Raw Ireland

I had fully intended to get my second post about Ireland up yesterday, but then my son asked me to take him to the water park, and I decided that was more important. I apologize for the delay.

We spent the next few nights in Galway and took day trips to see the sights. The first full-day we had in Ireland, we went for a hike in the Burren. It was a gorgeous area on the western coast right next to the ocean and is the only place on the planet where three different types of plants grow together: Alpine, Arctic, and Mediterranean. This is supposedly because the weather in the winter is pretty much like the weather in the summer with very little temperature variation. The weather was brutal, and on what the Irish consider their first day of summer, we were told we got to experience their winter weather. It was pouring rain, and the winds were about 30 miles per hour. We had on rain gear (though not everyone in the group did), and by the end even we were wet. I had to blow dry my journal that evening. I also got to try out the rain cover I purchased for my camera and it worked fairly well; it would have worked better without the wind. But at the end of the hike my camera was only slightly damp and very easy to clean up (and not ruined).

Picture of the green Irish hillside through the rain-soaked bus window.

The stone walls built all over the Burren. Our tour guide said many of these were built during the potato famine to earn money from the government.

Looking out from the hillside over the ocean.

Some of our group on the hike.

Once we got back on the bus, dripping wet and rather cold, we headed over to a traditional pub where we were served a warm meal and one of the ubiquitous pots of tea to warm us up. Interestingly, not everyone in our group liked the tea. But that was alright, because it meant more for me!

Our next stop were the Cliffs of Moher, which were truly awesome and impressive. It's hard to capture the raw beauty and ruggedness of the area. The rain stopped right after we got to the cliffs, but since it was still raining when we first got there, and the winds were probably around 50 miles per hour, I decided to only use my phone camera. It was probably the best choice, even though the pictures weren't quite as good, because at one point on our walk (by ourselves this time, most of the group didn't go on the long walk) when we rounded a bend, the winds were probably about 80 miles per hour. I don't know if I would have even been able to hold onto my camera, and my rain cover probably would have been torn to shreds. It was so windy at one point, that my daughter was blown off of the path we were exploring, onto a lower path, and I was feeling pretty grateful that the wind was blowing off of the cliff, instead of towards the cliff.

My first view of the cliffs. You can see the waves hitting the cliffs because of the wind.

A castle (of course) on one of the cliffs.

My family in front of the castle. You can see how the wind is whipping my husband's pants. It was difficult to focus photos in that wind.

A broader view of the cliffs.

An enormous wave hitting the cliffs.

My daughter couldn't get her hair out of her face for the photo because of the wind.

The other side of the cliffs.

One good thing about all that wind once the rain stopped, we were blow dried. By the time we got back on the bus we weren't at all wet any longer. My husband told me that he read that the cliffs are changing rapidly, and I can believe that with the amount of wind and water erosion the cliffs were subjected to while we were there.

On the way back to the Galway that evening, we were able to stop and take some photos of Galway Bay. I was also able to get a close-up of one of the impressive stone walls. These used no mortar, and for more than 100 years have stood up to the weather on the island.

Looking out over Galway Bay.

One of the stone walls up close.

I was hoping to cover more than one day in this post, but it's starting to run long again, so I may end up doing one post for each day of the trip. I hope my readers enjoy reading about the trip and seeing the photos!