The villages on Achill Island are something to behold. All the houses are white and it is very quiet and serene here. In the valley are Peat Bogs. It is such a mystical island...very surreal. Most of the time we didn’t see a soul. We went to a small pub for ’pub grub’ and he said they were pretty much out of food but had one serving of lasagna left and could get a serving of lamb or salmon from the refrig. We said thank you but went down the road to try a seafood restaurant. It was a little fancier than I had expected and I felt very under-dressed but the food was delicious although expensive. I had Oceanic Chicken (Chicken stuffed with shrimp and salmon) and Randy had mussels, shrimp and monkfish. Our B & B was adequate..”West End B & B” but I probably would not recommend it to anyone. The room was very small the bathroom was even smaller...the beds were hard and the room smelled of mildew. It met our needs for the night. The next day we traveled Atlantic Road and visited the Deserted Village and the Megalithic Tomb. The Deserted Village and the Tomb were one of the highlights of our trip and Achill Island took on new meaning for us. Not much is known about the ’Deserted Village” but it snakes across a good portion of the lower part of the mountain their on the Island. You can investigate everything or just part of it. At one time there was an entire village there but sometime in the past the people disappeared for some reason. It was very interesting and I highly recommend anyone see it. Part of the fun is that on Achill Island there are sheep everywhere you go...at the phone booth, in the yard of your B & B, laying everywhere in the Deserted Village and laying in the road. We went up a road outside the village and their were sheep laying everywhere that were not about to move for a car. I had to get out and shoo them away. One stood head to head with the car until I got out. Funny! We decided to take the Atlantic Drive and discovered a Megalithic Tomb. We’re still not sure what that means but evidently..many hundreds of years ago..someone was buried there. (found out later it was the stone age) We stopped to see it and discovered a gate and a path that lead...shall we say...straight up the mountain. We started walking and discovered soon after that it was a LONG WAY up the mountain….like 700-800 feet. I talked Randy into the challenge and we climbed the mountain. When we got to the top, it was the most magnificent view you have ever seen. You could see the beautiful white villages on Achill Island, the mountains and the sea. It looked like we could keep walking to the top of the mountain but Randy reminded me it was probably another 1000 feet to the top. There was sheep and lavender/heather all around the mountain. Gorgeous. I do believe the walk down was harder than the walk up for two out of shape Americans. We were so glad we went though.
After we finished out trip around the Atlantic Drive we headed for Castlebar to pick up more clothing options for me and then head to Sligo.
We’ve stopped for the night at one of Michele’s picks...Iorra B & B. It is very nice and very comfortable. We freshen up and then sit for Tea and Coffee with a couple from New Zealand….later going to ‘Austies’ for Fish and Chips. Great!
FRIDAY, September 9
Iorras or “Ita” was wonderful and we would have like to stay more than one night, however she was full. Ita was very hospitability and made us feel very welcome. Her house was very clean and neat. We spent most of the day shopping in downtown SLIGO picking up a lot of sales for my boutique. Loved the town and would enjoy coming back when we have more time to sightsee. We head for Londonderry and Northern Ireland. We planned to stay at a nice B & B called Mount Royd. This was one of the picks from Michele. They were full so his recommendation was a B & B out in the country. This B & B ..I think it was called THE HALL GREEN or something like that was one of the oldest homes in Ireland. (1611) The B & B was near Leiford, Ireland and also near the border of Northern Ireland. Although it was full of character it was also NOT clean, the floors were so slanted everything ran downhill as did the beds. The beds were so soft that we rolled toward each other. We both put in an awful night. The proprietors rarely spoke to us so that part worked out fine. They ask if we wanted tea and then left us in this dark dingy room to drink it alone. Very weird. We could have had half a sandwich if we’d wanted one for there was one left on the stairs as we went to our room. Had it not been late and not wanting to be polite, we would have left. DON'T STAY HERE!!
NOTE: my bag has been found. It seems a young man went on holiday to america, went to Walmart and bought a bag just like mine. He picked mine up and took it home only he did not unpack for several days. When he went to unpack, he discovered that he had my suitcase and took it back to the airport. My only problems is that we are hours north of the airport almost into Northern Ireland. We won’t be able to get it until I fly home!
SUNDAY, September 10
As we were anxious to get out of our accommodations, we left early to go in search of a church. We wanted to find something protestant. We drive across the bridge into Northern Ireland and into Londonderry...the last of the oldest ‘Walled City’ in Europe. Everything now is figured in pounds so to figure it in Amer. Cash...we have to double. OUCH! It is expensive. Londonderry, or DERRY, as they call it is delightfully European looking. We found a SALVATION ARMY church and had such a good time worshipping with them. It was in a poorer section of the downtown and attached to a mission. We loved it. They sang the very same songs as we sing and everyone was so thrilled we were there. They invited us for Tea and Biscuits downstairs after church and we all have fun getting acquainted. After church we took a short walk downtown to an Internet Café and then after grabbing a burger at BURGER KING...who would think...we walked a bit of the wall. It somehow, seems wrong to eat BURGER KING in Ireland but it was quick...gave us both indigestion though.
Later we head out to Bushmill and Craig Park for 3 days of relaxation and sightseeing.
