GALWAY TO DONEGAL

28 May 2023 – Ardara, County Donegal

We then were off to Galway via “The Burren” (the place of stone)—a very barren land of limestone slabs and cliffs, in stark contrast to the lush green hills and valleys so common to Ireland. (Note the contrast in center photo below—with the gray Burren cliffs above the green.) AND, we managed to find some lovely little wildflowers tucked in among the cement-like stones.

We found the Burren Aillwee Birds of Prey Center enroute, arriving just in time to see a raptor demonstration, first with a Harris Hawk named Juan (flying, center above and perched on my gloved hand below!) and then with a white barn owl. We learned a lot about raptors. Hawks rely totally on their super-keen “tubular” eyesight to hunt their prey; owls rely totally on their super-keen hearing (they can hear a mouse’s heartbeat!!!).

We spent two nights at Flannery’s Hotel in Gallway (the hotel with the best service thus far), and once again took a Hop-on/Hop-off bus to see the sights and learn more about the history of the Galway area. Galway is the midway point of The Wild Atlantic Way (a route 1600 miles long from County Cork in the south to County Donegal in the north). Its Sand Hill Promenade (“The Prom”) is quite popular as is its Diving Tower, Galway Cathedral (below) and Eyre Square where JFK once spoke. Because the weather in Ireland is often a bit “dull,” the tour bus driver shared something we’ll often remember: “If you can see the hills, it’s a grand day!” It was a bit chilly, but we could see the hills! And a grand day it was!

Galway is also the home of the Claddagh {pronounced clad-uh)—an enchanting symbol with 2 hands (symbolizing friendship) holding a heart (love) beneath a crown (loyalty). This is where we were also introduced to 2 scrumptious desserts—one called Toffee Sticky Pudding (left) and the other called “The Eton Mess”—a mixture of berries, custard and chopped meringues topped with ice cream! Gary thought these were a bit too sweet…me? Double Yum!!!

On departure day our left front tire was flat. After calls to Hertz “roadside assistance” and a local mechanic, Gary was able to inflate the tire long enough to get us to a “tyre” shop where “Martin” removed a nail and patched it perfectly for a whole 20 euro. Then off we went toward Westport through the gorgeous Connemara region, admiring its stunning mountains and lakes (and several sheep in the road), to Kylemore Abbey, gifted to Benedictine nuns in the 1920’s. What a beautiful place in an equally beautiful setting that felt very sacred and nourishing.

And then our car wouldn’t start….our key fob would not connect. Hertz “roadside assistance” never called back, but I fiddled with the key fob buttons while Gary went back to the Abbey and, bingo, the car started and we’ve had no trouble with it since. Fairies? Angels? Nuns? Who knows. We were just glad to be able to get to our next stop, at a delightful B&B called Lurgan House in the coastal town of Westport, County Mayo. This was the perfect place to take a much-needed break from driving (and car troubles). We were surrounded by beautiful gardens, could watch sheep (and baby lambs) from the front window, and the breakfasts were the best we’d had so far. Gary found a computer guy who could hopefully help him set a new password but we soon discovered that the security system for the new laptops is way too good, so now we have to wait until we can get into an Apple store in Belfast to solve his computer issues. Oh well!

One of the highlights of our Westport stay was a cruise of Crew’s Bay and its 365 islands, including an island once owned by the Maharishi in the 70’s and another by John Lennon & Yoko Ono (left below)—a perfectly beautiful out of the way place to find peace and respite from the crowds. Most of the islands are not inhabited but farmers boat their sheep there in summer for grazing. We also enjoyed seeing harbor seals (center) and hearing stories about “Croagh Patrick,” (right), said to have been the mountain where St. Patrick spent 40 days and 40 nights in 441 AD. Annual pilgrimages bring followers here and many people climb this 2510’ mountain barefoot! (We just never know what we’re going to learn on these trips!!!)

From Westport we stopped at the “National Museum of Ireland–Country Life”…a fascinating depiction of traditional life of Ireland’s poor who relied on their hard work, skills, the land and each other to survive. We then spent two days at the Clayton Hotel in Sligo—our least favorite stay so far. It looked quite “regal” on the outside. It was built in 1845 as a mental hospital, renovated as a hotel in 2007 and we don’t think much has been done to it since. The walls were too thin (with very noisy neighbors both nights), the food was awful, and we were happy to leave after 2 nights. We DID get to see the nearby Carrowmore Megalithic (Old Stone) Cemetery (complete with cows and bunnies) with 30 of 60 surviving passage tombs and stone circles some dating back to 3700-2900 BC—the New Stone Age. That is OLD!!!

Happy to be on our way to County Donegal, we first went to “Atlantic Sheepdogs” to watch a sheepdog demonstration with last year’s National Champion Moe—a purebred Border Collie (“border” of England and Scotland; “collie” means useful). It was amazing. The owner (another “Martin”) talked a lot about sheep farming in the area and then had Moe bring a herd of 9 sheep up from a pasture, put them through several moves and even herded them through a series of gates with perfect turns and guidance. AND, all of this is done naturally because it’s in the dog’s DNA!! They were born to play with sheep, and the only “training” Moe got was cues from a high-pitched whistle—especially useful when dogs are bringing sheep down off the nearby tabletop mountain (Benbulbin) in “Yeats Country.” Martin is a sheep breeder and allowed us to hold 2-week old lambs. So fun!

Gary was feeling a bit under the weather so we decided to take it easy at our next stop, the wonderful Bayview Country House B&B in the little town of Ardara in County Donegal—and our last stop in the Republic of Ireland. This was another perfect place to take it easy and stay local for a couple of days. Great breakfasts, friendly people, beautiful gardens, convenient to town. We took two short trips and found countryside unlike any we’ve seen before….one to beautiful beaches with unusual colored sand and waters; the other to Assaranca Waterfall through lovely country hills and dales (and lots more sheep!). We also experienced our first sunset, right outside our window at 9:30pm, with our little Dacia (Rumanian) car in the foreground. (By the way, the nights were much shorter up here: sunset was around 9:45pm and sunrise around 4:45am!).

During our stay in this northernmost county of Ireland, we’ve met several people from “The North” (Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom) and they have given us some wonderful travel tips about their country. So on we go tomorrow to The North.
In the meantime, here’s one more Irish Blessing we’d like to share with you:

MAY THE LEPRECHAUNS DANCE OVER YOUR BED
AND BRING YOU SWEET DREAMS!      🙂 🙂