Day 2 of my weekend out to western Ireland...(WARNING: Really long post)
The day was unfortunately hampered by traditional Irish weather, so we had a lot of mist, fog, clouds, drizzling, etc. It kind of killed our time at the cliffs.
So we started with a quick breakfast at the hostel, then a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. Little info on the cliffs: They are the second highest cliffs in Europe, but the highest vertical cliffs in Europe. I'm not sure why the distinction of vertical cliffs is made...seems redundant. So anyway when we got the cliffs, it was still very foggy, so we couldn't get any good pictures. We walked along the paved path on the cliffs, trying to get a view, but we were unsuccessful. However, we did find another path that led out of the visitor area that was right along the edge of the cliffs. While we weren't able to see the other cliffs, it was cool to look down off the edge and hear, but not see the ocean below. Seeing the cliffs made me think of something. As you can't see any other land on the horizon, it's possible that the cliffs propagated the idea that the world was flat. I guess not being able to see the cliffs only gives me more reason to come back, so maybe I'll try again.
After the disappointment at the Cliffs of Moher, we took the bus to Doolin Harbor for a boat ride to Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. Now, I'm not exactly a sea-faring person. I had some trouble handling the motion sickness. On top of that, while I was at the bow of the ship, I got drenched. Luckily I was wearing my rain jacket and nylon pants so I dried off pretty fast. We finally got to the island after the terrible boat ride, and my friends and I decided to take a stroll along the beach and coast line. It was pretty cool seeing some of the greenest moss I've ever seen, some cool rock formations, and the general coast environment.
After the coast line we climbed up the mountain to the ruins of a castle. Along the way we met this little guy, who was baaing similar to the goat in the Taylor Swift parody video.
So we then got to the castle. It was okay, but after a while, looking at old ruins bores me a bit. Also, my camera died while we were there. After the castle, we stopped at a bed and breakfast for some tea and coffee. After that we didn't have anymore time so we headed back to the pier for a less bumpy boat ride back. We didn't have as much time as we wanted, so I didn't get a chance to see a shipwreck or visit a shop for an authentic Aran Island sweater.
After getting back to the mainland, we went to a restaurant for some dinner. I had some vegetable soup, with mash, carrots, squash, cabbage, and potatoes. We then drove back to Galway for a pub crawl. We started at the King's Head Pub, then to a pub called the Bentley, where we played some flip cup. Lastly we ended at a nightclub called Karma's for some dancing. Didn't get back to the hostel until 3 a.m. but it was still a great time.
The day was unfortunately hampered by traditional Irish weather, so we had a lot of mist, fog, clouds, drizzling, etc. It kind of killed our time at the cliffs.
So we started with a quick breakfast at the hostel, then a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. Little info on the cliffs: They are the second highest cliffs in Europe, but the highest vertical cliffs in Europe. I'm not sure why the distinction of vertical cliffs is made...seems redundant. So anyway when we got the cliffs, it was still very foggy, so we couldn't get any good pictures. We walked along the paved path on the cliffs, trying to get a view, but we were unsuccessful. However, we did find another path that led out of the visitor area that was right along the edge of the cliffs. While we weren't able to see the other cliffs, it was cool to look down off the edge and hear, but not see the ocean below. Seeing the cliffs made me think of something. As you can't see any other land on the horizon, it's possible that the cliffs propagated the idea that the world was flat. I guess not being able to see the cliffs only gives me more reason to come back, so maybe I'll try again.
If you look really carefully you can see the next cliff...the weather sucked
And there you can barely see the sea hitting the cliffs
Sitting on the edge of the world
After the disappointment at the Cliffs of Moher, we took the bus to Doolin Harbor for a boat ride to Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. Now, I'm not exactly a sea-faring person. I had some trouble handling the motion sickness. On top of that, while I was at the bow of the ship, I got drenched. Luckily I was wearing my rain jacket and nylon pants so I dried off pretty fast. We finally got to the island after the terrible boat ride, and my friends and I decided to take a stroll along the beach and coast line. It was pretty cool seeing some of the greenest moss I've ever seen, some cool rock formations, and the general coast environment.
At low tide it was cool to see how green the moss was
Our group on the beach
Some rock formations
It's kind of hard to tell in this picture, but it's an old engine that must have been brought in by the tide
This kind of freaked us out...not sure what it's about
After the coast line we climbed up the mountain to the ruins of a castle. Along the way we met this little guy, who was baaing similar to the goat in the Taylor Swift parody video.
So we then got to the castle. It was okay, but after a while, looking at old ruins bores me a bit. Also, my camera died while we were there. After the castle, we stopped at a bed and breakfast for some tea and coffee. After that we didn't have anymore time so we headed back to the pier for a less bumpy boat ride back. We didn't have as much time as we wanted, so I didn't get a chance to see a shipwreck or visit a shop for an authentic Aran Island sweater.
Not all that impressive of a castle, but still kinda cool
Some walls behind the castle - apparently there are thousands of miles of them across Ireland
Here's the B&B we had tea/coffee at
After getting back to the mainland, we went to a restaurant for some dinner. I had some vegetable soup, with mash, carrots, squash, cabbage, and potatoes. We then drove back to Galway for a pub crawl. We started at the King's Head Pub, then to a pub called the Bentley, where we played some flip cup. Lastly we ended at a nightclub called Karma's for some dancing. Didn't get back to the hostel until 3 a.m. but it was still a great time.
No comments:
Post a Comment