Going to Galway

I marked in black a rough outline of path and put colored dots on the approx locations.

The past weekend weather looked good.  From the north – There were two options to get to the Aran Islands – ferry (25 euro round trip/40 minutes) or airplane (50 euro round trip/8 minutes).  Also could approached from Doolin (east to west) but I read waters may be rougher and the trip to Inis Mor (largest island) was over an hour each way.

So plane it was!!

Plan was Galway on Saturday, overnight at airbnb and flight to Inis Mor on Sunday.  We decided to pass on Cliffs of Mohr this time because we thought we better get in Aran Islands while the weather is good.

Up until Thursday the flights were booked for the return on Sunday.  But luckily they emailed with a cancellation on Thursday night.

Galway was fun but definitely doable in a day.  It’s the fourth most populated city in Ireland (about half million). We took a walking tour which included sites in the Ed Sheeran “Galway Girl” video.  We ended at the O’Connell pub (which was featured in beginning of video) and had a drink.

Leaving Galway we drove a few miles to our airbnb (RED dot) and stopped in the small pub for dinner.

Sunday morning and the skies are gray and the wind is howling.  We cautiously set off for the airport (GREEN dot).  Upon arrival they weigh us in to balance the plane.  The plane only seats 8.  First thing the guy says is the weather is not good, storm coming and you may have to ferry back and it could be rough.  Panic!  We proceed to tell him our plan was to bike at Inis Mor.  He confirmed our suspicion – no way was that going to happen.  Once we told his we were here for extended time he highly recommended us rescheduling at a later date.

So on to Plan B – Kylemore Abbey (Blue dot).  Lots of single lane dirt roads.  Chuck let me drive part of the way.  Don’t ask him his opinion of my driving!  Practice makes perfect, right?  And I much prefer being the navigator.

Yes, the storm arrived just as we arrived at the Abbey.  After an hour of soaking rain, the weather cleared.  The abbey and gardens were beautiful.  At the top of the mountain was a Jesus statue.  Unfortunately they were not giving assess to hike that day and they were very secretive to where the path was.

We then stopped at the Ross Errilly Friary (YELLOW dot).  This was just on the side of road and no tour or really any plagues to describe.

Sooo – that’s the scoop for now!