After Cong, we went to the gorgeous region of Connemara.
Pronounced con-eh-MAR-a, (I kept saying "Conmara" before I actually heard someone say it,) Connemara is a word that means "clan by the sea." The area is a Gaeltacht, or a region where Gaelic is the only official language. Our bus driver told us that kids are sent to a Gaeltacht for three months in the summer so they can be completely immersed in the Irish language, and if they are caught speaking English three times, they are sent home. This is part of an effort to restore Irish culture to the rest of the Republic of Ireland.
Connemara would be rather difficult to get to without a tour bus (so I am
extremely glad the tours go through it,) and would probably be difficult to navigate without a guide because all the signs are in Irish. It is wild and absolutely breathtaking - and also very nearly silent.
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| This is a view overlooking Ireland's largest lake - it's a little bit on the edge of Connemara |
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| If I remember correctly, those are the Aran Isands |
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| And, this is what most of Connemara looks like. |
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| It's pretty gorgeous |
To all my fellow fans of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter - remember Gorsepaw? When we went through Connemara, we found a lot of gorse, the plant he was named after. It's pretty, and very sharp:
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