Some time ago, Weird Wide News alerted the public to a fiendish crime – the disappearance of five llamas (and three goats) from a circus in Meath. I wondered if it could be the work of the Kleptoes, who had been spotted in Galway, headed east. Lo and behold, one of our roving reporters (our shortest one, in fact) discovered a llama wandering around a field in a place called Turoe Farm near Galway.
As it turned out, they had a good reason for keeping a llama. This was a pet farm – an excellent one, which also had: Shetland ponies, donkeys, rabbits, and a bunch of different types of goats and sheep. And an aviary (which isn’t an animal, it’s a place where you keep birds). They also had the biggest bouncy castle we’ve ever seen, indoor and outdoor playgrounds, a football pitch and a cafe.
If you have a toddler who has a passion for wandering over large areas of grass, and is fascinated by animals, this is the place for you. They cater for many other types of offspring too.
Galway had more oddities to offer. In one shop, we found a bottle of drink made from mint, cucumber and geraniums. We didn’t know you could juice a geranium, but you learn something new every day. What was even odder was that it actually tasted very nice.
If you’re going to do some roving, there are few better places than Connemara. You could climb some of those stony hills – we recommend Diamond Hill in the Connemara National Park or, if you’re an experienced hillwalker, you could tackle Mweelrea,the highest mountain in the West of Ireland. Don’t go climb alone, don’t go unprepared! Our Irish mountains might not be the Alps, but they can be difficult buggers all the same. And please leave the place as you found it. It’s amazing the number of people who go to all the bother of getting out into some beautiful, quiet and isolated spot . . . and then leave their rubbish behind when they head home.
For an easier time, you can take a boat trip out to Inishbofin. Or just hang out on the streets in Clifden, soaking up the pure Oirishness, trying the local fish and shopping for woollen sweaters if you’re that way inclined.
On the streets of Galway city, we discovered what we thought was another out-of-place animal. Or animals. One does not expect to find a pig suckling her young in a city street. We didn’t. You couldn’t pet this particular animal, because it was a sand sculpture. It was so realistic, however, that a passing dog stopped to smell the pig’s crotch. Surely, there can be no higher praise for a sculptor.
