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TRAVEL NOTEBOOKS
IRELAND: ALONG THE LAKES OF CONNEMARA
LONDON GATWICK Airport . I am boarding an Airbus A320 from the company AER
LINGUS which provides a daily flight with SHANNON AIRPORT located on the tip Irish.
At the top of the access gangway,the hostess on board greets me with a "Hello,How are
you. Welcome on board" before inviting me to join my respective assigned place.After
an hour of flight in glorious weather, we begin our landing and observe through the
porthole this beautiful and rebellious land that is Ireland through these distant moun-
tains coupled with a harmoniously cut wild coast.
As soon as you leave GALWAY, the county capital located on the western tip of Ireland, taking the N59 north, is Lough
Corrib. This lake is renowned for its many islands including the famous Inchagoil Island which is home to an old monas-
tery dating from the 5th century and contemplate the beauty and calm of this place very popular with fishermen is a real
pleasure while seeing in the distance some swans advancing on the water with graceful gestures almost ceremonious.
It is when arriving at Maam Cross, located halfway between Galway and Clifden when you see the first slopes of the
Maumturk Mountains that one really penetrates into this mythical region that is Connemara.Far from the bustle of the
city and civilization, this region of lakes, mountains and inhospitable moors, added to its remoteness ,has earned it to
remain preserved from any excessive human presence with, here and there, some green areas where the inevitable
sheep graze. Majestic and magnificent, this fascinating territory unfolds in a very wild setting where the contrasting landscapes blend into these immense dark and silent mountains dominating large expanses of russet moorland.The
Connemara region also presents several faces with a particularly jagged coastline and presenting deep coves where the mountains sink into the sea and that of the interior with the ungrateful ground of rockeries,moors and peat bogs dotted
with lakes and with a windy climate.
Arriving in the heart of the Maumturk Mountains and
while walking through rocky and winding boring paths
lined of stones, I observe the ray of sun which slips
through the clouds and which gives the landscapes some
multiple colors combining green, yellow and red offering
a paroxysm of colors that are both magical and magical.
When we criss-cross Connemara, it is impossible to pass
beside these long mounds erected and strewn in the
peatlands (Peatlands) located, for the most part, in the
Lough Inagh Valley. In very humid countries such as Ire-
land where the rainfall level reaches 250 days per year,
the persistence of soggy soil favors the development
of hydrophilic type plants such as sphagnum and the
particularity of this plant, the origin of the creation of
peat bogs, is to draw oxygen while absorbing water
preventing the dead matters from decomposing.
A paroxysm of magical and enchanting colors
During my journey on the R334 which brings me to Kylemore Lough, I arrive in the Lough Inagh Valley which is located
on both sides of the road by the sumptuous massifs of the Maumturk Mountains and its famous Twelve Bens or Twelve
Pines (Twelve Peaks) which represent the very heart of Connemara. On the outskirts of Lough Inagh which borders this
radiant valley appear the famous Peatlands (Peatlands) which give, by their forms and their inclinations, a slightly ratio-
nal touch to these landscapes, both distant and inviting, where wildlife reigns supreme. Walking along Kylemore Lough
where the view of the Twelve Bens is absolutely great, I meet an Irishman who greet me in Gaelic and i reply with a
"Hello" which makes him smile while waving at me. Prouds of their cultural wealth and veru attached to ancestral values
,the Irish are keen to preserve their traditions,very often transmitted from generation to generation,which go hand in
hand with their sense of hospitality as are all the peoples from the Celtic lands.
Ten miles in length and separating counties Galway and Mayo, Kilarry Harbour Fjord stretches to Ben Gorn near Devil-
mother is a majestic site that reminds me of the natural beauty of the Fjords of Norway with its majestic mountains
between which an arm of the sea rushes. Following the winding coastal road in the direction of Leenane which marks
the end of the Connemara coastal path, I see on the other side, imposing by their sizes and romantic by their forms, the
Mweelrea Mountains. One of the particularities of this fascinating country what Ireland is, it is the permanent presence
of breathtaking landscapes, integrating all that nature has more noble with a rich history and an admirably preserved
heritage. The next morning, when our plane took off from Galway airport in the direction of Dublin before joining
France, I observe one last time, through the porthole, this beautiful and rebellious land that is Ireland with its wide wild
spaces punctuated with bursts of magical lights that fascinated me with its natural beauty and cultural richness.
Report: Gabriel PAGE
Photos credit: Gabriel PAGE-Getty Images ( Realization in 2018 )
