Inflation…

 .. ran rife in Ireland overnight if our experience is anything to go by.

Yesterday we passed a laundromat and enquired if they provided a quick dry cleaning service for travellers, was assured they did and was quoted a price for 5kg by weight that being the minimum.

Confirmed we would be back in the morning to drop our kit off with pickup in the afternoon. Before dropping the washing off we weighed it on our travelling scales and found it was approximately 3.5kg so with thar knowledge we handed it over, she weighed it and proceeded to charge us 14% more than quoted yesterday - no point in arguing as we need our kit cleaned but you do have to chuckle.

The morning, which was on the cold side of warm, was spent following a walking trail around some of the streets of Sligo however we didn’t find anything spectacular though did have an exchange with a passing motorist in the vicinity of the old Sligo gaol. He stopped his car and told us to go on inside as it was worthwhile to which I responded “if we go in there you might not let us out” - he chuckled and drove off.

Whenever we are walking at home we always try to make contact with others walking the street - usually it’s just a hello - and we might get a response in return 30% of the time however over here the locals tend to be the ones that initiate the contact before we have had the chance to do so - it’s very refreshing.

Also if you are standing on the footpath looking like you are waiting for a break in the traffic to cross invariably a car will stop and wave you across.

After lunch we drove out to Rosses Point, the peninsula visible from our front door.

It is part of the Wild Atlantic Way and is another delightful location that we have been lucky enough to visit particularly now that the day had warmed up with the arrival of the sun to counter a stiffish breeze.

In the Bay are two islands Oyster and Coney - fun fact, an Irishman named the island of the same name in New York because it was plentiful with rabbits just like the island in Sligo Bay.

At the end of the peninsula is the County Sligo Golf Course, a true windswept but well manicured 71 par links course where Harrington, McIlroy and Lowry won events in their amateur days. Also Tom Watson declared the par 4 14th to be one of his favourite holes.

I watched a foursome tee off the 1st and with out of bounds being on the right of a reasonably wide fairway and the wind blowing left to right 3 of them went left of the left bunker on the edge of the fairway into the “heather” the wind not playing its part while the 4th golfer hit his down the middle but by the time it had stopped moving in the wind and rolling over the undulating fairway he played his second from just inside the out of bounds marker! Visually it looked a brute of a course on days when there is wind off the Bay.

Another enjoyable day in the European Ireland 

Driving into Galway the other day a street sign highlighted that there you are liable for a €1900 fine if caught littering ($NZD3800)

And seen in Claremorris a €150 fine for dropping gum

Photos from today

Sligo Abbey

Sligo Gaol

A cluttered front yard

The Glasshouse Hotel

A quaint street

The river

From Rosses Point

The clubhouse 

On the 1st tee

By the 1st tee

Feet up mid afternoon 

It was a surprise…

 … to see a hearse with casket on board drive out of our Rossaveel accomodation this morning. 

Had a quest died overnight or was our host a funeral director? 

We will never know but what we do know is that neither of us were taken for our last ride!

We moved to Sligo today.

The drive along the Wild Atlantic Way back towards Galway gave picture perfect views of Galway Bay, the sea was flat calm, the sky almost cloudless, the sun shining - it was stunning.

After morning tea just out of Galway we stopped at Claremorris for a leg stretch and lunch. 

Claremorris is a delightful town in County Mayo. 

As soon as we had entered Mayo there were flags flying on residential properties right through to Claremorris which was festooned with the county flag , bunting in the county colours and numerous shop front signs all in support of team Mayo who play in the Gaelic All Ireland football final this weekend against Kerry.

Once we entered County Sligo the flags were nowhere to be seen- it is quite striking how supportive counties are of their teams playing in these Gaelic games, football and hurling.

Another “novelty” we noticed in Claremorris was that the electrical supply boxes on footpaths had all been painted so brightening up the streets.

Arrived at Sligo around 2.30 so parked a little way out of the city and walked into the centre and got a feel for what was on offer.

Found our accommodation and met our hosts Xavier & Sacha who own a large property and provide a very comfortable and spotlessly clean apartment which from the front door also gives a view out over Sligo Bay

There are 32 counties in Ireland and Northern Ireland and so far we have driven in 14 of them:

Dublin, Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Tipperary, Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Sligo

The following are painted electrical boxes

Our accommodation and long range view

Let me entertain you!

 Sherry and Jodi were in Galway a year ago and both were taken with the place so we spent today there with Sherry being the guide.

On the way to Galway we stopped at Salthill and walked along the promenade as they had done - if there was a Rangitoto out in the Bay of Galway you could almost have been walking along the Mission Bay/St Heliers Bay waterfront.

We then found the Docks carpark and put the Sportage away for the next 9 hours while we walked the city, following a suggested walk we found online.

Starting at Eyre Park we then went down Shop St (be assured it is not anything other than what the name suggests) onto High St and down Quay St - these three streets were crowded with folk, there were buskers spaced so that as the music faded from the one you had just passed you started to hear music from the one coming up, the buildings and buntings looked splendid. You could spend many hours, if you were so inclined being entertained by the buskers, some very good, some good and some well not so good but each of them was earning some coin.

On we went to the Spanish Arch and then crossed the River Corrib to view the painted houses along the Pier and we then followed the riverside path back to the area of the Cathedral.

By now with all of our stops to look in shops, view sights, rest up and stay watered and fed it was nearing 6pm so we made our way to the Galway Girl Restaurant in The Quays pub Sherry and Jodi had dined at and we had the same meal that Sherry had had 12 months ago. With the restaurant being at level -1 we could hear the music coming from the floor above so after eating we went upstairs and were entertained with a couple of traditional Irish songs before starting back to the car.

On the way there was a full band set up in the middle of the road playing to an ever increasing crowd and they entertained us for a few minutes as well.

Buskers were still playing in both High St and Shop St but the style had slightly changed as there was for example a violinist playing and at another spot a young lad playing the harp - nevertheless they too were providing free entertainment.

A great day in Galway today

Things went a little awry on the way home however as a 35km trip turned into 70km trip due to not following one’s instincts but instead following the incar GPS that had been set to a place with a very similar spelling to the place we thought we had set it for.

Some photos from today

Our accommodation at Rossaveel 

Salthill

This busker was excellent knocking out tunes on drainpipes

Views of the streets and atmosphere 

The Bayview Gal with the Galway Girl

A 3m sculpture by Sean Henry - it’s so well done it’s almond lifelike

Galway’s version of the Copenhagen iconic image 

Another Sean Henry lifelike sculpture 

The Galway Girl restaurant 

The band at the pub

The full band performing in the street

Barren but Beautiful

 I omitted to mention in yesterday’s blog that on the way to Rossaveel we drove in the area of The Burren which is a globally unique 530 square kilometre limestone landscape with extraordinary biodiversity, glaciokarst terrain and rich archaeological history. Despite its barren appearance it supports over 70% of Ireland’s native flora, where Artic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants grow side by side.

Looks like all greenery has been shaved off the landscape

There are three islands in the heart of the Bay of Galway a 40 minute ferry trip from Rossaveel, Inis Mor, Inis Marin and Inis Oirr, which make up the Aran Islands. The islands date back more than 350 million years and while they are renowned for their well-preserved Christian and Celtic monuments, and over 4800 kilometres of dry stone walls they are equally renowned for being the home of the woollen Aran sweater or perhaps more accurately the ancient Celtic stitch patterns (9 in all) that are used to knit an Aran sweater.

Our sole purpose in staying in Rossaveel was to take the ferry from there to the islands, in fact to Inis Mor the largest of the three so having purchased the tickets before leaving NZ we arrived at 10.00 at the wharf for the 10.30 ferry. We showed our tickets and without delay were ushered on to the ferry which was full and which left the wharf immediately at around 10.05.

We can only presume that those arriving later for their booked 10.30 sailing were taken to the island by another vessel - by late morning we had seen 3 ferries each with I guess 250-300 folk onboard arrive at the island and disgorge the passengers however given the size of the island (15 kms in length and 5 kms in width) it didn’t feel crowded as there were hop on hop off vans, jaunting carts and about 3 bicycle hire places which soon dispersed the people all over the island.

We went to the tourist information office and got advice of some walks and then set off from Kilronan, where the ferries arrive, along the foreshore and around the/a lake before returning to Kilronan. What struck us were the numerous rock walls running in all directions and the barrenness of the landscape  (reminded of travelling along the Desert Rd) which created a beautiful environment to look at.

At Kilronan there were cafes, restaurants and retail shops selling among other items Aran sweaters of all size, colour and design. We had lunch at one of the pubs, walked the shops and then started walking a different route than in the morning all the time admiring the beauty around us.

As the ferry we were booked on was scheduled to depart at 4.00pm we got ourselves back to the pier at 3.30ish and left the tranquility of Inis Mor bang on 4pm in a full ferry.

Back to our accommodation, checked locations for a reasonable meal “locally”, and found one 30kms away so it was back in the car and to Bearna for a very acceptable pub meal in a nice environment.

A very enjoyable day in a barren but beautiful environment.

Glamping 

An example of the rock walls

Ferries waiting to take the tourists home

A jaunting cart

Looking inland

Looking back to Kilronan

Geese on the lake

Some folk playing in the water at Kilronan