Day 11: (Delphi to Westport)

Started with a stop at the Silver Strand. Cool, but this one is best viewed from far away for perspective. Just up the road I paused briefly at the White Strand. Less impressive.

Stopped off at the Gowlan Church for a brief tour. A cool little 19th century building;

Then on to Old Head Beach for some waves and a view from afar of Croagh Patrick (mountain). After a brief stop at Murrisk Abbey I took some back roads to the Boheh Stone. This stone, about as big as a small car, is a pristine example of Neolithic rock art and dates back to 3800 B.C. It is covered in many ring and keyhole motifs. So, there I was standing on a nearly 6000 year old piece of rock art. I had parked in the driveway of a newly built house owned by an amazingly friendly and welcoming couple. We chatted for a good 30 minutes. One my best stops along the journey!

And then into Westport for a leisurely Sunday afternoon of the three day weekend going on in Ireland that weekend. I got in about 3:30 and after a cleanup in my room, headed to the pub which turned out to be called Matt Molloy's as it is owned by the flautist from The Chieftains, one of the best known of all Celtic music bands. I am a big fan, so this was pretty fun. Met another couple about my age and we sat and chatted away for about 4 hours at the pub over multiple pints until my rumbling stomach told me it was time for something other than Guinness. After a bite to eat, I wound down for the day after all the sunshine and great interaction. A fantastic day and the one that most made me feel that I was on holiday.

My route for the day:



Silver Strand。This one was kind of meh. Man, Ireland has a lot of beaches! Possibly some of the most beautiful in the world.



The abandoned Gowlan Church I found out in a remote field.



Geeky shot behind the church of an airplane flying off to N. America somewhere. At least you get a sense for the random location of the church. Anyone with even the slightest interest in plane-spotting will find Ireland, specifically the west coast, an absolute dream. Banks of flights out in the morning and back in the afternoon. I could spend hours watching. I kind of did on some days. :-)



Old Head Beach





Milk manufacturers’ afternoon walk in the park. I love this colors in this shot, I think it looks like a painting.




Murrisk Abbey (one of thousands of abandoned abbeys). Weird for a Catholic country.







Croagh Patrick (there is an awful lot that is named after that wandering cleric in this country)



The historic and absolutely mind-blowing 5800 year old Boheh Stone that really lets you know how much you don't know.