In my short time in Ireland I have visited Dublin, the smaller town of Galway, the Aran Islands, the Irish countryside-GREEN EVERYWHERE! and the Cliffs of Moher.
The small town of Galway is a quaint little town on the west coast of Ireland. It has a gorgeous central square, called Eyre Square, streets filled with pubs (it's Ireland so I would expect nothing less) and shops. It's a mixture of locals and tourists. From Galway, Miss Samantha Gilbert and I took part in a couple day tours.
The first day tour took us to the Irish speaking Aran islands. These are a cluster of 3 islands off the west coast of Ireland called Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer. We visited the largest of the three, Inishmore, covering an area of 18km x 5 km, so quite small in size. It was interesting to see a more traditional island. Their livelihoods are supported by agriculture, which is subsidized by the government; the fishing industry, a dangerous profession; and finally tourism. The island with only 800 inhabitants could have up to 1000 visitors during the summer months. On this island there is also an incredible fort built up on the cliffs called Dun Aungus (sp?) From the top you can see as far as the weather permits out into the Atlantic Ocean and then Galway Bay on the other side- gorgeous site... or would be if Mother Nature had been nicer to us.
The winds, rain and freezing temperatures took a serious tole on me after the walk up. My adjustment to the Irish climate here has been a tough one and our day at the islands left me quite miserable all day. It rained most of the day with very chilly temperatures so after our walk to the fort Sam and I were soaked through and freezing. The rest of the day was less than enjoyable but the island would be quite the place if the weather was suitable. We asked our guide and he explained it was definitely not a typical Irish day and would be considered a "pub" day for most haha. One crazy historical fact we learned was this island was and is still covered with 7800km of stone boundary walls!! These walls are used to divide land segments for cattle and agriculture (very little is grown on the island due to limited soil). Each segment is quite small and multiple areas would be owned by one family. So think an 18 x 5 km island has 7800km of boundary walls!! Imagine the vast number of stones required to build these walls with no mortar or cement locking them together, pretty crazy right.
The following day we got to visit the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren! Both very incredible landscapes. This day was incredible and much more enjoyable for the two of us and I had a smile on my face most of the day. First of all the weather was so much better. I think Mother Nature took pity on us from the day before. We enjoyed some sunshine and we were lucky enough for the rain clouds to hold off for the 1.5hrs we had to explore and walk the cliff edge.
The Cliffs were a crazy experience. They have some seriously intense winds that come off of the water and up from the cliffs- and Sam and I have experienced the winds of Lethbridge, these winds were much much stronger! Sam and I had to get a pic of us near the edge of the cliffs and we almost gave this couple a heart attack. We crawled near the grass edge and we layed down so the chance of the wind gusts catching us and carrying us away were slim. Haha but we were definitely the crazy Canadian girls on the cliffs that day- a guy thought we were crazy enough to take a video of us! Haha
To be fair the winds are incredibly strong there and our guide told us if the wind catches you do not run with the wind but go down on all fours. Good thing he told us because at one point I was getting blasted by some serious gusts (not when i was near the edge) and ran I into Sam which then pushed us into another fellow traveller as well! It was hilarious but incredible how strong the winds actually were!! Last year there were 16 deaths on the cliffs with 6 this year... Could you imagine visiting the cliffs with your friends and one of them going over...? How devastating. Along the guide walls and pathways were also many signs saying "need to talk?" and left a good Samaritans number to call. We wondered how many of those deaths each year were suicides...
The sight of these cliffs were absolutely magnificent and at one point I just sat on the edge and embraced that one moment. I could see the powerful waves crashing into the cliff walls below, the menacing ocean in the distance, and the 230m cliff drop down to the water. I am always in complete awe and wonder of the sheer power of nature and it was so incredible to take in that unique site- I can not compare this site to anything I had seen in Asia over the last 4 months. INCREDIBLE!
The short time in Ireland comes to a close with a bus back to Dublin where the next place of adventure will be Scotland! 2 of my amazing friends will celebrate their love and will be getting Married there!! I am so incredibly happy for them and am so excited to be reunited with the people I love :)
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