspired me to be more creative in my knitting and I examine a hat and make note of the pattern.
It was about a one mile hike up to this fort which is believed to have been built before Christ. What can we say…this place blows our minds. Pictures tell the story. …note how near the edge Gerard and I are…the drop is 250 feet and there are no guard rails. Have I overcome my fear of heights? The last person to fall off was about 7 years ago.
We hustle down the rocky path and hook back up with our tour guide and are deposited at the American Pub where we enjoy our chat with a couple of locals discussing Peter the Great, the advent of electricity on the island in 1975 and, of course, JFK who visited Galway a couple months before his death. Since the ferry is due to leave the islands at 5:00 PM we hurriedly finished our pub drinks and said goodbye to our island buddies, Padraig and Thomas.
The sun is setting as we head back to the mainland on the ferry. Another perfect day.
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