Clifden Flowers

September 11-12, Clifden. We continued our indulgent trek across NW Ireland by departing Galway city early Monday morning for Connemara. We went by the way of the locally beloved beach region of Salt Hill. Then we headed north and west into Connemara.

We have now driven and hiked around this region for two days, and even though it was overcast most of the time, we can report that the scenery here is as spectacular as any we have seen anywhere. There are dramatic mountain ranges--the Maumturks and the 12 Bens, calming pastoral vistas, Caribbean white beaches with turquoise waters, farmsteads and fishing villages, but mostly it is the color and the lighting! Wow.

Clifden, on the western coast, we like a lot. It's similar to what we thought Galway would be like. We drove the famous Sky Road loop and then headed for Omey Island. At low tide you can walk to the island across about a third of a mile of sandy ocean floor. We were about half way over when we saw a car making the crossing also, and then another and another. It's a veritable road, though there is not much by way of habitation on lovely Omey itself, mostly cows and sheep. The tides are posted prominently at the crossing point.

Our eating habits have not improved. The best pubs for lunch, fine dining in the evening. Our children may inherit earlier, but little may be left. Mitchell's is the top seafood spot in Clifden.

Tuesday morning we set off across the Roundstone Bog, a favorite of daughter Catherine. It is a region of small hills, big rocks, countless bogs, and colorful vegetation including sedges, heather, purple moor grass, and wild flowers all with the Bens rising in the distance. Then we took a good hike across a narrow isthmus with white sand beaches on both sides to the uninhabited Dog's Bay headland. The rains waited for us to be properly seated for lunch at O'Dowd's in Roundstone and then they let loose.

On the way back to Clifden we took a left at Ballyconneely and went out the peninsula to visit the Connemara Smokehouse. We asked if they favored or opposed the tight requirements on wild salmon fishing. Our guide said they favored them and that the fish were coming back as a result of them. Unfortunately the smokehouse has had to cease exporting to the US due to new regulations.

Our only complaint is the weather. Dripping and heading down the hall to our room in the Quay House, we passed the manager, Paddy, who said simply, "monsoons now."

The oysters continue to be exceptional. We even had them for breakfast.

Did we mention that it was Donna and Bruce Nelson who first told us about Monk's in Ballyvaughn?

Connemara!

flowers everywhere

walking the seafloor to Omey

driving across the sea

lots of rainbows

four friends

Harbour House in Clifden

full Irish breakfast with black and tan sausage

sheep are everywhere

Cece hits the beach