Doolin, Ireland
June 19th - 21st, 2004
After Dave's conference, we picked up a car and headed to Doolin. Located on
the west coast of Ireland across from the Aran Islands, it's relatively close to
all the major attractions on my to do list. I knew I wanted to stay in a B&B and
I must say the internet had tons of choices. Of course, my first choice was booked,
so I went with my second choice. Funny thing was that I agonized over picking the
perfect place and when we drove down the street I saw all the places just lined up
next door to each other.
Believe it or not, this was our first time to drive on the wrong side of the
road! Dave did a pretty good job I must say... even in spite of the cows...
Safely arriving at the B&B, I knocked on the door to no answer. It was
strange because I called ahead to say we were on our way. I wait a few
minutes and then start wandering around the back of the house. I can hear
kids voices in the distance. Finally I come to a barn and find the parents
watching the kids play in the hay. From our room we had a great view of
the Atlantic Ocean.
That evening, we went to a local pub for "hometown" atmosphere. Funny
thing was that after we sat down we noticed the whole pub was full of
tourists, mostly from the U.S. We met a very talkative older couple
who had been traveling around Ireland for a couple of weeks. We talked to
them while we ate dinner and then headed back to the B&B just in time for
a beautiful sunset over the Aran Islands.
Saturday morning, first stop was the ferry to the Aran Islands.
Arriving at the pier just after the 10:00 had departed, we played
on the shore until it was time to board the 11:00 ferry.
After the island, we jumped in the car and headed to Aillwee Cave.
The cave is located just south of Ballyvaughan, which was about a
45 minute drive northeast of the islands. As we headed over there
the skies darkened and it began to rain. I think it's unwritten
law that there will be some sort of precipitation every
afternoon/evening in Ireland. Luckily, by the time we reached the
caves the rain stopped.
Continuing down the highway, we stopped at the Poulnabrone portal dolmen.
This is a burial tomb which was estimated to have been erected some 6000
years ago. The dead person was placed in the burial chamber and then a flat
stone was placed to block the doorway. The huge rock formations that Dave
are sitting on are a good example of the Burren landscape. These were
scattered all around the portal dolmen.
This is a typical example of the little roads in the area.
Since it was approaching dinner time, we piled back in the car and headed
for the B&B. That night we ate in a "family" restaurant down the street
from the B&B. I normally don't pick anything that says "family", but it
was close and we were hungry. It was called Stone Cutters Kitchen and
it was very very good. I had the Irish Stew again and Dave ordered Jerk
chicken. Then for dessert we ordered apple crumble with vanilla ice
cream. It was all yummy!
Sunday morning, we checked out of the B&B and headed for the Cliffs of Moher.
The Cliffs of Moher are 8km long and 214 meters high. There
are signs saying to stick to the walkway, but some people were climbing out over
the fence and walking to the edges of the cliffs. Some would even walk on the
little ledge along the cliff... not very bright! The neatest thing was to
watch the birds flying in the air currents beside the cliffs. A little further
up the hill is O'Briens Tower which was built in 1835.
The plan for the day was to meander down the coast towards the general direction
of the airport. These are a few of the pictures between Doolin and Miltown Malbay...
The Back to Ireland page
Click here
All the roads were two lane, SMALL lane, winding roads. I was reading
the map to make sure we didn't miss our turnoff and all of a sudden Dave
slams on the brakes. I look up, about to have a small heart attack, too
see about 20 cows and a farmer in front of us. He was hearding the cows
down the road in our lane... to where I don't know. He looked at us, like
ummmm you're in the way of my cows. So we pulled into the opposite lane
and went around him. It was pretty funny afterward!
*******Click here to see the Aran Islands*******
The landscape in this part of the country, called the Burren, was
really beautiful. The Burren, which literally means stony place, is made up
of limestone. Limestone lets the rain water seep down and erode through
the mountains carving a huge network of caves throughout the area.
In fact, there really aren't many rivers to be seen in the area
because they are all underground.
If you want to learn more about the Burren, just click here www.burrenbeo.com/landscape.html
Anyway, we took a tour of the Aillwee Cave, which was discovered in 1944 by
Jack McGann as he followed his dog chasing after a rabbit. The
cave had remains of bears which hibernated there in the winter time.
It also had underground waterfalls, stalagmites, and stalactites. The
tour guide was telling us how these waterfalls quickly grow when it rains.
She also pointed out how the roof of one section was smooth due to the
water which raged down the path ages ago.
End