Galway

Raining again this morning but at least it isn't cold. It seems that the lovely weather we had when we first arrived is pretty unusual and rain is the norm. Dominic, our guide/driver is a veritable treasure trove of information and being in the bus is like having a mobile history lesson. Today it was the history of the origins of the IRA, up to Michael Collins's early years.
The countryside looked very green despite the amount of rock everywhere. There were miles and miles of dry stone fences everywhere and it's easy to see why, because there would be no shortage of rock for walls or anything else.
Travelled to the Cliffs of Moher and unlike the trip to Slieve League Cliffs there was no fog and we could see them clearly. A very imposing sight rising 700 feet from the sea. We walked up to O'Brien's Tower but it started to rain more heavily and spoiled our viewing. Watched a short IMAX-style movie showing a birds-eye view of the cliffs. Stone rain became heavier as we drove to Bunratty, where we stopped for lunch at Durty Nelly's Pub. Didn't have time to go into the castle and moved on to the Foynes Flying Boat Museum to see a replica Pan Am clipper and hear about air travel in the 1930's & 40's.
The journey to the hotel in Killarney was through very lush land but very few stone fences in these parts. Nice hotel and beautiful dinner but weariness meant an early night. Dominic has a rest day tomorrow so we have a new guide/driver for the day. The European Union imposes strict rules on drivers and they must rest after 6 days driving. He is tracked every day, how many/how long breaks he has, the speed he drives etc etc. After 3 weeks this information is fed into a computer and if he is found to have broken any rules his job is at risk.
First two shots show the stonewalls in the countryside, next two are of the Cliffs, next is Bunratty Castle and the last at the Flying Boat Museum.Read more