But before I indulge on our little travelogue, let me show you a few darling pictures from our trip in 2010 where we traced a few of these same steps!
Here is us in Galway, Johnny is 4 and Maggie is 10. And, not to spoil the excitement, but here is our prior trip to the Cliffs of Moher!
Rather than take on our epic journey of yore (we drove from Galway to Dingle in one day, hitting the Cliffs on the way!), we just headed out to the Cliffs and back, stopping at the Aillwee Cave on the way.
The first thing you notice, other than the Galway Bay when you head south along the coast is the Burren. Here's a quick snapshot of the bay with the "Murrooughtoohy" (Muiriuch Tuaithe) in between. That gives you just a glimpse of the Burren's landscape.
The Murrooughtoohy is the "rural level land beside the sea that was owned by a Tuatha or layman." According to legend, the present Galway Bay was the site of one of the three largest lakes in Ireland, Loch Lurgan, the Lake of the Long Hills. The Atlantic broke through the barriers of land surrounding Lough Lurgan, merged with the waters and left only towering remnants of the hills; the Aran Islands. you can sort of see them at a distance below.
Here's a picture of the Burren behind me after I took the picture of the Bay.
And here is how I described it a few years ago:
"We didn't have time to stop and explore the Burren, to my great chagrin. Nor did I get any pictures for you, but please check out the link above. This part of the country is incredibly stark, and intimidating and even a bit ghostly. The guidebooks use words like "the moon" or "moonrocks" and that is also an apt way to describe these limestone hills that cover the region.
Throughout Ireland there are "ways" or long hikes through regions and the Burren was no different. There were maps for great walks through the Burren. The area is a "karst" landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. I put exploration of this area, with its ancient stone monuments and subterranean caves on my "to-do list" for the next time I am in Western Ireland."
So, to check off another item in the bucket list we headed to the Aillwee Cave.
Our timing was just right today. As we headed into the cave grounds we were told that we had made it just in time to see a Birds of Prey exhibit! (In terms of perfect timing, we would later have to wait only five minutes to head into the caves and five minutes to grab the perfect boat tour of the Cliffs).
The raptor center was awesome.
They had great birds and an excellent show. Jamie started out with an eagle ("Mack") and a snowy owl.
Check out that sunshine!
The kids got to touch the birds and the guy was super informative.
Then a falconer came in and let his falcon lose!
Then we headed up and into the Aillwee Cave.
The caves were discovered by a local farmer, Jack McGann in the early 1940s when he followed his dog into them who was chasing a rabbit. He didn't mention his find to anyone for over thirty years. The cave itself is ancient. There is evidence of brown bears (now extinct in Ireland) in the cave over 8,000 years ago.
It was great fun walking the short, circuitous route. Neither of the kids had been in a cave and they loved that portion of the show when they turn the lights completely out and you feel real darkness.
After the cave we headed back to the real treachery: the tiny roads with cards at top speed sharing them with you, and headed to Doolin* and the Cliffs of Moher.
On the way, we passed through Lisdoonvarna, the Matchmaking city of Ireland. The current matchmaker is Willie Daly, a fourth-generation matchmaker.
We had so much fun last time** seeing the Cliffs of Moher from the sea, that we decided to take Barb and Paul on that same trip. Here's a video about how to walk along the Cliffs instead of riding below them as we enjoy.
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The Cliffs of Moher are probably one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. They are located southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare and rise nearly 400 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.
The cliffs take their name from an old fort called "Moher" that once stood on "Hags Head"*** the most southern point of the cliffs.
The cliffs consist mainly of beds of shale and sandstone, with the oldest rocks being found at the bottom of the cliffs. It is possible to see 300 million year-old river channels cutting through, forming "unconformities" at the base of the cliffs.
There are an estimated 30,000 birds living on the cliffs, representing more than 20 species.These include Atlantic Puffins, which live in large colonies at isolated parts of the cliffs and on the small Goat Island. Also present are hawks, gulls, guillemots, shags, ravens and choughs.
I love Goat Island and the birds. They are loud and lovely.
On top you could see people walking and the O'Brien Tower where the cliffs reach their highest point.
Ever the engineer, Sheila's dad wondered how the Cliffs were created, from a geological perspective. I found this lovely video online describing the process along with some beautiful music and pictures.
On the way home, Sheila and I noticed the car was exceptionally quiet. She took a look back and saw that that we had definitely worn out at least a few of our passengers with all the sunshine and fresh air!
After driving on those roads we celebrated with a pint or two (this time we enjoyed the Galway Hooker variety****). As The Croods celebrate each morning "We're ALIVE!!"
*The only downside to seeing Doolin again was that I really want to go there without kids. The town is known for its music and hosts "trad sessions" four nights a week, at least. But they start later and there's no place to really stay there. At least no place of real interest to the kids. Of course there are B&B's etc, but people go there for the music.
**Here are my comments:
"With Big (aka Johnny) being, well, a spaz, and Ten (aka Maggie) being well, klutzy, and Ireland being, well, accident-prevention-challenged, we figured we couldn't afford to loose either of them.
All of this is to say that we had the same fears of the Cliffs of Moher
"From the car park and visitor center a stone walkway leads out to the cliffs, where you can continue on a short walk pretty darn near the edge, looking south to the cliffs themselves and out at the glittering sea. It's not wise to hop the railings, as tourists have been blown off the edge."
***Of course, as is with all other legends, we are back at Cu Chulainn. One legend about Hag's Head is how an old hag, Mal, fell in love with Cu Chulainn and chased him across Ireland. He escaped by hopping across "sea stacks" as if they were stepping stones. Mal, not being so nimble, lost her footing and was dashed against the cliff. Nice.
****Named after a traditional Galway fishing boat.
Sleeping parents - priceless!! We got a great laugh out of that one! Love, Kathy
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