July 23, 2024

July 23, 2024

We left Oughterard, Ireland this morning to explore the Connemara, the western coastal section of County Galway. We don't make it very far before stopping at an old bridge for a photo. This spot had a cameo in John Wayne’s movie The Quiet Man, one of my favorites.

We made slow progress because it is a nice day and the scenery beautiful. This part of Galway is striking for its mix of mountains (called the Twelve Bens) and numerous lakes. Because the wind is calm, I am seeing many opportunities for reflection photos. The Irish must have seen me coming. One stop has a humorous monument with the inscription, “On this site in 1897, Nothing happened.”

We left the main road to follow the coastal route around Errisbeg peninsula. It was probably a mistake. We ran into a traffic jam of cars and bikers. The increase in tourism is due to the successful "Wild Atlantic Way" marketing campaign. This year is the tenth anniversary of the inauguration of this 1600-mile West Coast road trip. Eventually we leave the crowd behind. The coastal area is filled with rock. But instead of Burren smooth it is mostly filled with giant boulders.

Just south of the main city of Clifden, we make a short stop to see the Alcock and Brown Landing Site. This duo was the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean nonstop. They did it in an old biplane in 1919 at the end of WWI. They flew from Newfoundland landing here to claim the £10,000 prize. They thought they were landing on green grass. It turned out to be a bog and they went in nose-over.

I thought we could drive to the marker but the road was blocked. We had to walk the last mile. The trail was filled with hikers. This is also an historic Marconi Site. It was the eastern end of the first commercial transatlantic wireless telegraph service starting in 1907. We visited the western station in Nova Scotia in 2009. For me this turned into a Three-fer. Besides the two historic sites, this bog is an active Turf production site. We see the equipment used to cut the peat out of the old bog. We see it stacked for drying and accumulated in large transport bags. Turf was the traditional home heating fuel.

With this delay, we are running short of time. We quickly stop at another memorial to Alcock and Brown. It is wing shaped, sitting on a hill, just off the road. We find the city of Clifden very crowded.

We continue on to Connemara National Park, It has a long winding parking lot, but it is completely filled with cars. I don't relish hiking with a horde so we keep driving. A few miles past is Kylemore Abbey. Its lakeside postcard setting is one of the iconic views of Ireland. I thankfully took the shot on our last trip. I think we were the sole tourists then. Today there is a huge parking lot filled with cars and busses. We press on. Humorously just a hundred yards past, I pull off the busy road and get a nice shot of Kylemore and great views all around.

Aimee is getting annoyed by my frequent stops, but I just can't help myself. The reflection photo opportunities are endless. Ireland is so beautiful when it is not raining.

We follow the road along the southern shore of ten-mile long Killary Fjord and then cut north across country. We can see the backside of Croagh Patrick and the peak is clear. On our last visit we didn't climb it because of the weather. This is our chance. We hit the coast at Westport, turned left and found the parking lot. We join a large crowd hiking this sacred mountain.

The climb is relentless and slow going. I wish we had gotten here earlier. Aimee is thinking she should have exercised harder. After an hour we only make it to the saddle of the peak where we can see to the other side of the valley. The view over Clew Bay is astounding and better than I remember.

Back at the bottom, we drive into Westport, one of the nicest towns in Ireland. We stop at Westport House, an old Georgian country house situated on a beautiful lake. It is filled with tourists, walking the grounds and riding Swan boats on the lake. We stop for a photo of Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley. She ruled this area in the late 16th century battling to keep the English out. On our way north in the cute town of Newport, we ran into another statue of her.

We continued our journey north. We were stymied a little by a road closure that forced us off the main route and onto a tiny lane where we have to dodge oncoming traffic. We ended our journey at the home of another O’Malley, probably a long, long descendant of Grace. She has a castle ruin in her backyard and also happens to be Aimee's cousin.