Poulnabrone and the Cliffs of Moher

We arrived at Shannon Airport on the western side of Ireland about an hour late. This was my first time arriving at Shannon. Stepping outside was wonderful once I got passed the smell of cigarettes. The air was cool, some 50 degrees Fahrenheit or so with the wind blowing, and tasted so very fresh after being on an airplane for about 6 hours. It was about eight in the morning Irish time, although my body was still about five hours behind in Eastern Standard Time. But that didn't stop us from hitting the ground running.

We met Susan, our tour director from Britain, and Kevin, our bus driver (although it's called a coach over there). Kevin had come all the way from Tipperary to see us. Honest, that's where he's from... I don't think he gets tired of telling people that line. Our luggage was loaded on to the coach and we were off. Our first stop was the Cliffs of Moher.

The drive there reminded me of what I liked so much about the country of Ireland. The landscape was full of green hills dotted with sheep separated by low stone walls. Every now and again, the old remains of a keep or tower sat lonely on the top of the hill (and I do love such ruins). It is the wonderful age of the place that I loved so much, too. I remember last time I was in Ireland there was a television show on BBC where a group of archaeologists and historians would dig in someone's backyard. In the episode I saw, part of a Roman mosaic tile floor was unearthed, along with some coins and pottery pieces.

The Cliffs of Moher were a natural spectacle of beauty. They are apparently one of the most popular tourist stops in Ireland, and I can see why. (And Wikipedia tells me they were the backdrop for the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride.) There was a tower, O'Brien's Tower, sitting on the cliffs, but we weren't able to get inside. I'll let the pictures describe the scene rather than my words.





There were some warning signs near the cliffs so that tourists would be cautious.

Don't get close to the edge or you'll fall!


Don't hover over the grass or you'll be attacked by killer birds!

(Actually, it's to warn you it's a protected area because of the wildlife and flora. But my description is far more humorous.)

From the Cliffs of Moher, the coach traveled on to a place called the Burren. It's a land scattered with large rocks of limestone and some interesting flowers, but it's not very good land. Englishmen Edmund Ludlow said that "it is a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him." We were told this quote on the way there, although I think it was attributed to Oliver Cromwell. So I was expecting a very rocky place. And although it was definitely rocky, there was a lot of plant life there as well. Most of the plants found in Ireland grow in that area.



Also of interest is a Neolithic dolmen, a tomb made of several megaliths, or upright stones. The one at the Burren is called Poulnabrone and is home to sixteen skeletons, all buried in the fetal position.



There was a lot of dozing off on the bus (although fortunately not by Kevin, our driver). The only sleep we had gotten was a few hours on the plane, so falling asleep on a slightly warm bus, with the white noise of the road, seemed perfectly natural.

I'm definitely glad I wasn't the one driving. Driving a small car on the Irish roads three years ago was an experience. I'd hate to repeat that with a 30-person tour bus. Many of the roads were very narrow with no shoulder. In some cases, there were walls of stone or hedges right up to the edge of the road. Throw in everyone driving on the left side of the road, and it becomes a recipe for an American driving disaster.

We drove to Galway to our hotel. It wasn't a bad hotel, but it wasn't great either. I understand that there was a change in ownership recently. The staff I've talked to don't seem to be native English speakers, although their English is very good. (Which brings up an interesting sidebar about tourist sites in Ireland. I've heard English as well as French, German, Russian, and another Eastern European language of some sort.) The window in our hotel room opens directly into what seems to be a dumping area in a small interior courtyard. Which is not only a bad view--especially considering we've got this beautiful bay nearby--but doesn't lend itself to opening the window to let in some cool night air. There is no AC or elevator (lift) in the hotel.

After we stopped at the hotel and relaxed (read: showered and napped) for about two hours, we went into Galway to eat. Galway is a popular little place. The aforementioned bay had plenty of people swimming, playing, and doing the things people do at a sandy stretch of water. The town is popular with college-aged kids, and there were plenty of stores and pubs I saw on the ride to the restaurant.

For dinner, we had a choice of tomato pasta or Irish stew. The choice was obvious, what with being in Ireland and all. I know that there are some people that look for a Burger King no matter where they are, but I like trying at least of the local cuisine. That being the case, I also ordered a pint of Guiness, of course. It was my first night in Ireland after all, so I pretty much had to. No matter how the Guiness is packaged in America, it never seems to taste quite the same when compared to Irish Guiness straight from the tap. Carol ordered a drink I hadn't heard of before... it may be a European thing. It was called a Shandy, and it was a 50-50 mix of lemon-lime soda and beer.

Irish soda bread was also served, which is kind of like a brown bread, and not very soft. I spread on real Irish butter. Irish dairy products always taste so good. Butter, cheese, milk, yogurt, and as I would learn after dinner, ice cream, all manage to taste superior to American products. I imagine it has something to do with the way that American dairy products are processed. My understanding is that in America, we use very high heat very fast to pasteurize dairy quickly, but in Europe it tends to be a much slower process. Maybe that keeps more flavor in the dairy.

We returned to the hotel, still suffering from the lack of AC. Although not exactly South Carolina weather, Ireland was experiencing some unusually hot weather. We would later here some local Irishmen complain about it, but the temperature was sometimes in the mid 20's. That's Celsius, by the way... think mid to high 70's in Fahrenheit. It's not that hot, especially now that I'm back in South Carolina and it's in the low 90's, but it was not at all what I was expecting in Ireland. Where's the cool breeze and the constant rain?