This is my last day in Galway before I ferry over to the Aran Islands for a couple days! I decided yesterday to go on a day tour of Connemara since it is renown for its stunning mountainscapes.
It was a good idea.
The tour bus wove between the mountains of Connemara. Rich green, velvety grass covers the hills except where the bedrock of quartzite pushes through the grass and shrubbery. The exposed rock does not disturb the colour of the mountains though. Rather, the purplish gray rock enhances the beauty of, and has its own beauty enhanced, by the lush green. Even the bus driver, was taken aback by the miraculous views though he takes tourists on this route regularly.
I should mention, if I haven't already, that the people who drive these tours buses are also the tour guides. Wearing a microphone headset as they drive, they point out landmarks and share anecdotes with the passengers. Owen, our guide during this particular trip, was a really kind older gent with plenty of facts, figures and jokes which he shared with us in a free, daydreamy type of way.
On a lighter note, the movies "The Quiet Man," starring Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne), and "The Field," Richard Harris, Sean Bean, Tom Berenger, were filmed here. We stopped at the very pub were the Bull (Richard Harris) commmunes with his neighbours to have some genuine Irish coffee (coffee + whiskey + cream) which, by the way, was single strongest concoction I've ever swallowed (I was bouncing about for hours afterwards!).
Here's a shot of me on the Quiet Man bridge where John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
This is an angel-shaped gargoyle on the Gothic Church near Kylemore Abbey.
Despite of the sign, the local sheep population continue to 'dot' the landscape - check your shoes before getting back in your tour bus!
And here's Kylemore Abbey (and a handsome hunk!). Built in the 1860s, the castle once served as a residence for the Lynch family. Now, a community of Benedictine nuns and the girls' school they run.
Bye for now folks. I'll be in the Aran Islands for a couple days and so I'm not sure what the internet situation will be.
Till next time!
Love Steve
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