The Connemara

We woke up late with stiff legs. Yesterday’s effort against the head wind had taken its toll. But rumors of great scenery further north motivated us to keep moving. Would the steady drizzle that we awoke to continue all day?

As luck would have it, our slow morning movements prevented us from riding in the rain. It seems that it rains only in Ireland from the early evening until mid morning. We’ve had quite a few similar mornings that started off wet only to dry up for the remainder of the day.

So with friendly skies above we rode through the heart of the Connemara region. The route we took was spectacular. We borrowed it from the website cycleireland.ie, which has suggested routes throughout the island. In this case, the route took us by beautiful beaches and coastline only to head inland through what to our eyes looked like some of the Sierra Nevada mountains, except we didn’t have to climb to get there.

To cap off the day, we camped at the lovely Connemara Hostel, which is located in Ireland’s only fjord. The hostel was nearly empty and the host Barbara was very welcoming. Carrie read her book in a chair by a window overlooking the fjord and the incoming rain storm while I relaxed on a sofa, catching up on my blog duties. If every day were like this in Ireland, I don’t think I could leave.