So how small is Spud? Spud would be very much at home in a Shriners parade and our tiny vehicle now has a new challenge. DH aka Sciatica Sally has taken to rocking back and forth as a form of back/groin/knee pain control that is a stark reminder of her 70's head-banger rocker days. Spud wasn't built to handle this kind of motion so not only are we bouncing up and down with every little road bump but we're now also swaying side-to-side. I'm sure that anyone stuck behind us must think we're in a life and death struggle with a demented leprechaun. For those concerned readers, DH continues to struggle with the multiple injuries picked up in Mexico (and before Amanda M barks at me again, I was the sensitive one suggesting that we defer traveling and temporarily donate her body to medical science for investigation and resolution, but DH decided that bouncing around Ireland in a small car was a much better plan). On the good news side, and although absolutely no one expressed any concern, my own traumatic nipple experience has resolved itself.

Spud has persevered and after a couple of days in Westport, dropped us in Galway. Westport was typical of our time in Ireland- there are no 'bucket list' items on offer, no zip lines loaded up with screamers, no wildlife experiences (unless sheep qualify as wildlife), very few McDonald's, KFC's, or Lululemon's, and certainly no beachside cabannas with bar service. But you always know that you're in Ireland- each village or town seems to have been a winner or runner-up to a Tidy Towns competition and they do look the part (Westport is a three time winner). Ireland is more about being than seeing- wandering the streets, looking for a good coffee, picking a pub for lunch, and all the while, engaging in conversation with the very friendly locals (couldn't always understand them but their enthusiasm made up the difference). Getting out of a gab fest, particularly with DH on board, was usually much more challenging than getting into one. 
 
Galway city is a major centre for traditional Irish music, song, and dancing traditions. As a result of that there always seems to be a show, festival, or sporting event happening and we were able to get into show that gave us a great exposure to Irish song and dance (picture legs moving and stomping so fast they're blurred and virtually no upper body movement- I'm sure the people in the back row assumed that they were watching a bunch of people standing on the stage, occasionally turning their heads, and sweating but for us it was a frenzy of music and dance. 
 
The cab driver who took us to the show also told us that the next day would be the only day with the clear weather required to visit the nearby famous Cliffs of Moher. This didn't jive with the pointless weather forecasts we were tracking (it didn't get in our way but the weather had been wet, foggy, sunny, windy, humid, dry, and cloudy... often at the same time and it seemed to change every few minutes) but cab drivers usually know better than most, so we raced down to the cliffs (and had a rare sunny clear day just as the cabbie predicted). Signage suggests that the Cliffs are the most visited site in Ireland and they are pretty impressive even to jaded backpackers such as ourselves- if you're a Harry Potter fan, apparently the Cliffs make an appearance in the Half Blood Prince movie. Irish Puffins, among others, make their home here but despite numerous bird watcher types yelling (with much more passion than a bird deserves) that they had spotted one, we didn't zero in on the elusive critters ourselves (DH, somewhat groggy from Mexican painkillers, was looking for a penguin-sized bird and I didn't want to tell her that she needed to be looking for something substantially smaller). 

And from the `did you know`` file of Irish culture- according to the Irish birthday traditions, people hold the birthday boy/girl upside down and bump the head on the floor. The bumps correspond to the age of the child and it is believed that this tradition brings good luck. Back in my work days I had some mystifying conversations with AnneMarie L that have suddenly clarified.