LOOK! You see? The Cliffs of Insanity!

Another day in (Irish...) paradise...

Day 2

Very tired this morning. Jet lag caught up to me big time. But after much poking and prodding from Tara, I was roused. After a light breakfast (one step in my weight loss plan...), we hopped into the car for the day to begin. First stop: Dunguaire Castle...

The castle was actually smallish from the outside and, since it cost for the tour, we decided to walk the grounds. We got some nice pictures and, all in all, it was a nice first stop. It got me ready for the next item: the Cliffs of Moher. Before the cliffs, we passed through some gorgeous scenery (though I am seeing very little that isn't gorgeous...) and drove on one of the worlds curviest roads; the aptly named Corkscrew Road. Anyways, onto to the cliffs...

The Cliffs of Moher (colloquially known to many Americans as 'THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!!'...) were very impressive and stretched for miles down the coastline. Despite being fairly touristy for a national natural monument (though I suppose no more so than any in the states...), the cliffs were a treat. I got to see my first puffins AND an honest to God raven in the wild. Tara and I spent a long while trying to decide where that bit in The Princess Bride was filmed; we think we narrowed it down to a couple sections. Got to try my first Irish soft serve there, too (delicious...)...

Lunch next, then it was off to the Burren. The Burren was an odd area, topographically speaking. The whole area is (mostly...) limestone, but due to time and erosion, the ground looks like this: Most of the ground was flat stone and the rain had grooved the land into an intricate rivulets that were dark and deep with hardy grasses growing in most of them. Very cool. The Burren also contained two man-made monuments: A ring fort and a grave marker (called a portal, I believe...). The grave marker resembled a part of Stonehenge, just thinner stones. They actually call the flat stone areas 'pavement'. Weird. Going back, the ring forts (scattered across the island...) are structures used, and later modified, since ancient times (BC...) up to the 15th - 16th centuries. Though each is different, it was quite unique and interesting to be within something so old and still around...

The rest of the evening was spent at camp. Tara and I walked a bit on the beach, ate some packed dinner, and bedded down for a drier night than the previous one. The itinerary tomorrow: The Aran Islands...

June 14, 2009
Nicholas C. Witte

Bonus - A cute picture of me and Tara at Moher...