Oh, The Places You'll Go

Last Saturday I went on my first “excursion” and, despite how long I’m sure this post will be, it really was beyond words. The bus arrived to pick myself and 40 other American students up at our apartments around 10AM for what we were told was to be a very busy day. They weren’t kidding. We set off to go to various parts of County Clare, our trip navigated and narrated by Paul, the upbeat bus driver who kept us laughing and interested the entire time.

County Clare is located directly south of County Galway and it took less than an hour for the bus to bring us to the first stop on our adventure: Dunguaire - a 16^th century castle located in the village of Kinvara. Kinvara is located within the Burren, which is Gaelic but literally translates to “great rock.” The Burren encapsulates much of northwest County Clare, covering the terrain in soluble bedrock, such as limestone. (I feel like I have learned more from bus and cab drivers during my time abroad than I have from college professors!) Anyway, Dunguaire Castle is located right along Galway Bay, so its former residents could easily spot unwelcome guests who had decided to make their entrance via sea. Although we could not go inside the castle as it is only open during the Spring and Summer months, we were still able to get up close and get a good look at the exterior and outside perimeters. Ironically, the castle is located on the side of a regular road, with houses, shops, and pubs scattered across the street. Wouldn’t it be nice to look out at this every morning?

The Castle

By Galway Bay

My roommate Alyssa and I by the castle gates

The view of the bay from the castle

After our visit at Dunguaire, we were scheduled to head towards the Cliffs of Moher. But in the interest of being spontaneous and getting the best pictures possible, Paul took us to his favorite spot for viewing some fabulous scenery. The road to get there was out of a movie, we drove on a narrow road with rolling green hills on one side and deathly cliffs plunging towards the ocean on the other. It was nerve-wracking, but Paul seemed to have it under control. Suddenly, he pulled over on the side of the road and told us some words to live by while in Ireland: “don’t fall – whether it be off the side of a cliff or off the stool at the pub, just don’t fall.” Bearing that in mind, we crossed the road and went to the cliffs where there were no barriers to break what would surely be a treacherous fall. Climbing around the cliffs was one of the most exciting and scariest things I’ve ever done, but the pictures and the memories were definitely worth it.

Yikes.

On the edge of the cliffs!

The Atlantic Ocean 

After seeing the hidden gem cliffs, we pressed on to the more touristy, but even more beautiful, Cliffs of Moher. Coming to Ireland, visiting the cliffs was definitely something on my to-do list. I had seen them in pictures and movies (Harry Potter?!) but there is really nothing like seeing them in real life. It’s hard to believe that such an unbelievable sight just occurred on its own for the world to see. There is a small visitor center at the base of the cliffs with the inevitable gift shop and eatery, but overall I was surprised and appreciative that there was a strong effort made to preserve the simplicity and natural elements of the area. The tops of the cliffs are fenced off by stonewalls and rickety wooden panels for safety, but that didn’t really take anything away from the scenery. To boot, there were Irishmen playing traditional music up and down the cliffs just trying to make a Euro; being there was quite the experience. I took about a million pictures but I’ll just put up some of the best. And just as a fun fact – there is a campaign to elect the Cliffs of Moher as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World; currently, the cliffs stand in 9^th place among the likes of the Grand Canyon, the Galapagos Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. The cliffs definitely have my vote, no question.

The Cliffs of Moher

Sitting by the castle atop the cliffs

Another view

The Cliffs of Moher

With some friends

Leaving my mark

Leaving the Cliffs of Moher, I felt so lucky to have been able to have the experience of visiting such a sight, and also kind of distraught that the day would be downhill from there – what was going to top that? Not too much, evidently. Almost as soon as we left the cliffs, a abysmal fog set in and we could barely see five feet around us. However, the day was still young and the itinerary still had a lot more components. We made a quick stop at a local eatery in the village of Doolin called Fitzpatrick’s to have a little meat and potatoes and tea before continuing the journey. From there, we made a pit stop at a place that wasn’t on the schedule: the village of Kilfenora. There, we went to the Kilfenora Cathedral, a 12^th

The City of the High Crosses

Inside the Kilfenora Cathedral ruins

After the quick pit stop in Kilfenora, we headed to Poulnabrone Dolmen, which translates to “hole of sorrows.” Poulnabrone Dolmen is a Neolithic portal tomb that dates back to around 3000 BC. Excavations in the past couple of decades discovered that there had been as many as 20 adults and 6 children buried in the tomb, as well as several personal items. The tomb was also probably used for spiritual ceremonies throughout the Celtic period. Prior to visiting this relic, I had never even heard of it and had no knowledge of its significance. Realistically, I probably would have came and went through my time abroad without ever having known what it was if I hadn’t been taken to it as part of an excursion. But luckily, I was able to see something that means so much to Irish history and culture.

At this point in the day, everyone was getting pretty tired and feeling pretty done, but we still had two more stops to make before we headed back to Galway. First, we went to the Aillwee Caves, a set of ancient caves located within the Burren. The caves were discovered in 1944 by Jack McGann, an average Irish farmer who stumbled upon them while chasing rabbits. (I couldn’t make this up…) Part of the caves were turned into “show caves” in which the public would be allowed access to see what was inside. A guide took us on a 35 minute trek in the murky, claustrophobic caves. It was kind of like a scene from Indiana Jones or something, we passed bones of animals and waterfalls and walked over sketchy bridges – very adventurous.

Entering the cave

Inside the cave

After the caves, we went to the last stop: a fairy ring. Now, in Irish folklore, a fairy is not like Tinker Bell, it is more like an elf. Fairy rings are circular areas that are found in nature, sometimes surrounded by moats or various plant life. Folklore says that those who walk around the ring three times clockwise will have good luck, their wishes granted, etc, etc, and those who walk around the ring counterclockwise any amount of times are demonic, evil, bad elves. So what did our group of 40+ do? Walked around the ring clockwise three times of course! Unfortunately, it was so foggy out and it had begun to rain so I did not get any pictures of this event - I think the mental image is bad enough!

It began to get dark and it was time to start the trip back towards Galway. While it was great to go beyond the small Galway area we had been confined to for almost three weeks, everyone was exhausted and the bus was silent on the way home as the majority of us were passed out. In just one day, I got to see so many amazing things just in ONE county of Ireland. There are lots more counties and a ton more to see, and I can’t wait. If all goes according to plan, my next adventure will be to the Aran Islands, just off the Galway coast, in the beginning of February. Until then, I will be continuing to go to class (who would think that school was part of the deal?!) and enjoying life in Galway. I laugh because I feel like I have been here forever, and it has been just under a month. But the comfort is definitely a good thing – I miss the conveniences and people at home, but I really am loving life in Ireland. (Don’t worry Mom, I will be coming back eventually!) Until the next adventure…

Love and feeling settled,

Haley