Saturday was another almost completely free day, so I wanted to take full advantage. I planned a trip for the 5 of us for Connemara and Cong. Because we had so much fun on the Paddy Wagon we went on in Cork, I looked for another bus tour so we could see as much as possible. The morning was a bit of a disaster. We made it to the Coach station ready to go and found the tour company easily. I went to check in our group and the guy took our number and reservation down and sent us to a bus. The bus driver got on about to leave and asked if everyone was on the bus for the Cliffs of Mohr. We all kind of looked at each other very confused, but Ryan thought it was only a joke. We made him go up and ask anyway and lo and behold we were on the wrong bus. We jumped off to search for someone who worked there and hoped our bus didn’t leave without us. Thankfully it didn’t. They put us with another group of people and told us to wait there, and then proceeded to ask us 5 more times if we were going to the Cliffs and if so we needed to get on the bus. As amazing as the cliffs are and I definitely would not be opposed to go again, I wanted to see something new and go on the bus we actually reserved. We were finally put on a smaller bus and we thought we done, but not quite. They drove the bus around to the back on the coach station and had us all get on another bus. We waited there a little longer and then we were off. This tour was shorter than the last one. We were getting back earlier, but that worked in our favor because we had a movie that night anyway.

We drove through the Inagh Valley, Maam Cross & Oughterard before reaching our first stop, Kylemore Abbey & Gardens. We had 2 hours here to explore and eat lunch and I have to say that was nowhere close to enough time! We went through the Abbey, Gothic Church, and Mausoleum first. We had to get a shuttle up the gardens and café, but had to wait for that. By the time we got there we only had time to buy some food to shovel down and run back to the bus. I was so disappointed we didn’t even get a chance to look at the gardens. This is the biggest downside to these companies. I probably could’ve spent half the day here. There were other trails and things through the forest that we could’ve explored as well, but definitely didn’t have time for that.

Our drive continued through the breathtaking Killary Fjord. We followed a waterfall that winds down the mountain and stopped for a photo op at Killary Harbour, which was more of a pull off in the road. The view was amazing! You could see for miles in every direction and I loved being able to see all the mountains in the distance. There was this tree there that was covered in ribbons, pieces of clothing, and other various things tied around it. Our bus driver informed us that the tree is called a Fairy Tree and it is said that people come to it make a wish, and tie a ribbon or cloth on it. Some people keep coming back until that wish comes true. He said you have to be careful though there is another tree that people mistake for a fairy tree and really it is the opposite. If they tie something around that tree then their wish will never come true. We drove through Lough Nafooey next, which was equally as beautiful. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop here, but I decided when I come back I’m going to backpack around the country (and hopefully others as well) and I will definitely be walking through this valley. It was absolutely incredible. Like all of Ireland, the landscape is incredible! As tempting as it is to sleep on the bus, I definitely didn’t want to! There is so much beauty in every drive that I don’t want to miss anything!

Next we made it to Cong Village in County Mayo, where The Quiet Man was filmed. We made our way up to the abbey, which also had a cemetery. We explored that for a little bit then discovered a trail to forests in the back. We didn’t get too far because we had to get back to the bus, but there were some cool stuff back there. There was some obviously old bridges and ruins in the creek, which was fun to discover. The bus ride was pretty quiet after this. This was the first time the bus driver, Michael, hadn’t constantly told jokes or stories, so people took full advantage with a little power nap. Michael “accidentally got lost” and we ended up down this narrow gravel road. The only thing we could see up in front of us was another bus going in the opposite direction on this one way drive and what looked like an old small church. We made it to Ross Friary. The inside looked a little more cleaned up than most ruins we have seen. You can tell that people keep it clean and they have also added plaques and things. There was also a room that was a cemetery and a grave in the middle that looked surprisingly very new. Michael told us that someone was actually buried there last year. He told us how there are only two families who are allowed to be buried in that friary nowadays. The structure of it was still in great shape. There were lots of little nooks and crannies that led to staircases that brought you to the ledges on top, which were really fun to climb. We climbed out of a window in the back and ended up in a cow pasture. The cows didn’t look startled at all. They were standing there right next to us nonchalantly eating grass and staring at us. We got back on the bus and made the slow drive back to Galway.

We had two hours before our movie when we got back to the station so we went to grab some dinner. There was a restaurant right on the outside of the park called the Hungry Bear we thought looked good. Unlike lunch, we were actually able to sit down and enjoy our food so that was nice. They specialized in grilled and fried chicken and burgers. I decided on the grilled chicken sandwich and it was very good! It still took us less than an hour to eat, so we decided to drop off some things at the apartment and pick up some candy before the movie, Moon Dogs. This movie was about this guy, his step brother, and a random girl they met and their trip to try to get to Glasgow from Whales for various reasons. It was an interesting coming of age story. A lot different than any other I have seen. It was a cute movie though. After the movie and getting back to the apartment I needed to shower and relax a bit after the long day. Although I am so glad we went on that adventure, it was nice to finally take a minute after being on the go all day.