Playing Catch-up (Part IV)

Okay guys, I'm going to try to zip right through this entry, because I've been writing way too much and at this rate I'll never get caught up! So here goes my best attempt at not being wordy...!

On Wednesday, we visited Westport, the biggest town by Louisburgh. It reminded Bonnie and I of Newport; it had the same sort of shops and such. We'd been there once before (although I can't remember when, haha), so we were familiar with the layout and just meandered around for a bit. Then we all walked to Westport House, the big manor-type house that preceded the growth of Westport (the town.) After visiting Hennigan's Heritage Center a few days before, the difference was striking. This house was along the lines of the mansions in Newport, although not quite as huge. The rooms and ground were impressive, but it was also kind of strange and disconcerting to see it billed as a "family fun adventure park" in the brochure and to find carnival-type mirrors in the basement and strange wooden cut-out monsters in the old dungeon. Apparently there was a need for funding for the house at one point, and turning it into a strange mix of history and (rather lame) theme park was going to solve the problem. Um, okay. That was it for Wednesday, I think. Oh, that night Bonnie and I walked back to the beach and she submerged herself even though the water was really cold!

Thursday was our free day. We were supposed to have an optional trip to another beach a way up the coast, but ultimately we decided not to go because there were some very threatening stormclouds hanging in the sky and the van-taxi driver had a feeling that it would end up pouring on us right when we reached the beach. Mostly we hung around all day, although Bonnie, Esther and I also walked into town and explored a bit. The clouds had passed and it was beautiful and sunny and nearly warm for a while, but then we noticed that although one side of the sky was blue and pretty, the other was amassing another army of clouds, so we hightailed it home just in time to beat the rain. Score. That night I walked down to the beach around sunset and took some pictures of the absolutely sublime sunset. The colours were amazing.

On Friday, we said goodbye to County Mayo and headed to the Aran Islands, more specifically, Inis Mor, the largest island. We drove through Connemara on the way there, a gorgeous, green, hilly section of the West. I noticed that the old, roofless, ramshackle stone cottages that dotted the hills and rested beside the roadways in Mayo were absent here; I'm not sure why. In Mayo, they're everywhere, and are all in various states of disrepair - some have trees growing right up through their middles, others have only a couple of walls left, others are covered in vines. I really like how the Irish government just allowed them to remain in the countryside instead of tearing them down. They're not eyesores at all, and I wish I knew more about what they were used for - were they old houses or churches or what? I don't think that they were houses, because they were made of stone and not too many people could afford that. But, anyway, their absence during this drive really struck me. So! We drove by a long dark lake and saw Ireland's one and only fjord (yup.) On the way, Jim, as usual, enthusiastically narrated our drive and told us stories, particularly about the Famine, since this was one of the areas hardest hit by it.

Eventually we reached the ferry landing and hopped a ride over to Inis Mor. Once we reached the island, we were provided with vouchers for renting bicycles. Most tourists either bike around or take a bus tour. The day ended up being really sunny and warm after the clouds dissipated, so we were glad to have the bikes. After grabbing a bite to eat, Esther, Bonnie and I strained and pedaled our way up the hills of Inis Mor to the Dun Arann Lighthouse. We huffed and puffed and stopped to, ahem, "enjoy the scenery," fairly often, but finally we made it and were well-rewarded for our toils. After a ten-minute walk on foot, we reached the lighthouse, decided not to pay to enter, and wandered through the fields instead. Inis Mor is absolutely covered in old, low stone walls, running this way and that and crisscrossing everywhere. I'm not sure what they were originally used for, but there are some stone drinking troughs in various spots so maybe they were animal pens. Eventually we made our way to some circular stone fort-type dealio, with a raised stone circle in the middle. We clambered up and looked around and saw the sea to both sides, fields of green all around, and blue skies above, and we were happy. We didn't bike any further, which may have been a mistake since apparently there's an AMAZING cliff that just drops right off into the sea, as well as an ancient Celtic stone fort and more tiny old churches. But we were tired and wanted to check out the famous Aran sweater shops, so we headed back and did just that.

That evening we reached the port city of Galway, where we stayed for the weekend. We checked into our hostel and then explored the city a bit and ate dinner. Later Liza, Samantha and I found a huge flock (?) of swans and took photos and such before retiring to our room for the evening.

I'll just write a bit about the city a bit now. Our hostel was located in Eyre Square, quite close to the main drag. Galway is nicely sized; it's small and easy to navigate but has a nice city centre with lots of shops and eateries and pubs and such. It's always full of buskers playing various instruments or putting on street acts, and although the shops close quite early, the pubs are open late. Galway is known for its seafood, so there are lots of restaurants that both sell fish and chips and have a fish market attached. I really enjoyed our short stay there, but I think that I would've gotten bored of it if we'd stayed much longer.

Okay, on Saturday morning we went to a really wonderful farmers' market, which had lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, some cheesemongers, fish, hummus, and then jewelry and bags and such in stalls right nearby. There were also hot food stands, including an all-vegetarian one from which Esther and I ordered some sort of Indian food that was quite tasty and also inexpensive.

Afterwards, we all headed out for yet another excursion. This time, we visited Thoor Ballylee, also known as Yeats' Tower. Yeats purchased this literal stone tower and lived in it for a period of time with his English wife, who fitted it up fairly well. Now it's a museum, and we climbed up the stairs and wondered how he could have felt comfortable there and whether it ever got warm inside the tower. It was really neat to see the place that provided inspiration for not a few of his poems, even though I was grumbling about never having a moment to ourselves and always being on the move. Of course, we couldn't have just one excursion in a day, so afterwards we went to Coole Park, the estate on which Lady Gregory lived. Lady Gregory was a contemporary of Yeats; the two of them pretty much began the Irish literary revival in the beginning of the 20th century. She was a translator of ancient Irish myths and was also a rather prolific playwright. Unfortunately, her house at Coole Park fell into disrepair and was destroyed, so we could only really look at an exhibit and the grounds, now called a "nature preserve." One interesting landmark was this really old, huge beech tree, called the Autograph Tree, into which lots of prominent Irish authors carved their names. Afterwards, we mercifully didn't have another stop, so we headed back to Galway. That night, some of us went to a pub with Jim and Connie, because this was one of Jim's last nights with the program before he and his wife headed out to do some of their own traveling. Being the chivalrous older Irish gentleman that he is, Jim bought drinks for all the ladies who went along. :)

That was it for Saturday, I do believe. I'll write soon and in my next entry, we will reach Dublin (where I've been for two weeks now... haha!)