Burren or Bust

Wednesday I made some toast for breakfast and headed down to the bus station for my tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.

First stop was a family farm on the burren. Our guide's family owns a mountain (like ya do) and we took a "walk" (hike) up the side.





There were interesting tidbits along the way. Bits about getting the cattle to graze at the top of the mountain, about the tiny orchids growing everywhere... and most interestingly, about the stone walls that divide entire mountains. These walls, he said, were built by Irish workers for the British for no purpose other than to keep unemployed Irishmen busy with menial work.




The best of the Burren is barren, of course. Limestone for everyone! As much as you can carry home!





On the way down the mountain, we ran into neighbor John and his dog Penny, who looked just like my old dog Sydnee and immediately sat down on my shoe, stared up at me and begged to be pet.

Then it was off to the Cliffs of Moher. But wait! We must stop at this pile of rocks to take a picture! (This is an ancient tomb, I think.)




Okay, NOW to the cliffs. If you haven't seen them before, I suggest you drop by some time on your way to Doolin. They look like this:




...where each pixel is roughly a meter. (That's 900-ish feet tall.) It was truly breathtaking.

We saw some other cliffs on the way home. Less breathtaking, but the photo op gives a greater illusion of danger.



I made some nice friends on the trip, like Roman, who has lived everywhere and speaks everything.



I had dinner with Alana, another friend from the bus tour.





I nearly went to bed, but persuaded myself to find a bar outside the main tourist area. Lo and behold, it was comedy night at the Rougin Dubh, and their fifth birthday to boot! Here's me after the show talking with Maria, who has lived in Galway for eleven years, grew up forty miles away, and still won't call herself a "local."




That, plus a late night gyro, was enough for one day. Today, a funny thing happened on the way to Killarney... but that's another post.

Location:Co. Clare, Ireland