It’s been amazing just how much time one can take to cover a very short distance in Ireland. It has been wet today and we sent our time skipping thunderstorms and rain showers.
We began with a walk around Galway, which we found to be a vibrant city wit a network of walking streets and a collection of very interesting shops.
It was here that we found the worst busker we have ever seen. In the world. Somehow, this bloke had managed to balance on a thin bollard and play his saxophone. Perhaps his bum has adapted to the narrow shape of the bollard, or perhaps it just causes him to play every note at the same length with a bit of lousy improvisation. I had to walk along the complete length of the mall Before I could work out the tune – a terrible version of ‘Danny Boy’.
Our first stop along the way was at a post office as I discovered hat I had the room key of the previous B&B in my pocket, so I mailed it back to them. The lady behind the counter in the little village of Kivarna obviously knew everyone in town and she assured me that the ke would be delivered in tomorrow’ mail.
We drove on to very large area called the Burren which is a large area of rocky limestone outcrops and is one of the largest Karst areas in Europe. The rolling hills of The Burren are composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as “grikes”, leaving isolated rocks called “clints”. The region supports arctic, Mediterranean and alpine plants side-by-side, due to this unusual environment. Cattle are grazed here in winter because the rock maintains the warmth and melts the snow.
There we lots of wild flowers which would be even more abundant in a few more months.
Continuing on, we drove up aptly named ‘Corkscrew Hill’ from which we were able to get a good view across the farm lands and across to Galway Bay.
The highlight of the day was a visit to the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs rise 120 meters above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag’s Head and reach their maximum height of 214 meters just north of O’Brien’s Tower, eight kilometers away. The views from the cliffs attract close to one million visitors per year. On a clear day, the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay, as are the valleys and hills of Connemara. It was well worth the €6 entrance, and parking fee.
We are staying the night at the tiny village of Doolin in a B&B with the very Irish name of Nellie Dees which is run by a very friendly fellow named Jimmy.
