Over the course of our journey we told many that we were headed to the Connemara region, and everyone we told had the same response. Their faces would break into a knowing smile full of pride..."AAAAHHHH" they all said, "You're sure to love it there...so beautiful"
When I was doing the research into where to go - I had read the same thing, so we were staying for 2 nights in a tiny village called Letterfrack. It is also right next to the Connemara National park...handy!
To get there we had to get off the main road and get onto some secondary roads.Now, the main roads are narrower than I'm used to, but they're comfortable for two cars to pass.The secondary roads, however....well, lets just say that there were a few, "Holy SHIT" moments in there!
At some point in our journey, by this time it was late afternoon, we began to notice a change. The relatively flat landscape gave way to rocky outcroppings and low rocky hills. We began to pull over periodically to take pictures. After an hour of winding through these beautiful hills rounded by time, wind, and rain, we thought that perhaps all the picture snapping was impeding our progress! We decided to stop stopping. Then the Atlantic began peeking through here and there...such a tease!!
Have you ever shown your holiday photos to others, and they just never do justice to the place your photographing? It doesn't matter how many pictures you take. The beauty, and majesty, or even the sheer vastness of the place cannot be captured - at least not with a little camera like the ones we had. This place is wild and lonely and absolutely breathtaking.
We arrived at our hostel, The Bard's Den, at around 6....dinner time!
This hostel is attached to a restaurant and we had to go in to collect our room key and check in. Did I mention it was dinner time? The smells coming from the kitchen were mouthwatering. Jolene and I looked at each other and simultaneously decided that after a long day on the road, surely we deserved a well cooked meal!! After all, tomorrow involved a hike...we needed to gather our strength.
That night we went to the pub across the street, for a pint and some music. Shortly after receiving our drinks, an older gentleman - about 65 -70 - began to chat up Jolene. Oh he was smitten and suggested that we come to the beach the next day for a dip...he lived right in front of the beach, don't cha know. He was very difficult to understand, partly because of his thick accent and mostly because he was very very drunk. At one point he asked me to convey a message to her..."I'd like to roll in the sand with her! You tell her and let me know what she says." I tried to tell him that she was happily married, but he kept telling me that there was no way the husband would find out!
Oh my. Unfortunately for him Jolene was not interested....poor fella.
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