Cycling through green Ireland, Connemara

After last year's trip to Austria, this time we chose to go to Ireland to visit Connemara. This year there are two adventurers besides me. In fact, along with my father, my uncle Roberto is with us too, and for the occasion he trained hard in view of the endless mountain climbs to be found in Ireland. After months and months of waiting, we finally set off. Dublin welcomes us right away, the day is wonderful, sun and a temperature around 20°. Astonished by the splendid weather, we head by coach for Galway, the starting point of our tour, which will let us discover this splendid country. After 4 hours by coach we arrive at our destination, pick up our rental bikes (very comfortable) and reach our B&B. Shower and straight out through the streets of Galway on foot, of course. It's almost 9 p.m. and we're very hungry... So, straight to the table to eat the fantastic Connemara fish trio...

(3 tiny pieces of fish). Sunday morning, our tour begins. Every day we covered about 60/70 km with enchanting landscapes. One to remember is certainly the village of Clifden (3rd stage), where on the Sky Road we took our finest photos; from here the view is spectacular, with coasts plunging sheer into the ocean. Notable too is the castle right at the start of the Sky Road. Exceptional!!! I struggle to remember all the places we saw; in particular I want to spend a couple of lines on the little town of Leenaun, which was the set of the film "The Field", truly a place made for film. Here we slept at the B&B The Convent... yes, an old convent, complete with a view of the fjord, very unusual. Near here we also visited Aasleagh Falls, very pretty.

Near this village, after climbing one of the toughest ascents, at the top of the hill, we took some beautiful photos, where a cross placed at the highest point (in memory of a South African tourist) dominated the landscape below. This was one of the most fascinating spots of all (see photos). We visited other beautiful places: Letterfrack, Westport, Cong, all unforgettable. We will never forget the boat trip from Cong to Oughterard, stopping first on a little island rich in archaeological finds dating back to the age of Christianity, all in the company of a cheerful Irish school group (see photos). The weather this week was fantastic; only on the last day did we get rained on, but considering that Ireland is also famous for its rain, we have to say it went really well. Having handed back the bikes on Friday 5 June, we rented a car and headed for the Burren to see the Cliffs of Moher...

stunning, though it's a shame the photos don't capture the beauty of the place. The next day, again by car, we headed for Dublin to catch the plane to Italy, but since we arrived well in advance, we also visited the Irish capital, full of lovely spots and full of people of every race, a multi-ethnic city we weren't used to, since for a week we had lived in complete calm with few noises in our ears and few people around us. Ireland is therefore wonderful; I recommend everyone to go and visit it by bike, if you're fit. We already miss it. Best wishes from Claudio, Luciano and Roberto, the heroes of this tour. IRELAND (31 MAY - 6 JUNE 2008)