11/6/2019 A day of traveling, rest and music!

Wednesday, November 6– day four of our journey.

Dear Family and Friends,

Greeting from the West Coast of Ireland! In the United States it may take several full driving days to travel from the East Coast to the West Coast. In Ireland it takes just four hours of riding in a bus on a straight route. Why? Because Ireland is the size of Indiana! Since we were in Kilkenny yesterday, it took a little longer. This day became our travel day.

I am so impressed by the golden colors of the trees as they are highlighted against the green, green colors of the fields.

Our drive today took us through very rich farmland. Keith, our driver and expert on everything Irish, informed us that this rich farmland is used for raising dairy cattle. The poorer land is used for raising sheep. As we rode across the country side, we caught brief glimpses of beautiful green farms, quaint villages, and many contented cows.

After several hours of driving and one pit stop, we visited Connemara Marble Industries showroom and factory. A very informative talk gave us a brief history of the gemstone of Ireland. The green Connemara Marble (Verde Antique) is 500 million years old and is used in the manufacture of Irish jewelry for the past 150 years. We watched the craftsmen at work and the showroom did an excellent business.

Polishing the marble slices to use in jewelry.

Examples of the marble including some crystals

A new experience for me was the building across the street with its beautiful and fragrant peat fire in the open hearth. The strong earthy aroma is difficult to describe but this was an experience I will take home with me as many historical novels I’ve read about this country talk about the process of harvesting peat, and using it for heating their homes . Now I have a smell and an image to go along with the words.

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Peat fire

The temperature began dropping as we reached Galway and our hotel. This continued until evening. A warm bowl of seafood chowder (lots of seafood) brown bread and butter brought on the need for a nap around 5 pm. Needless to say that after having only 3 or 4 hours of sleep for the past few nights, a nap was highly recommended.

A Scythian concert at Monroe about a 15 minute walk through town completed the evening. More on that later.

Tomorrow I go to the Aran Islands by boat, while Donna visits the locations of the John Wayne movie “The Quite Man”.

Another wonderful day in Ireland.

Ellen

PS Limited photos due to very weak wifi! I spend about an hour in the hall trying to get enough power to save this document. I just hope it will publish!