The longest driving day thus far ahead of us, we fueled up at breakfast before hitting the road. This first chunk of the day wasn’t going to contain much in the way of scenery as we left the Dingle Peninsula and headed inland.
At about the two and a half hours mark, we hopped off the motorway for a stretch, and snapped a quick photo at Bunratty Castle.
It took about another hour after that before we finally reached what will surely be one of the highlights of the trip — The Cliffs of Moher.
As we walked the cliffs, the view became more and more breathtaking around each bend. Over 600 feet in height in some sections, and no railing to prevent a gust of wind from feeding you to the rock and water below, the experience was amazing with a touch of caution at each step.
We spent close to three hours poking about the cliffs, taking lots of pictures and video. We even got to see a harpist play a bit along the way. It was time to move along, though, and we headed out and toward the Burren.
This place seems like a wasteland of nothing but rocks and weeds, which I suppose it is, but it has quite the history. Formed by glacial movement in the last ice age, the limestone slabs are scattered all about. There are glacial, Mediterranean and alpine forms of plant life all next to each other in one of the most unique ecosystems on earth.
We visited the Poulnabrone Dolman (pictured above), a five thousand year old portal tomb.
We finished off our drive by heading into Galway, a hustle-and-bustle college town. We didn’t find much to see here, but it’s purpose was a place to sleep before continuing our journey tomorrow. Kari got duped into ordering a Budweiser when it was advertised as merely a lager. Haha!
– Alex
9/9/14