Yesterday was a big travel travel day, with a little more than six hours of riding on the buses or waiting for connections, from Dingle to Tralee, then to Limerick, then Ennis, then Doolin.  It was a grey day, with some rain, so it was nice to be inside the bus looking at the countryside and occasionally reading (I may do a blog later about the Irish books I’ve been reading).

I arrived at Doolin hostel at around 4 o’clock, thrilled again with my room and the facilities here (kitchen, cafe, lounge, breakfast included…).  Best of all, the Doolin hostel is basically the starting point for a trail that travels up to and along the cliffs of Moher and beyond to Liscannor.

The distance from the hostel to the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Centre is 8 km, and my plan was to walk that distance and then return to the hostel from the Visitor Centre by the last Bus Eireen of the evening, at 7:10. So that meant I had to walk at a good pace in order to make it there in time to catch the bus back. I quickly gathered up the essentials and headed out, happy to be moving again.

 

But, the weather was not cooperating.  The wind was strong, and for the first two kilometers or so there was mist and some light rain, but it was still o.k.  Then, as I climbed higher up, the rain really started to come down and the trail drew very close to the cliff edge.  I wasn’t feeling confident about the cliff edge because of that whoozy feeling you get sometimes when you have spent a long time in a moving vehicle, and you feel like you’re still moving.  So, I reluctantly turned back, but instead of feeling disappointment, I experienced a nice feeling of relief because now I didn’t have to get somewhere by a certain time, along a clifftop (!), and I could travel back slowly and really look around me, wet though I was!  The limestone pavement below the cliff path was patterned and cut along interesting triangular lines, and remarkably square lines.

I was very happy to photograph blue campanula, and some pink sea thrift, most of which had finished blooming and was now a quite pretty brown, and some I found which were still pink.

Once I got back to the hostel, dried off, and hung up all my wet things, I used their kitchen to prepare a nice hot dinner of roast chicken and steamed baby carrots and broccoli (my fourth good meal, plus snacks, from groceries purchased for 14 Euro, which is about what one restaurant meal would cost).  I had an early night, and a good sleep, and I woke up to a beautiful day of mixed sun and cloud, warm, with barely a puff of wind!  Such a contrast from yesterday!

I decided to take the bus to the Cliffs of Moher as there is a Bus Eireen stop at the Visitors Centre, a very busy place where countless coach buses and cars arrive each hour to discharge tourists to see the cliffs, which is the number one most visited site in Ireland.  But, it was still relatively early, and not too busy, and I had one hour to walk along the cliff top path and take pictures in both directions.  Here are the famous Cliffs of Moher.

Upon my return to Doolin, I strolled around the tiny village, took a few pictures, and had a nice lunch before returning to the fabulous Doolin hostel to relax for a bit.

Then, in the mid-afternoon, I took another bus to travel 9 km north to the village of Lisdoonvarna to await a ride from Tony Kirby who runs guided walking tours of the Burren.  The Burren is a unique landscape of limestone pavement that covers about 250 square km.  It is unlike any other landscape in Europe, and is also special because of the unique diversity of its plant life.  The limestone rock is aligned as cliffs and terraces, and the flat terraces have many cracks, deep fissures, and indentations which provide microclimates for a rare and unlikely mix of alpine, arctic, coastal, and mediterranean plants to co-exist.  The area is also significant because of its archaeological sites, including more than 90 megalithic tombs, and some stone hillforts.

Tony provided an excellent tour and gave details of the geology, archaeology, flora, fauna, and human use of the Burren.  He also recited several very moving poems that fit our surroundings perfectly.  Our tour was on the western edge of the Burren, right beside the sea, and it was so nice to be near the ocean again.

Here are some images of the limestone pavement with its cracks and indents.

These plants have found a cozy niche, out of the wind.

Here are some other photos of plants and flowers we saw, with names like cranesbill geranium, sea campion, sea pinks, eye bright, and yarrow.

 

Our tour ended at an unexcavated megalithic wedge tomb, the western-most such site in the Burren.

It was, yet again, another day in Ireland filled with history, beautiful landscapes, and feelings of gratitude – for the sun and the sea, and for Tony’s tour and his gracious and generous sharing of his knowledge with us about a very unique place.