Croagh Phadraig

Well, we may not have made it to the top, but we sure are proud of how far we did go. Croagh Patrick rises 2,500 feet above Westport Bay and Clew Bay, and dominates the skyline for many kilometers in every direction. We estimate that we made it approximately halfway to the top - a vertical climb of more than one thousand feet. It was a great day to do it. We got a taste of the full variety of Irish weather - warm sun, gale force winds, cold driving rain, The path is mostly rocky and can be quite “slippy,” especially when wet. Pilgrims take this path up Ireland’s holiest mountain and make the climb bare foot - truly hard to conceive. The views are quite spectacular. We could see Clare Island, far into the Atlantic, and many of the mountains of north Mayo. It was an exhilarating experience. We were mostly alone on our ascent, meeting people only as we came down the mountain. Exhilarated and virtuous, to speak the truth. We feel quite fortunate to be able to have had this experience. We rewarded ourselves with a fine very hot “veg” soup and hearty brown bread scone at the visitors centre. Oh yes, I also had a lemon tart and Candee had a nice shortbread cookie.