(Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland)
This post’s title sounds like a very scholarly treatise. However, I just wanted something that covered my otherwise undocumented experiences in Galway and Westport.
Galway is a lot of fun. Up until the crash of the Celtic Tiger a few years ago, it was apparently a real boomtown. Lots of evidence of that unprecedented prosperity remains and the attractive streets of the pedestrian-only zone are full of people. There are lots of young people, too: this is a university town and it is also known for something else that attracts young people (more on this in a moment).
I used Galway as a base to see attractions to the west and south. But I also enjoyed my time in the city itself, even if it doesn’t really have too much in the way of specific tourist attractions. An American who was staying in my B&B goes to Galway every year – just because he likes the vibe of the place.
I found a nice used book/music store in Galway called Bell Book and Candle. Like many places in Ireland, this one had a talkative owner who was genuinely interested in where I came from and what I was doing in Ireland. I even found some interesting 45s – my international music buying drought is officially over! I previously mentioned eating Moroccan food in Galway – I also had a very spicy (and very good) doner kebab meal. The proprietor was from Turkey and it appeared that the local Turkish population enjoyed eating there too.
The only time I felt a little uncomfortable in Galway was late in the evening on my first day in town. I found a lot of the young people to be a little more aggressive and/or drunk than elsewhere in Ireland before or since. This didn’t happen on any other night. Some research revealed the answer: Galway is a notorious destination for “Stag and Hen Parties” (their words) and I happened to run into some pretty serious ones.
While Galway has almost 80,000 residents, Westport has just under 6,000. Westport is proportionately more driven by tourism and seems to draw an older crowd than Galway. Perhaps as a consequence, there is a lot of upscale dining here and it was a little more difficult to find restaurants that were frequented by locals. But Westport is undeniably quaint and well-kept: in fact, it has won Ireland’s “Tidy Town” competition on several occasions and also won a national Quality of Life competition.
My main reason for going to Westport was to use it as a base for climbing Croagh Patrick – an imposing mountain located a few miles outside of town. It would have been about a 4-hour round-trip hike, with much of the hike on loose scree. Alas, it rained all day, winds were gusting in the 50km/h range, and the mountain was shrouded in clouds. As I also would have had to bike to the mountain (an additional 45 minutes each way), I reluctantly gave up on the climbing plan. It’s not a problem – hopefully I will be in this part of Ireland again someday and will have better weather.
Dinner tonight was another quintessential Irish experience: take-out fish & chips from the local “chippy”. The piece of cod was huge – check out how it compares to the fork in the picture below.
As in Galway, people in Westport were also very helpful. In particular, I can certainly recommend the Waterside B&B: excellent “VFM” (value for money) and excellent guidance for their guests. They even took care of my laundry for me.
From Westport, I am taking an epic journey (5.5 hours on 3 buses, then a shuttle bus to a train station, and then another hour+ on 2 trains) to my next destination. Among other things, I’ll be meeting some family friends as well as an old school friend who I haven’t seen in about 20 years. I’ll also be seeing some more great sights on this very green island. Stay tuned for the next “big reveal”!
