Day 6 (Sun May 22nd) Aftermath to Afterglow

With the windows open last night we slept with crisp Irish air and the sounds of gentle rain accompanying the waterfall just outside. We slept deeply to this soundtrack (Of course liquid courage contributed to that, but still) and yet as usual here we simply are unable to sleep-in.

I showered first, then Brian. With the damage done from last night, I crawled back under the covers and engaged DND mode, encouraged by Brian.

While Mary drifted off I went to the sun room to do a bit of work. Can you imagine awakening to this every day?

Our host made me a great Irish breakfast and we talked for almost three hours (approaching noon now), after which I went to peek in on The Lovely Mary B.

Brian and I started __our__ day with lunch in town and then a road trip.

First the world famous Sky Road, up on the mountain side with lovely views of the Clifden Bay inlet.

This dinky little road is up against a cliff, so, a bit nail biting for awhile (I had to stop just to restore my courage to continue), but the views were absolutely worth it. 

This trip we are seeing lots of camper vans, and yes, they drive on these insanely narrow roads. Our host had given us directions a waterfall, best in Connemara…Brian and his bleeping waterfalls. (I’m collecting waterfall pictures. Maybe I’ll do a calendar one day?). After a long scenic drive through parts of counties Connemara and Mayo and some minor misadventures with Google maps we found the waterfall. Ooh goody, let’s walk a bit to see better. Just as we navigate steps up and down and around a few trees, Brian starts taking pictures when the sky opens up like Day One of forty days and nights…

See the wind blowing water off the top of the fall? Buh-bye waterfall and we soggy (sic) by the time the shelter of the car is reached. 

Oh well, continued on our journey through this part of Ireland, tiny roads, sheep in the middle of the road, and sparsely inhabited area. Same as usual but always so different.

The sheep in these parts are rather territorial…happy to stare down a car, nose to bumper, it takes a horn to get them moving. 

Also houses in the middle of nowhere, and nice houses at that. And for those wondering the answer is yes, thatched roofs are still in use. 

One of the gals we were chatting (oh is that what we’re gonna call it?) with last night said we just had to go to (tiny towne of) Roundstone to eat sea food at the pub where she worked. When our host Pat suggested the same thing, we thought we’d better. The pub was roughly the size of our living room but Brian said the mussels were spectacular. I am not a bivalve eater and this was a mid-afternoon snack so Guinness and some Chips for me. 

Of course we ended up chatting with some older Irish ladies visiting Roundstone for the same reason, and again had a thoroughly delightful time. Brian got his mussels, and loved every one. The weather has been gloomy, raining, and not the gentle rain we are used to, and the wind, wow. 

We took the back road (aren’t they all?) back to Clifden. This dinky road cuts through an enormous bog (peat) between the two places with again lots of sheep ranching. Talking about the route with our host Pat, he said at night the sheep sleep on the road as it’s warmer than the soggy bog, but that they leave a path for the cars to zig-zag through so they don’t have to move. And they say sheep have low IQ’s!

Last note – dinner was late thanks to the snack in Roundstone. Here’s a view of Clifden at 9:45 PM

Tomorrow we’re off to Ennis for more adventures and I did the Hotel shopping this time!