Well today was; everybody together now - S O F T! Actually there was a spot were we wanted it to be soft and that was the Burren (Gaelic for barren). These are limestone rock formations, caused by the ice age, where you have many square miles of flat rocks with occasional stands of grass. It begins on the south side of Galway Bay and continues south and east. When the rocks are wet they are more photogenic. Before entering the area we didn’t do much except stop for breaks and photo ops, but nothing special. I did find the changes between Counties interesting. Gone are the sheep for the most part, there are mostly cattle farms. There are more trees. (Ireland has no forests; the Oak was used by the British to make their ships. There are occasional stands of fir trees that have been planted.) And stone walls have changed from tightly fitted flat stones, to round boulders with lime spots that give the fence a lacey appearance from a distance.

There is a small nation that stood alone, not for year or two, but several hundred years; ….that could never be got to accept defeat, and has never surrendered her sole.
Eamonn DeValera


This is a sad day since the group will all go our separate ways Thursday. I think we are all worn out from spending so much time in the van. Normally we would stay in one area for around two hours before moving on, but with the rain and mist, our plans changed.

After leaving the Burren we stopped in, Eugene’s, a pub with the most unusual décor, in a way it reminded me of a small Harrigan’s.

We have now returned to Ennis, where the Workshop part of our tour began. Tomorrow Sue and I begin our tour of southwest Ireland, a new adventure of sights, sounds, and learning to drive on the right, er left. Sue is still drinking Smithwicks, but may be on Jameson after of watching me drive.

Please remember the photos you see are untouched, I will develop them when I return