The next stop in Ireland was Sligo, or "Yeats Country"

The sites we visited in and around Sligo are listed in pink at left. 

Click on them for more information and pictures.

We were in Sligo for a week, so we had some time set aside for leisure activities.  The weather sometimes played a part in this, but we also had time to explore and do activities of our choice. 

Our second day in Sligo we could choose to go horseback riding on the beach or fossil hunting on another beach.  Deanna, Alicia, Erik, Alison, Lindsey and I went horseback riding.  We went to Island View Riding Stables just a short distance from the Benwisken Center.  We each got suited up and placed on a horse.  My horse was Lollipop and she was very good, but decided she would roll over on her back on the beach!  It was fun...even though I had to hop off quickly!  We couldn't take pictures while riding, but the beach was so pretty.  There was no one out on the beach and the water was so blue.  There is no swimming at this beach because of the strong currents.  We saw seals swimming just off shore, maybe 20 feet away!  It was picturesque and I wish I could have snuck some pictures!

One day, we had some outdoor sightseeing planned, but we only got one or two things in before the weather turned to rain.  We went to Carrowmore which is the largest megalithic cemetery in Ireland.  There are 60 remaining tombs to be visited at Carrowmore, but we only visited the oldest one which is from 5000 B.C.  Its plopped right in a field, complete with horses chopping on grass all around it.  Some of the tombs here have been excavated and dated.  The oldest one, pictured below, is nearly 3,000 years older than the pyramids in Egypt!! 

After Carrowmore, the rain started to pour.  We got in a quick visit to Dolly's Cottage and headed out to Strand Hill.  Dolly's Cottage is a 200 year old thatched cottage.  It's an example of typical Northwest Irish cottages.  A woman named Dolly Higgins had lived there and when she died her cottage was turned into a historical site.

Strand Hill is a cool seaside town that actually hosts a surfing championship each year...who would have thought!  We had a wonderful lunch in a pub which consisted of soup, and huge pannini (sandwiches). 

Then, Erik, Deanna, Alison and I had seaweed baths!  This was definitely a highlight of the trip.  This is something that, yeah, you could do it in the States, but it's just so much cooler to do it in Ireland!  The weather was rainy and cold so a relaxing and hot seaweed bath was just what we needed!  We each got our own room which had a sauna-type shower area and a huge tub filled with hot sea water and seaweed.  It was slimy, but I felt immediately pampered and relaxed.  They play ocean noises in the rooms, so you feel like you are really in the sea (well, kind of).  It was so fun, I highly recommend it if you have the chance to go.