Intrepid Friends' Ireland Trip Part 8

"It is the morning of September 19th as I start this. An important day in our household! Today is 10 years since our daughter, Kerianne, and her hubby Miguel were wed! Congratulations on 10 years guys! Miguel celebrated by having his appendix out on Tuesday! Such fun. And it is also our grand daughter Aria's 6th birthday! Happy birthday sweetie, and we will see you next week!

A week today our Irish adventure is done, and it will be back to reality. Oh well, such is life.

We were blessed with exceptional weather for our full day in Galway. Spent the day walking around the old part of the city, the Latin Quarter, with it's nice pedestrian walkways and wee lanes with cobbled streets. There is part of an old castle that has been made into a bank. There are musicians set up and playing traditional and other music on the street.

The bars and pubs have brightly coloured hanging baskets hanging outside, and big planters of flowers line the streets.  We come upon a jewellery store selling Claddough rings. I have always been interested in the story of the ring, and they have a little video telling the story.  Claddaugh was a fishing village right outside the then walls of Galway city (350 or so years ago).

Richard Joyce, a fisherman who was engaged to be married, was captured at sea by pirates and sold into slavery in Algiers. He was bought by a jeweller, who taught him his trade, and he was there for several years.  Richard was encouraged to enter something he had made in a contest that would bring the winner a bag of gold. Richard thought of his love back in Ireland, and fashioned a ring, with 2 hands (friendship) holding a heart (love) with a crown above (loyalty and fidelity). He won the contest, and was able to buy back his freedom and go back to Ireland, where Mary was still waiting for him.

The Claddaugh ring is often still used for wedding rings to this day. What remains of the village is just across the canal from Galway proper. Only 1 building remains, the others having been demolished in the early 1900's.

We spent some time in the Galway museum, which told the story of the Claddaugh, the fishing and  whaling industries, the battles with the Spanish Armada, (hence the Latin Quarter and the Spanish Arch in the bits of the old wall that are still left).

It was such a lovely warm and sunny day that we took a walk along the bay, waiting for the sunset.

Another favourite song of mine begins with "If you ever go across the sea to Ireland, then maybe at the closing of your day, you can sit and watch the moon rise over Claddaugh, and see the sun go down on Galway Bay." Well now I can say that I have done that.

On Wednesday we head west along the coast line to a small village about 15km from the city that has a grand collection of craft places-a basket maker, weaver, glass jewellery , soap, textiles, you name it. Hugh is totally bored while I do a bit of retail therapy, but he finds a lovely little dog named Maisie, (who belongs to the lady in the weaving shop) to while away the time.

Then we visit the remains of an old castle, not a famous one, and thank god not a tour bus in sight! It is in a lovely little village, with it's own moat  from the river going by, surrounded by green pasture full of horses, and a golf course! A tranquil spot to enjoy for a bit. After that it is back to the N59 to Clifden, a seaside resort town out on the Connemara coast.

A brief stop for our soup lunch, and then a visit to the Connemara National Park, where we learn a whole lot about peat (or Turf, as the locals call it) bogs and their importance in many years of providing heat in the winter. This is the area of the country that still has peat bogs, and the national parks are trying to preserve it as so much of it has been destroyed already. I have read about these peat fires in many books, but didn't realize it was still in use today. We actually drive by places where we see men stacking and drying the pieces of peat.

The country here is different from the rolling green hills. The peat bogs are flat, dull brown with tufts of grasses. There are hills in the distance, the Maumturk Mountains. Along the coast there are oyster and mussel farms in the water. The roads are narrow, twisty, and frequently lined with sheep grazing at the roadside. This seems to be a recurring theme! Drive with care!

Around 4:30 we reach our lodgings for the night in Westport. A b and b fashioned from a house of about 150 years old. Only 1 flight of stairs to go up, and chickens in the driveway, and a lovely little walled back garden complete with ivy covered walls and apple trees. Short walk into town takes us to a bar where they are setting up to play some music, and we start chatting with a sweet old fellow (85 he says, didn't look a day over 70!) from San Diego. Lo and behold the musicians play my song about Galway Bay (see above!) which is lovely, and a couple of folks with marionette puppets start the puppets dancing to the music. Would never see anything like that at home! We stay listening to music too long, are really hungry, and have to make do with a crappy burger and fries in an overly busy place with a hen party and a birthday party happening and not enough staff. Lesson learned.

Luckily the bed was probably the most comfy one we have had yet, and they have all been pretty good, so that is saying a lot!"