may 16 Clifden

Day 8 - Thursday, May 16, 2002

We've been in Ireland a week now. The owner of the B&B continues to fail to charm us. We went down to breakfast and found a table in the breakfast room with a view of the garden. There were a couple of men sitting in the other room but it just looked at the walls. Well, first she told us we couldn't sit in the other room and then she told us we had to sit at the same table as the other guests. It seems she didn't want to clean two tables after we left. The table was big enough for all of us to sit around, but with the size of Irish breakfast, you need extra space. So we spent the time engineering space for the food. There were five other tables available.

With only a short ride to Clifden, we decided to walk around Westport some more and shop. We found a fine shop filled with Guinness paraphernalia and other pub stuff and I went crazy. From there, we went to an internet cafe so that I could send a note to some of the crazies back in the US . We uploaded some pictures which we thought would be a quick process. Well...... the computer and the internet connection were moving at about the speed of an old Irishman on a bike up Connor Pass. It took us two hours to get things done. We ended up leaving Westport at 2:00.

We decided to take the road along the coast to Clifden. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We went in the direction of Louisburgh and then south to Leenane . On the way, we passed Croagh Patrick as it stood watch over Clew Bay. Low clouds grazed the peak as they followed the winds. There were some hikers, but not many due to the ominous looking weather.

We continued on, taking R335 south to Leenane over Doo Lough Pass. This is a beautiful and uncrowded drive. There were very few cars on the road and the lakes and mountains in the area are wonderful. We stopped again and again to take pictures and just take in the view. From there, we continued on and stopped at Kylemore Abbey. We wandered around, and enjoyed the grounds. I actually found the chapel just up the trail to be more peaceful and beautiful than the Abbey. I don't know why, I just did. This is the first time on this trip that we are at a place we've been to before.

We headed for Clifden and just started looking for a B&B. We drove out on the Sky Road and found the Sky Cottage, just above Clifden Castle. It was a short drive into Clifden, but had a wonderful view out over the bay. One of the owners met us at the door, showed us the rooms and couldn't have been more hospitable. Though not luxurious, the place was wonderful and we couldn't have been happier. We had a great dinner at D'Arcy's Seafood house in Clifden. Clifden is a neat little town with some pretty good choices for dining. Then off for the evening drive, this time along the Sky Road. If I say spectacular again you'll all think I'm crazy, but I have to. From the road, you can look across the bay to another peninsula and then another past that and anther past that. As darkness began to fall, we went back to the B&B. I couldn't help staring out the window of our room at the solitary light from the lighthouse, a lonely beacon in the distance.

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