Galway
The sun is going down over Galway Bay - I've had a drink to forget the trials of the day.
Lex, Whisky, Galway Bay, Sunset = Happiness
In fact, this was the path we took to the Ring of Kerry road on Thursday. We stopped at Moll's Gap for a cup of tea at 9:58. The place didn't open until 10:00, and the roller shutters were rising as we walked across the road from the car park. After ordering tea and a pear scone (which was delicious), we sat down to take in that magnificent view of the mountains one last time.
Just like Emerald - not !
Today there were literally dozens of walkers and cyclists on the road. Some of them stopped for morning tea at Moll's Gap - which we thought was an isolated spot. The Irish really are an outdoor people. Further along the road towards Killarney, we saw people walking along the side of the road - miles from anywhere. I also followed a cyclist down the mountain for maybe a kilometre before I could pass. The Irish totally disregard the danger posed by cars, whether they are walking, riding, standing talking to somebody, or driving other cars. They will stop (and park) anywhere, or walk along the roadside, and expect everybody else to get around them.
But I digress. We made it to Killarney, and turned towards Limerick. All went well enough, except for intermittent rain. Then, near Adare, it started bucketing down. This coincided with a traffic jam in town; and a line of cars backed up for about two kilometres. It took about half an hour to get to, and through town. There was no reason for the holdup, except that the main road goes through the centre of town. This was Saturday morning. Local people were shopping, dropping kids off at various sports grounds, trying to find a parking spot - and tourists like us were trying to get through town. Eventually we got to the motorway without incident, and made up some time. Thankfully, there is a bypass around Limerick.
Soon we were headed for Corrofin, hometown of my great grandmother, Annie Keary. looked for relatives, however, we looked for lunch. It was provided by Bofey Quinn's pub.
Robyn had Irish Stew ! I decided on the Corrifin smoked haddock pie - delicious. From there we headed for the local information office. They directed us to the local graveyard - but we didn't find any Kearys. We did find a couple of recent Mullins burials (Mullins was Annie's mother's maiden name). On Monday the local Family History centre reopens, so we will go back then to check their local records.
Corrifin had been a diversion off the main road, so we headed for a place called Gort on our way back to the M18. On the way, we found the ruins of Kilmacdaugh, complete with a round tower. The place had four churches and a house in its day. It also had a cemetery; we couldn't help ourselves- we checked. No Kearys and no Mullinses. Oh well, it was worth a try.
It was time to make haste to Galway. Then there was this woman in a slow car; 65 kilometres an hour. It is very hard to pass people in most parts of Ireland due to the winding roads and heavy traffic. Very frustrating, and too much for the bloke in a VW Passat. He shot by us like a looney, then braked hard to get in behind our slowcoach. A little while later he passed her too, but after the slow lady turned off, we caught up with the VW. Too much traffic and not enough straight road.
There was worse to come. Two idiots pulling horse trailers, one behind the other, were doing 65 along the road for about twenty five kilometres. There was a line of about twenty cars behind them, and only occasionally one would get past. We had to wait until the road turned into a dual lane motorway, only a few kilometres from Galway. Driving here is not like Australia - not at all.
We found the B&B without much trouble and settled in. The lady who runs the place made us a cup of tea. Very nice of her. We rested for an hour, then got ready for dinner. This was provided by Donnelly's bar, just up the road at Barna. The main meals were very good, but Robyn was disappointed in the profiteroles. Still, it was quite good overall, and the pub was busy. When I asked a waitress, she said that they were busier during the week - a nice little business !
Home again and now it's 10:00. The sunset was nice, but not spectacular.
The grey blur on the other side of the bay is The Burren, a national park dedicated to preserving millions of rocks.
Our view is to the North, but maybe tomorrow we will go over to the coast. The sun has now gone from Galway Bay and only the incessant traffic noise remains.
Til tomorrow...
Lex and Robyn.
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