LEt it Fly
We woke up to pouring rain and received a warm farewell from our host Michael and his wife. We departed for the Connemara region. Our first stop was a visit to Cong – a village between Lough Mask and Lough Carrill. We strolled through abbey ruins and wandered the quaint town where John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara made the film The Quiet Man in 1951. Next was a memorable visit to Ashford Castle, once owned by the Guiness family. The beautiful grounds and spectacular castle, now luxury hotel, was so picturesque. We had the lucky adventure of flying falcons with the experts from Ireland's School of Falconry located on the Ashford’s grounds. Next, on to Leanne, where we had a group lunch at Hamilton’s Bar. We made a roadside stop at a memorial to potato famine victims where Barry helps our group construct a St. Bridget’s cross. Another stop at Croagh Patrick. It’s from here that supposedly in the 5th century St. Patrick rang his bell to drive the snakes out of Ireland and today many pilgrims hike to the top of the peak in honor of St. Patrick. Also, nearby, The Coffin Ship, a gamine memorial statue. Beautiful views and landscape we learned about the wild bogs of this area. We arrived in Westport and checked into the Clew Bay Hotel. We had dinner with the group at Au Port Mor.