GALWAY, Ireland, Oct 19, 2011 - We returned to the Cliffs of Moher the morning after the storm had passed.  The wind had abated.  The seas around the cliffs were quite calm.  What a difference just 12 hours can make (see last photos in Cliffs of Moher story).

After that brief stopover, we continued our drive along the narrow and twisty roads of the County Clare (see the map - right).  We made two stopovers... one at an interesting looking castle ruin, another at the Aillwee Cave.  A few miles after that, we had a forced stopover.   A woman driver coming from the opposite direction decided to cross the median line.  To avoid a collision, I swerved to the left.  In doing to, the front left wheel of our rental car hit a high curb.  We heard the tire pop like a gunshot. 

I continued to drive on its rims about a 100 yards or so till we reached the main street.  We remembered passing a gas station not far from there.  We made it to the gas station screeching and limping all the way.  Luckily, they had the right kind of a tire for our car.  About an hour later, we drove on as if nothing had happened.  Well, not exactly nothing.  We were a little lighted in the wallet.  But it gave us a chance to meet and socialize with some local people while waiting for the tire to be fixed.

As it turns out, that was the only "incident" we had of any kind during our 4,000⁺ - mile drive through Europe and Ireland/UK.  "We should have known better than renting another red car," I said to Elizabeth (for reasons why, check out what happened in Honolulu in March 2010 the last time we rented a red car - see "Red Car, Red Flag").  And it's not as if we had forgotten the Honolulu lesson.  Alas, it was the only one available at Kerry Co. airport.  So the Spirit decided to remind us of it once again in Ireland. 

"Okay, we get it.  We really get it." :-)

And now, here are also some still shots from our morning-midday drive from the Cliffs of Moher to Galway...

Getting to Galway from Cliffs of Moher - Photo Album

Interesting castle ruin...	Entrance to the castle	Remains of a fresco... interior wall		Not for 6' plus people
Not for 6' plus people	Nice view from the castle
			Aillwee Cave entrance...
		Scary wood carving...		Elizabeth kept hearing the bears as we walked through woods...
Our blown out tire	Another red wreck	Gas station where tire was replaced

Once we made it to Galway, we again had to depend on providential guidance to find a hotel.  And what a delightful one it was, right in the center of town.  Shortly after checking in, however, we went for another drive, west of the city.  And what a fascinating experience that turned out to be... a trip through real honest-to-goodness wilderness with just sheep and goats for company (see the map - right).   And look at the beautiful panoramic view of the lake district north of Galway that awaited us at the end of our wilderness adventure...

 

And now, check it the rest of the photos...

Afternoon Drive West of Galway to Oughterard - Photo Album

Our Galway hotel

 

Back in town, we took a walk through the city center before finding a place to eat dinner.  And we saw that the "Occupy..." movement had reached even this part of Ireland. 

Galway Photo Album

Our hotel	Inside our hotel room		View from our hotel room
"Occupy..." Galway tents
	Interesting mural in town center	"Spanish Arch" - pub that chose us for dinner guests	As it turned out, the waitress was an Aussie	So we had lots to chat about

 

Back at the hotel, I spotted a baby grand piano in the back of the lobby.  So I played it for about an hour, including this "Song of My Soul"...

"Song of My Soul" by Bob Altzar Djurdjevic at Galway, Ireland (Oct 19, 2011)

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED...