Connemara Ireland

I had a very bizarre experience last night. I woke up around 10:45 after about an hour of sleep, and was completely temporally dislocated. I thought I was in Ireland and I needed to check my alarm to make sure it was set so we wouldn't miss the bus in the morning. It wasn't until I actually looked at the time my alarm was set for, 4:15 AM, that I realized I was at home, it was Sunday evening, and I had to go to work in the morning. It took me a long time to fall asleep again after that.

Continuing with the Ireland trip, the third day we went to Connemara National Park and walked around with a park ranger who told us all about the area. We saw scars on the land where peat had been harvested for fires. The Irish government is trying to get people to stop using peat for the fires because of the environmental impact, but the older Irish living in the countryside have been using it to heat their homes for generations and it's much more affordable than other types of fuel, so it's causing a great deal of friction at the moment.

The ranger also told us all about the bogs in the area and how archaeologists had found so many intact artifacts and bodies since the oxygen level is so low in the bogs and items are well preserved with very little deterioration occurring. There are bushes with yellow flowers all over the Irish countryside called gorse, and rhododendron with pink or purple flowers also grows everywhere. Both of these are invasive plants and the farmers will often do a controlled burn to get them out of their fields. The rhododendron were originally brought into the country from the Himalayas for gardens, but they're very invasive and have such a large canopy that nothing can grow under them, so they're creating real problems for the natural vegetation. The ranger did tell us that in Connemara National Park the rhododendron are actually from Turkey instead of the Himalayas like the rest of the country.

Distant mountain and bay in the park, with gorse in the front.

Another beautiful view in the park.

One more beautiful view in the park.

Low spots in the ground where peat was harvested.

Our next stop of the day was Kylemore Abbey. We've had a poster of the house turned abbey in our dining room ever since my husband and I were married, so it was quite something getting to see it in person. It is a beautiful area and has a tragic backstory. Mitchell Henry fell in love with the area on his honeymoon so decided to build a house for his beloved wife, Margaret, in the area. When his father died and he inherited a large sum of money, he started building the home in 1867. It was completed in 1871. His wife died in 1874 and then his daughter died soon after. The home was later used as a Benedictine Abbey and a school.

The view from the house.

Another view from the house.

Kylemore Abbey.

Skylight in interior of home.

Music book used by the nuns in the abbey.

Moss-covered wall on the grounds.

Close-up of a rhododendron.

The grounds also contained a chapel, and a beautiful Victorian walled garden. Although I was very happy to see the house and grounds, it was much more touristy than some of the other areas, and much of the house was closed off.

Chapel on the grounds.

Victorian walled garden on the grounds.

One of the things that I loved most about Ireland is the fact than even in urban areas, it's not far to find an idyllic rural scene with grazing animals. Driving on the left side of the road (well, riding while someone else was driving) was rather jarring, but I think it was good for my brain to have a different perspective. The drivers sat on the right side of the car, and nearly every vehicle there was standard transmission with the gear-shift on the left-hand side of the driver. I asked our bus driver about the pedals and whether they were also reversed. He said, "no, thank goodness, or I'd never be able to drive in any of the other European countries."

A common sight in Ireland.

Tomorrow's post will be all about a day in Galway city, with some more amazing shots from this beautiful country.