Alicia Ortego
An unsuspected abbey and forest
Cong village is famous for being the main stage of The Quiet Man, but it keeps a few surprises for visitors. Cong Abbey, from the XII century, is a must that is easy to find as the village is very small. Like other abbeys its stone and arches ooze history. Members of the community met in a room here, to publicly confess their sins. Tremendous. What surprised and delighted us, however, was its exterior. The cloister, of which today are just some bows and manicured lawns, is the prelude to a park of huge, precious trees, that guards the way to a river and the monk's fishing house. Here they sought some of their livelihood, while meditating.
Who would not in such a placid place? Cross an old bridge next to the ivy-covered house, with historic iron railings, to reach the forest. A forest that left me with my mouth open as it seemed so intricate and primitive. Towering trees covered with muso or ivy, bushes and roads of mud and leaves. No one in sight, it may be too disturbing, it transported me to another era and I began to imagine those first settlers of Ireland who had to live in this environment, probably hostile, where they would be afraid at night and on cloudy, rainy day.
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