Galway-Roundstone

August 22, Galway to Clifden/Roundstone: Left Kinlay Hostel this am. It was a basic but OK place however it was quite expensive for what it was. The upside was its younger atmosphere. After checking out we walked around Galway taking pictures etc. Matt got a nice movie of a busking group that he will post on the blog. Galway is a real musical town with lots of singing pubs, music in the streets etc.

Matt suggested a BB in Roundstone called the Wits End which we booked. The trip to Roundstone took us thru Conamara which is a pretty wild and tree less place (it was deforested to make ships and is has a certain stark beauty. We stopped at several places to take pictures and/or picnic. The back roads are a little scarey especially as I don't know the car. They are really 1 1/2 lanes wide, have plenty of blind cur. ves and frequently there isn't any center lines. If there are center lines frequently there is not enough room for the car between the line and the side of the road. The result being that either risk hitting on coming traffic or end up drifting into the roadside hedges etc. What usually happens therefore is that everytime there is on coming traffic you slow down and hug the shoulder and hope for the best.

The B&B at Roundstone is really nice. A basic room over looking the ocean on the main street. It is not a busy place and I doubt that I have seen a car drive by in the entire time I have been writing this blog entry. After checking into the B&B we followed a coastal road to Clifden. Great views etc., scarey road. Hung around Clifden for a while and headed back to Roundstone for dinner. Ended up having a wrap. At 830 there was an “Irish nite” at the local community center that Matt and I attended. Lots of local people, music and Irish dancing. It was nice to see a wide range of people in the audience and to see Irish culture being shared across generations.

It is now 11 pm and I have to sleep. G'nite, Tom