High tide
So, picking up where I left off … Left Ennis fairly early on Saturday morning, and headed out towards the coast. The country was all cows and farms and stone walls, after a bit anyway – there seems to be quite a lot of new construction surrounding the towns. Once I got up to the Cliffs, I found that I had arrived at high tide; and it was quite windy and choppy as well so the sea was quite a sight – what lovely color from the clearest green to a deep, almost dusty blue. They’ve quite tamed the site as one might expect given the traffic of tourists and the fact that the cliffs are in fact, cliffs, a giant drop off to the ocean, so there is a walkway around and walls put up, etc. The wind and the tide together resulted in what was almost a fountain or a geyser, a spray really, at such a velocity that I decided I needn’t venture round past that point. A few other doughty sightseers were there as well, even at this very off-season time of year, some in more appropriate gear than others. It was, as I say, quite windy, and storms blew in every so often; one poor fellow was caught in his leather coat – that can’t have been pleasant.
After departing from there, I sort of fell upon a dolmen / tomb – Poulnabrone – which also afforded a nice opportunity to walk around just a little in The Burren area. It’s really quite extraordinary and otherworldly. I got right along into Galway city, but shot out the wrong way in a roundabout and took a detour of about an hour, then looped through Galway city center about three times before getting the right turnoff for the B&B (do you see a trend). I was rather hungry by the time I got in so I nipped straight off to the town center and had simply the loveliest lamb stew with root vegetables and mash (and a clear broth – made it just perfect, and not too heavy) and, of course, another Guinness. One must taste for consistency. This may have been an error simply from a timing point of view, but I can’t say I really regret it. I puttered about the pedestrian zone for the rest of the afternoon and made an early night of it; I keep pretty early hours as it is, and being that it’s just me, I didn’t want to go running around too much on a Saturday night in a town I don’t know.
My B&B was quite clean, and the patrons were very nice, but I must say I am not sure the B&B thing is for me. Perhaps if it weren’t owner-occupied – which is not to say that doesn’t have it’s advantages – but I felt, just a bit, like I was staying with relatives, maybe quite distant, slightly elderly, relatives. Perhaps it all depends. Also, it was just a bit further away from the city center than was practical to be walking in and out in the evening.
My second day in Galway was more eventful, and more interesting; so I’d like to be a bit fresher to write that up. I’ll see about that tomorrow.