Day Twelve - Connemara

Today's cache site

At breakfast I noticed an Infant of Prague on the mantle. Since the name of the place is Prague House, I had to ask. Works out when Mary and her husband bought the house it was in disrepair. As they were cleaning the place out they discovered a bunch of the "boys" in the basement, evidently left behind by the two sisters who previously owned the house. what to name the b&b became obvious to them.

After breakfast we left for our day's drive. Our first stop was for a cache at a truly lovely spot by a lake with a small island and a mountain as a backdrop.

Driving on we came to Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore Castle was built by a wealthy London doctor in the 1860s. After passing through other hands it was eventually purchased by the Benedictine order and was used as an abbey and girls school until 2010. It is now a private tourist attraction. You may recognize it in this picture as it is the iconic image of an Irish castle.

We stopped for another pub lunch. While serving us the bartender asked where we were from, a usual question. When we told him Ohio, he said, "Columbus, Ohio." We were surprised because Columbus is not exactly a well known city. Works out that he is originally from Slovakia and is a big hockey fan. Hockey is not exactly popular here so he follows the NHL and thus knows of Columbus. See the Bluejackets are good for something.

Just down the road from the pub we took a short hike in Connemara National Park. The walk wasn't long but we were amazed at how much elevation we gained in such a short distance. Of course, there were no switchbacks. Wonder how our legs will feel tomorrow?

Sky Drive

At the tip of Connemara is a short loop of some 15 miles known as the Sky Drive. It isn't nearly as high as some of the other drives we've done but you are driving along the edge of a sheer drop so the name is appropriate.

I should mention that Connemara is very different from other places we've been. Usually the mountains run the length of the peninsula, but here they just pop up willy nilly. (Collectively they are known as the Twelve Bens.) And in between, around, and all over are lakes - gobs and gobs of lakes. The remaining land is very pastoral with few rocks strewn about and even fewer sheep.

Back in Galway, we went out for some trad music which we enjoyed over a beer and wine. I'll leave you to decide who had which.

Tomorrow we head for Skerries.