Day 7 - Discovering the west of Ireland

Just before I get started on today's doings, let me show you a snap of the carpet in the hallways of the Glasshouse in Sligo. I don't know how it would affect you as you might navigate to your room after a few sherbets. (Not, I hasten to add, that that was an issue for us - our drinking was done in our room, away from the dreaded carpet). We mentioned the lack of the bedside lights - it wasn't that they had been broken or removed - they had never been installed. The reception staff feigned surprise. Weird, as I observed before, but the place was funky and interesting though I wonder what the designer was tripping on.

Before leaving Sligo we went for a walk and came upon the ruins of a Dominican Priory. We explored the site and learned how to tell the difference between your prioroes and your abbeys - very important in Ireland.

Then we headed south in the car through Ballina, Castlebar, Westport and Louisburg. All are picturesque old towns with  narrow streets. Amazingly, they haven't closed them off and made pedestrian plazas. We had a potential catastrophe with Bruce, our Tomtom guide. The charger disintegrated in the cigarette lighter of the car and had to be retrieved. It turned out thate we had blown fuses in both the car and the charger so we had a bit of challenge finding help with that. Thankfully, Bruce is back on deck.

We followed Bruce's directions south through the Dhulough Pass to Bearna, near Galway. This is a narrow route through the most breathtaking scenery. We were blown away by the magnificent vistas that opened up around every corner. There was little in the way of signs or directions to identify the mountains or to prepare drivers for the conditions. Here are a couple of pics.

It was remarkable how, even on very steep slopes of some of these remote places stone walls enclosed fields where farmers have tried to make a living in the past.