Day 7: September 19, 2007 Wednesday

Cliffs of Moher

Again we overslept, so we snacked on the way to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Driving in Ireland is not easy. Most country roads are narrow and most have rocky walls around bends and are covered in vegetation. There are times when cars approach each other and one has to pull over to the side of the field in order for the other car to pass. Farms and fields seem to be separated by darker shrubs, trees, or rocks. Most fields had horses, sheep, cows, goats…etc. grazing in them, and sometimes shared by a combination of them. They seemed to have just about everything except squirrels; while we were there I saw only two.

After arriving and parking at the base of the cliffs we began our journey upwards. The climb was composed of steps, steps, and even more steps. I felt like a mountain goat.

Most people were dressed for the weather in heavy hooded jackets. It was raining, not heavily, but it was extremely windy. My umbrella got turned inside out. Brenda thought me very fetching in my rain bonnet.

With patience and fortitude we forged ahead. Finally arrived at top. The view from the top was well worth the climb. Higher than a castle, and all rocky coastline. There was one further out in the ocean called The Stag’s Head. The waves crashing against the rocks below was an amazing sight. Brenda did not want her picture taken on the trip, but she did on this rare occasion. This was one area she really wanted to see.

While in Ireland I only saw one stout woman. People think nothing of taking extremely long walks, hiking the hills, bicycling…etc.

In order to see all the attractions, you really need to be in top physical condition. No test for stress any doctor can give you could compare with the exertion required on these little jaunts.

We browsed many local shops, looked at parks…etc, and then we started back. On the ride back from the Cliffs of Moher we found a pub that we could park at. We would have gone to more local restaurants, but we could never find a place to park.

Anyway, it was traditionally Irish, with sports on TV— there was a championship match playing. I ordered fish & chips. The fish were the best I ever tasted. I think they fished it out of the lake prior to my arrival. Since this was so special, I’m only sorry we didn’t get to more places like this to eat. It really was nice.

We went back to the hotel and called it a wonderful day.