The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher

I went on a second day tour from Galway to visit the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. This time a very sweet and funny American girl by the name of Heather who was taking a summer course in Galway sat with me; we are now Facebook friends! We briefly stopped at Dunguaire castle, which was built in 1520 by the O’Hynes clan:

It was a rainy day sadly…as so many days are in Galway! It was truly lovely around the castle though and it wasn’t raining much at that point so I enjoyed the view… 🙂

Only days before, as I was looking at some beautiful swans in St. Stephen’s Green, I wondered what baby swans looked like; well, I saw three that day! I was happy to have my zoom lens with me. There were grey and fluffly — so cute!

We then visited the Ballyalban fairy (or ring) fort, which was very magical and a little creepy…As I walked on the unearthed tree roots around the elevated portion of the ring….

Heather yelled out to me from the center of the fort — she wondered if I had seen what she was pointing at in a tree…so I climbed down to the centre and saw the following:

I wasn’t sure what it was at first…but then I saw that it was some kind of wooden sculpture…like an idol of sorts…pagan looking. Of course, it was not from the times of the ringfort but still…it was eerie. I like eerie things!

It looked like it was sleeping in the tree…

We then headed off to The Burren where there are many megalithic tombs and dolmens; just the kind of thing that really interests me!! The Burren is apparently home to 75% of Ireland’s native flora and it is unlike anything I had ever seen before!

“The rolling hills of Burren are composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as “grikes”, leaving isolated rocks called “clints”. The region supports arctic, Mediterranean and alpine plants side-by-side, due to the unusual environment”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burren

Here is what it looks like:

 

We visited the Poulnabrone Dolmen (which means “hole of sorrows”), a portal tomb dating back to the Neolithic period between 4200 and 2900 BC! It was fantastic 🙂

It was raining there too but it was well worth waiting for people to clear out in order to get these nice shots…and of course, I really do enjoy looking at these things on my own so that I may get a better feel for them…soak it all in.

Then we went to Kilfenora to see famous high crosses: 

“A high cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. They were raised primarily in Ireland, and Britain during the Early Middle Ages and sometimes later. They often, though not always, feature a stone ring around the intersection, forming a Celtic cross.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_cross

The Doorty Cross, which dates back to the 12th century, was by far the most impressive I’ve ever seen; I was truly engrossed by it and was wishing they hadn’t moved it inside the church under a glass roof…I stood there looking at it for a very long time and took loads of pictures to make sure that I had all the details!! It’s worth reading about: http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/archaeology/kilfenora_stone_crosses/doorty_cross.htm

And finally, the main highlight of the trip were the stunning Cliffs of Moher….sadly, this is when the weather went really, really wrong…it was the day that heavy rainfall caused damage throughout Ireland…the moment we arrived at the Cliffs it started pouring rain (it usually never rains hard here…) and the wind was howling!! Heather and I were really disappointed — we ran up to the side of the cliffs, it was so windy that it was actually difficult to get there and forget about an umbrella….so we ran up, took a few pics and ran back to cover. It was a total shame let me tell you because they truly are breathtaking…I may go back in the low season because I was having one of those “I wish I were alone to really appreciate the splendour of what I’m seeing” (and not about to fly away) moments.

I love the contrast between the delicate flowers and the massive cliffs…

Right, so in the posts to come I have to tell you about Belfast, Daniel’s trip to Dublin (and our two day tours) as well as my trip to Cork last weekend!! I was just awarded a contract by the organization for which I edited the textbook; it’s good timing, I actually miss working!! Who would have thought? 😉

À suivre…miss you!

N.b. I am far too tired to check for spelling mistakes; am sure there are loads, will correct tomorrow!!

Sha 🙂

Photos…

Just noticed that when I pick the large format of my photos they become messed up…the cropping is all wrong as well as the ratio. I am too tired to fix them; perhaps later. Just let it be known that they are not like that for real!!!

The Connemera and Kylemore Abbey

Once again, I’m very late posting — it’s a good thing Martha teases me about it; keeps me somewhat on track! The day after the Lisa Hannigan concert I signed up for a tour of the Connemera region! Let me just say that all in all, I’m not a huge fan of tours; they have a way of making you feel like sheep, herding you on and off the bus, too many rules, etc…but in Ireland, if you don’t drive and you want to see these places, you have no choice! So of course, I try to make the best of it, and I must say that the tours I took were great craic! A very charming guy by the name of Todd sat with me; he was from the States:

 The driver just loved me; I sat up front and we were teasing one another the whole time! He kept telling jokes and I even got him to sing us two songs; surprisingly enough, he had a lovely voice! He sang the traditional Irish song “The Bog Down in the Valley” which is like the song “l’arbre est dans ses feuilles”!!

Bog Down in the Valley

O-ro the rattlin’ bog, the bog down in the valley-o
O-ro the rattlin’ bog, the bog down in the valley-o

And in that bog there was a tree, a rare tree, a rattlin’ tree
With the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on that tree there was a limb, a rare limb, a rattlin’ limb
With the limb on the tree and the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on that limb there was a branch, a rare branch, a rattlin’ branch
With the branch on the limb and the limb on the tree and the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

(Repeat, adding a line each time)
Now on that branch there was a twig, a rare twig, a rattlin’ twig…..

Now on that twig there was a nest, a rare nest, a rattlin’ nest…..

Now in that nest there was an egg , a rare egg, a rattlin’ egg…..

Now in that egg there was a bird, a rare bird, a rattlin’ bird…..

Now on that bird there was a feather, a rare feather, a rattlin’ feather …..

Now on that feather there was a flea, a rare flea, a rattlin’ flea …..

The Connemera was such a gorgeous area…it was the Ireland I had imagined in my mind before I left. The scenery was just stunning and I found it quite painful to be stuck on a bus; ohhh how I wished I could drive at that moment. In fact, dad, hold on to your hat, I’ve decided that when I get back home, I’m going to take driving lessons and finally get my license! I know, I know, you cannot believe it! I can count on one hand the times I truly wished I knew how to drive; well since I’ve been here, it happens a lot.

The Emerald Isle indeed…It was so calming to stand there and take it all in (I tried to walk away from the others for a while).

Our first real stop was Ross Errily Abbey, founded by the Franciscans in 1349 (or 1351, depending on the source)!

“Standing in serene solitude on the South bank of the Black River, just two miles West from the town of Headford in Co. Galway the Franciscan Friary of Ross is recognised by many historians both past and present as the best preserved monastic ruin of its period in Ireland.”

http://www.headford.org/ross.htm

It’s truly worth reading about its history if you have a moment at some point; those poor monks went through a lot! I really loved visiting the Abbey; it was fascinating!

There was a tank in which the monks kept live fish caught from the Black River; I’d never seen anything like that before! I’m told it was indeed quite unusual.

Then we headed to Kylemore Abbey, which originally was called Kylemore castle; it was built between 1863 and 1868 for a rich politician from Manchester. Apparently, he built it for his wife, who died only 7 years later…so sad. In 1920 it became a Benedictine monastery (the oldest in Ireland) that was founded by nuns who had fled Belgium in World War I. Up until now, it has also been a very prestigious boarding school for girls (can you imagine living there??) but the nuns announced that they will close it in 2010 (the guide said it’s because there are not enough nuns enrolling anymore…). It was really beautiful; surrounded by nature, mountains in the background…dreamy.

There was also a very lovely gothic church a bit further down built between 1877 and 1881 as a memorial to the gentleman’s wife; oh how he must have loved her…

The walk was beautiful…

And at the very end, I saw the cutest bird ever! I took some really good shots of it; made me very pleased to have purchased my camera before I left!

And now I must away…my friend Daniel Cadieux is landing in Dublin at 10:10 am and it takes me an hour by bus to get there due to the traffic problems here! I’m soooo excited to see him! I’ve been resisting doing touristy things in Dub until he got here! Weeee!

Oh, for those of you not on Facebook; I purchased tickets for two upcoming trips in September! First, from September 2 – 5 I will be going to Liverpool (I paid 12 euro return for the tickets, how insane is that? A taxi from my friend’s Aidan to my house cost me that)! Then, on September 10, I take off for Bratislava, then I will visit Vienna, Cesky Krumlov ( a world heritage site) and Prague! I return on September 24 🙂 I am really pumped! I will sign up with some placement agencies once Daniel leaves on the 6th of August; maybe they can find me a contract or two until I leave.

I have yet to talk about my tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher and my trip to Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway! Soon, I promise. Really. Miss you guys! 🙂