Road Trip, Part 1

  Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, Ireland
Saturday, July 21, 2007

I had the most amazing time today!  Me and three other girls rented a car and drove a couple hours south of Galway to the stunning Cliffs of Moher.

The Cliffs of Moher

 Though hailed as Ireland's #1 tourism attraction, one really cannot miss these cliffs when coming here!  Sheer vertical drops with cliff edges that are very roomy.  We picked the best time to go.  We went in the morning, way before any of the big tour busses arrived.  The first part of the cliffs (and safest area) was beautiful, but the best part was when you went past the paved walkways and walled cliff sides and onto the less traveled path that overlooked the edge.

Cave

And boy, did we hike!  We saw an old ruined tower that we wanted to inspect far off in the distance, so we rolled up our jeans and set out!  This tower war pretty cool, too.  It was supposedly built as a watchtower in case Napoleon tried to invade the western coast of Ireland.  But its views were stunning!  And it was worth the long trek (I estimate we walked at least 4 or 5 miles to get there, all on windy, rocky, edges).  And there were hardly any other tourists on this particular part which was a plus.  I was in my element: I got to explore on my own time and schedule and hike an amazing hike!  I loved it!

Enjoying the view!

They say on a clear day you can see the Aran Islands, Connemara, and Galway Bay.  Although it didn't rain and the sun was out, fog was heavy so it was hard to see way out to the ocean.  But what parts of the ocean I did see were beautiful.  The water is crystal clear--so many shades of blue in one spot.  So clear, that if you look at the bottom of the cliffs, it looks like a mirror image!

Mirror! Mirror!

In fact, what you see is the cliffs seem to go on forever, even under the water's edge.  Seagulls flying everywhere!  As my friend Emma said, they seem to like to show off to all the tourists--some flying in circles and take deep plunges in the air right in front of you.  Noisy little birds!  Interesting noise, too.  Sometimes their calls would sound like a baby's squawk.  Driving (not me, my friends) was quite the adventure.  I think this is one of the high points of my time in Ireland.  Everything is on the opposite side!  I sat in the front seat (which is the driver's side in the States) and went to go fix the rear view mirror!  But Caitlin and Allison did a great job.  I was quiet impressed!   Especially because these Irish roads are not known for their spacious lanes!  The best part of this trip was that we got to take our time, doing and seeing what we wanted.  We made many stops along the way: stopped at St. Brigid's Holy Well which was filled with all these pilgramage trinkets; stopped at many scenic overlooks to take pictures: stopped in several small towns, and even hopped a fence to explore a very ruined manor house! 

Small doorways

All in all, it was a glorious day and I made memories that will last a lifetime all with newfound, good friends! 

Pot of Gold

P.S.  I even tried to find the pot of gold at the end of a giant rainbow! =)