May 18—Getting Bogged Down

Our accommodations in Strandhill were, shall we say, not the highlight of the trip, but the price was right, especially for an ocean resort community. (Doug had fibbed a little bit about the price he was quoted by another establishment, which wasn't even open, and so got us a good deal.) On Thursday morning, we knew that we had to start heading south in order to get closer to Shannon. But first we headed west, along the coast...

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger view, and then on the enlarged image to return.)

	Joe was in a drivin' mood (he was really getting to like our KIA—a diesel with good power, excellent handling, and 48MPG!), so he scooted us down a couple of back roads toward the sea just to find out what was there. We found ... the sea. And some beautiful examples of Irish shoreline (photos, plus a 1.5MB 360-degree panoramic video clip).
	Along our way, we came across the Irish national peat bog museum. How often do you get a chance to visit a peat bog museum? So in we went. The building was modern, but the peat bogs go back centuries. Here are the Toiletones in front of the entrance.
	There was an observation deck up top, from which this shot was taken.
	The museum site was a beautiful one (or was it just that the sun was out?). Here are a couple of photos...
	...and a couple more.
	And here's a close-up of a cross-section of a peat bog. Peat is still dug up in slices, dried, and burned as fuel all around this area.
	Can't remember where this shot was taken, but it's too nice not to include.
	We'd been told back in Strandhill that Achill Island was a beautiful place, and we weren't led astray. Too bad that the weather weren't nicer, but the same person had warned us about that too. Anyway, as these six photos show, Achill Island is a ruggedly gorgeous part of the northwestern Irish coastline.