Galway, Ireland

Dolman Tomb 4000BCE

Ancient Wall 4000 BCE

Sept. 2, 2007-Burrens

Our hostess in Shannon was more chipper this morning. She chatted a bit and introduced us to Sebastian, another boarder. He’s 21-years old and from East Germany. He’s working for Dell in tech support. We asked him where he learned his English. He told us that they take three different kinds of English studies: a year each of American, British, and Australian. I know we’re separated by common languages but I didn’t realize they were so different as to require a year of study each.

We dropped the Ciminis at the Shannon Airport then headed out alone. It was different having the car to ourselves. We had more room to spread out but it there was not as much laughter. We ended up on tiny country lanes wending our way through the Burrens. The area is named for the limestone karst rock left behind by glaciers. Burren means “rocky place” but barren is also a good description. The day was gray and raining and the gray moonscape prevailed against the brighter green pastureland obscured by fog. It’s a good thing we got to the Cliffs of Moher yesterday. Today they’d have been hidden until late afternoon. Out of the mist peaked what could have been a castle or grain elevators. Being we were in Ireland we guessed the former. It was Ballyporty Castle under renovation.

We were in search of pre-Celtic Dolmens, burial tombs of the upper class built 4,000 years BCE (before the common era). That’s 6,000 + years ago. They are Neolithic meaning New Stone Age. That translates as very, very old. Multiple people (men, women, & children) were buried in the tombs and the last person interred in this one was in 1720. The one we saw stood alone in a field of boulders and rock slabs measuring the size of pool tables. We climbed over the stones as needle-like rain pelted us from every direction. It was too special to miss. I held the hood of my raincoat with one hand and clutched the camera under the coat with the other. The dolmen itself is composed of columns measuring perhaps five feet tall arranged in a ring and topped by a huge flat stone. It looks very Druid. In reading the information boards at the site we finally figured out why there were so many walls built covering what could have been open fields. They were arranged from vertically standing slices of stone instead of piling them. It was very distinctive. The walls too dated back to Neolithic times and were used as we do today to delineate ownership.

Local Color

It was time to head for lunch but we detoured at the Burren Crafts Fair. I was floored at the quality of goods being sold. It’s the best we’ve seen here. I bought a small oval casserole dish in a deep dark green color I’d never seen in the U.S. I asked the artist if it was lead free and he said it was up to British standards, which are not as high as the U.S. That’s how he could get such rich color. I won’t cook in it although it’s made to be oven safe. The artist lives just outside of Galway in the village of Spiddle. Perhaps we’ll drop in.

The road continued along Kinvara Bay (an offshoot of Galway Bay). There was a town nestled by the sea around every turn. We ate lunch in a café in Kinvara frequented by locals. At night it becomes a pizzeria. It had WiFi, tuna melts, and lovely vegetable soup. David wasn’t so fond of his potato garlic soup. It was too garlicky. Soups here are pureed. There are no chunks. That distinguishes them from stews, which have also have lots of liquid and gravy. Bagels are huge here. They don’t look great but it’s funny to hear the Irish ordering toasted bagel with cream cheese. Smoked salmon is a staple and always has been. I guess it was a natural for the bagel to follow. I think I’ve neglected to mention the delicious brown bread. It’s textured and grainy and just plain decent. It always comes with soup and can make it a meal.

Dunguaire Castle was on our route so we stopped in. Built in 1520 it’s an example of a tower house. It’s cylindrical and straight up one three-story tower. It’s on a rocky promontory in Kinvara Bay with water on three sides. Decsendants of swans originally imported as a food source in 1520 swim in its shadow. The original owner invited 150 poets from the surrounding area to banquet at his tiny castle over a period of a year and a half. In the 20^th century it became a focal point of an Irish literary revival including visits by W.B.Yeats. Between 1954-1972 it was a private home. Presently Medieval banquets are staged each night for tourists. For the first time we heard a conversation in Gaelic. Locals in this area tend to speak it. It’s a bit guttural.

The sun came out as we approached Galway City. The bay glistened and the promenade followed the road right to our B & B. Paddy and Maureen host the Shamrock Lodge on Knocknacarra Rd. She met us and welcomed us effusively. She’s got dark red hair and freckles and is enthusiastically friendly. She made suggestions for touring and dinner and assured us that her husband would set us on our way to see whatever it was we wanted at breakfast tomorrow. She suggested we take a ferry to the Aran Islands since we didn’t go yesterday but we told her we’d sworn off small boats for the rest of the trip. She chided that we were too tired to remember anything she said about touring and should have a rest. We obeyed.

The room is small but our view is of the Cliffs of Moher. Maureen says it’s five minutes away as the bird flies. That’s one fast bird. But we can see the cliffs glinting on the horizon. We have a queen bed and twin. There are towel racks in the bathroom but no hooks. The furnishings make up for any lack of hooks. There is a colorful quilt on the bed and an electric blanket beneath. We have a TV and a tea set all our own. Things are looking up. We’re here two nights.

We followed Maureen’s suggestion and parked along the promenade and walked to a restaurant she’d mentioned. It reminded me of our time in Surfer’s Paradise, Australia only lots colder. The people here must be crossed with polar bears. It was probably in the high 50’s this evening. They weren’t wearing wet suits but were happily swimming and paddling surfboards around. I don’t know about the surfboards. The Bay is smooth as glass. The area where we’re staying is only 1.5 miles out of the city center and is called Salt Hill. It’s a resort and has a honky-tonk atmosphere with an amusement park and arcades.

Tomorrow we’ll tour Connemara National Park. It’s a place of great beauty and marble quarries.

Toby