Diamond Hill, Crazy bus drivers, and Ennis

We had some wretched weather in Letterfrack on our first full day. It was a little difficult to sit around and watch it rain knowing that we were trapped in the confines of our peculiar hostel. The owner of our hostel would walk around asking people each day if they liked Frank Sinatra. No matter what people would answer, he would play the same "Old Blue Eyes" songs everyday. He would also walk around making boasts like, "I'm sober today!", or "Someone set the ashtray on fire again." These might not be the most bizarre comments ever, but the fact that he kept all guests updated on his sobriety and the condition of the hostel's ashtrays was a little strange, all to the soundtrack of Sinatra. Anyway, we decided to get out a little and walk the roads to a local furniture school, and then to a handweavers store. The roads were so outrageously narrow and curvy though, that we were too nervous to continue our walk, so.....drum role please......we hitchhiked. It wasn't the biggest deal in the world, but it was a only a second for Maria and me. My first experience hitchhiking was with a guy in the mountains of North Carolina. He picked Scott and I up at a trailhead to take us into town. As he was getting in the truck, he declared, "If you guys smell something in a minute, it's me. I just farted in my fishing waders, and it takes a few minutes for it to air out." He was a real character and I'll never forget my first experience hitching. This experience was memorable, but not as smelly. Success!
Our next day carried us up 1700 feet to the top of Diamond Hill. It was a very touristy walk, but it was incredible. The whole trail lead us through a protected bog area. The ground was so soft that it resembled walking on a trampouline. It was a strange sensation to bounce while hiking. Anyway, the view from the top offered us incredible views of the Connemara National Park, twelve peaks known as the Twelve Pins, the Atlantic Ocean, and tons and tons of lakes and ponds. What a walk and what a way to finish out our time in Letterfrack, Ireland!
We took the bus back to Galway to stay with our flatmate friends for two more nights. Luckily Maria medicated again, as the ride back proved to be even more violent than the ride in. The bus driver was running over an hour behind and he was driving like his life depended on it. He would hit these little hills so fast that the bus would nearly jump it felt like, then on the back side of the little hills, the bus would come down so hard that it would bottom out on the road, scrape, make pounding sounds, and then smell of hot metal and leaking fluids. People looked positively terrified. Aside from feeling like we were riding in a charter bus European version of the General Lee from the Dukes of Ireland (the General Lee is a car from the television show Dukes of Hazard), the ride was beautiful. I was nearly overcome by the urge to yell "yeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaw" everytime our bus "jumped" a little mini-hill.
So, we had a few lazy days in Galway, trying to plan for our next country, France. Last night, we shared in an incredible meal of duck and potatoes that flatmate Mike cooked for us, had some fun conversation, traveled to their friend Jon's flat for some music and further conversation. And today, we are in Ennis, Ireland. Bernie, another one of the flatmates very kindly, very very very kindly, brought us here by car on her way to Cary to see her family. Neither Maria, nor I have been in a car since Edinburgh. Thank God for the kindness of new friends, I don't think Maria or I could have survived another Irish bus driver:) This will be our home for the next few nights and we fly out for France on the 18th. We hope to see the Cliffs of Moher while we are here in Ennis. It is a short bus ride, but as aforementioned, they can be unsettling and exciting! So we'll see. Otherwise, our current hostel overlooks the ruins of an old church, and Ennis looks like a grand place to get to know over the next few days.