One frustrating thing about Ireland is bus transit is surprisingly lacking, and it is hard to get to outlying areas without a car. We really don't want to rent one... people drive on the wrong side of the road here, and somewhat erratically. We enjoyed biking around Westport, and thought about it here, but we would be on busy roads... again, with folks driving on the wrong side. But we are going to take a guided hike in a more remote place yesterday, looking forward to it.
Today we took a nice hike along the coast. The beaches and mountains here are really wonderful. There is one huge mountain where the mythical Queen Mauve is supposed to be buried. There is a complex legend about her, I believe it has something to do with her stealing cattle from a friend of the warrior Cuchelaine, leading to a chaotic turn of events. People here have long associated specific places with particular stories. This had a big influence on Yeats' poetry 100 years ago. I need to look more deeply into Irish folklore, and into Yeats' life..he was a true character.
One interesting thing is that today, kind of a whim, we wandered into an Irish genealogy center. The guy there gave me some tips on researching my grandmother Karl's background... she was my mother's mom. We actually know very little about her background, and finding out more is a definite longshot, but I am more curious since I talked with this guy. We think she was brought from Ireland as a young child many years ago.
One more thing, is that today we saw guys playing a game called Hurl on the beach. They were hitting a ball to each other with paddles. Kate asked one of them, "Do you have professional teams?"
"No," he chuckled, matter-of factly, "We don't have the money." That comment reveals a lot of things.
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