Today we woke to the sound of the crashing surf. It was wonderful. Again, I was too warm with the heavy comforter. Brenda was very comfortable and said she slept great. She loves the pillows! We got up to our wake up call at 7:00 a.m. to be ready for our pickup at 8:40 a.m. for our scheduled tour.
Breakfast was wonderful. The staff very pleasant. The space is roomy and open. After breakfast we headed up to the room to pack up for our day trip. The tour was booked on Viator.com and the confirmation said it was with Spirit of Ireland Tours. I had not received any reconfirmation from the local operator as indicated by the Viator documents, so I called last night before bed. It seems they never received our request? I forwarded the email with the confirmation and Damien assured me he would work it out. John picked us up right on time and we headed to the drop off location. Arriving there we discovered that they tour wasn’t going. They offered us a free Cliffs of Moher tour for today and then we could go to Connemara tomorrow. That didn’t work with our itinerary, so he moved us to Lally Tours. John dropped us at that location and gave us cash to pay for the tickets. Well…. that tour didn’t go either. We had woke to rain as well as the ocean sounds, and it continued to rain all day. Connemara in the rain is not a popular tour. Lally ended up passing up to Galway Tour Company. This was a large 40-passenger bus, with only 14 people on it. Paul Norton was our driver. (Director is his title on his card) He was a wonderful driver/guide. His commentary was informative, funny, though provoking and more. This tour didn’t go exactly where the other one was, but we were very happy with it.
We went to Ross Errily Abbey, Cong Village, Lough Nafooey, Leenane/Killary Harbour, Kylemore Abbey and Inagh Valley. Brenda said is was the “best day ever” even though it rained. Paul asked the small group if anyone was in a hurry or had a schedule to maintain. Since no one did, he extended parts of the tour. We arrived back at our hotel. (Yes, he dropped us off even though we didn’t book with them originally!) about 6:15 p.m. It’s been a long day, and isn’t over yet.
We are off to find dinner, more music and a pint in town shortly. Pictures to follow.
Slán go fóill