Sunshine, Roundabouts & Steep, Stunning Cliffs 10/18/04

Day 4

We awoke to sunshine and blue skies. Who would have thought I would need my California sunglasses in (what we anticipated as) rainy, dreary Ireland? While inhaling the intoxicatingly clean air, I just wanted to sing at the top of my lungs…Yoda–loda-lay-eee–oooo!!

The Connemara area is a “stunning patchwork of rusty bogs, lonely valleys, pale green mountains and small black lakes” (Lonely Planet guidebook) and we drove through it on the way to Kylemore Abbey. The Twelve Bens (or Twelve Pins) are a series of mountains that pierce the sky with their hard majestic quartzite peaks. Looked like some awesome hiking country.

Kylemore Abbey reminded me of some East Coast preparatory school in my very distant past. It had been converted from a Benedictine Convent, in fact, into an exclusive girls’ boarding school and during our visit we saw many of the uniformed girls preparing for their next class. Ah, brings me back to the days of Miss Masters School for Girls….The school sits on a stunning lake and this particular day the sun glimmered and glistened upon it.

Our driving and navigational skills improved in leaps and bounds if I do say so myself – and I do! We loved the round-abouts the best. It reminded me of something Disneyland would conceive of. I pictured Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit in one car, Goofy and Pluto in the next waving and honking to each other. The round-abouts seemed to replace the need for street lights and kept the flow of traffic very efficient. The signage at each ‘intersection’ was so clear that even if we missed our exit, we just kept going around and around until we came upon it again. A carousel and the Mad Hatter Teaparty Teacups all in one. Like I said, Disneyland….

We passed through the bleak hilly ground called the Burren in the northwest corner of County Clare. The limestone pavements carry deep cracks that trap water, sun and soil fragments making them ideal hothouses for plants. The variety of the landscape was breathtaking. I could only imagine what this looks like in wildflower season.

As I read the guidebooks and map description of the Cliffs of Moher, I began to conjure up this majestic, massive stone structure towering over a raging sea. The reality far surpassed my anticipation. The view literally took my breath away. After I began to breathe easily again, I just started to cry. Had I been here before? Why was this so familiar to me? All I knew was it was the most spectacular, magnificent sight I had ever seen.

These majestic cliffs rise from the Atlantic Ocean to a height of nearly 200m and extend for a distance from Hag's Head due west to a point beyond O'Brien's Tower. They take their name from a ruined promontory fort, Mothar, which was demolished during the Napoleonic wars to make room for a signal tower. We were so fortunate to arrive on a crystal clear, uncrowded day. Tourists flock here in the summer and wind and fog conditions can literally shut down the natural attraction in the winter. Ah, the luck of the Irish was with us. We huddled up together as we climbed the road to O’Brien’s Tower, drinking in the view of the ocean, the craggy ridges of the cliffs and the occasional bird who would soar over head completing our personal picture- perfect postcard.

Our sojourn to Bunratty castle to eat at Kathleen’s (a suggestion from several friends) to experience a traditional Irish dinner and show was a bust. The show is not performed without a group of 50 or more. Ah, the price we paid for traveling off season. We drove to the town of Adare, had some fish and chips at a local restaurant and settled into our farmhouse B&B for the night.