Day Four - The Cliffs of Moher
On the way to Doolin, we stopped at the wildly famous Cliffs of Moher, which were by far the most crowded site we visited. On a Friday afternoon, there were dozens of cars and people milling about. It is a very big site, so it was far from being wall-to-wall people, but we'd gotten quite spoiled to having most scenery all to ourselves! It was a bit of a hike up to the top of the cliffs, and the stone slab “stairs” were a little bit of hell for Thierry on the crutches, being of random, uneven widths. The view from the top was as breathtaking as you could imagine, though, with a beautiful black ribbon of cliffs stretching off to the left. You could walk a footpath all along the tops of the cliffs, and many people were doing so, but we opted out since it was so. freaking. cold. Thierry's guidebook said that several people a year are swept off the cliffs by wind while walking too close to the edge. <shiver> His smartass guidebook further said it did “not recommend” being swept off the cliff.
 |
 |
|
Unfortunately, the afternoon sun prevented a really good shot.
|
But light was perfect in this direction, if only the scenery were as breathtaking!
|
 |
|
|
You can't see it too well, but there's a cave here.
|
|
 |
 |
|
Supposedly, it takes nearly a whole day to walk the clifftop path and back, down the whole strand.
|
This cliff must really suffer from an inferiority complex...
|
When we came back down from the cliffs, we spent some time in their gift shop, getting souvenirs. Then we went out to the car and a young fellow came up and asked if we'd give him and his girlfriend a ride to Doolin. Since we were going that way, we said sure, although it involved some clever repacking of our very tiny car, whose back seat held excess stuff that didn't fit in the trunk. He was from Belgium and his girlfriend was from Sweden. They were students who were sort of backpacking it on a holiday, and were staying at one of the hostels in Doolin (we saw many, many hostels, everywhere we went). They had walked to the Cliffs (a good 4 or 5 miles, I think) and were glad to have a ride back, as it was still quite cold, even back at this elevation. When the fellow said he was from Belgium, Thierry asked if he spoke French, and he replied, indignantly, that of course he did. (Apparently the French speakers of Belgium take it personally to be mistaken for Dutch.) Anyway, they chatted in French on the way back, as he was clearly more comfortable in that language. It was just a taste of what turned out to be a very international vibe at Doolin. There seemed to be people (many of them backpackers like these kids) from all over the world.
When we dropped them at their hostel, he informed us that the best bar in Doolin was Aughaner's. We made a note of that, but had trouble finding it until we found “O'Conners” and realized that's what he'd been saying. So we stopped in Aughaner's for a pint, and then back in the car. We wanted to see some of the Burren before dark. So we drove around a loop road that went in a circle to the north of Doolin. Unfortunately, it got dark on us fairly early and I think we missed some really cool scenery. But we did see some pretty great stuff before it got totally dark. One thing that fascinated us, and is really hard to describe, was the landscape of flat, shale rock, with big, round bolders just sitting out in the middle of a flat surface, like they'd just been dropped there out of nowhere. Very strange, very other-worldly. I want to go back to the Burren, right now!
|
 |
||
|
A well. There is a sign that warns the water is no longer safe for consumption.
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
The outside of the well.
|
|||
|
 |
||
|
A twisty tree.
|
We got back to Doolin pretty late, and found a B&B easily. It seemed a lovely place, and I checked the sink and found hot water on tap, so we headed cheerfully back out to grab dinner and hopefully see some live music (this was supposed to be the place for that).
There were exactly three pubs in Doolin and for some reason, we'd decided we were going to go to all three. So we did. Strangely, two of them, Aughaner's and one other, were packed with the backpacker crowd (there are several hostels in Doolin). The other one was quiet and warm, but didn't serve food (perhaps that's why it was empty). We ended up having dinner at Aughaner's. We were sitting at a table with a sign over it that said “reserved for musicians after 9:00 pm”. It was close to 9:00 when we started, so we were a little worried. But luckily, music gets going there later than planned, just like it does everywhere. We were just finishing up dinner, when the staff asked us to move to the bar, so the musicians could start. Here, as in all places where we saw live music, the band doesn't play on a stage. They just sit around one of the tables. Sometimes, there are mics and things set up at a particular table where the band is designated to sit. Possibly because they're not on a stage, it's very casual. They play, usually with a drink in front of them, then stop and chat a bit, maybe someone will go to the bar and get a pint, then they'll play another song. There's no interaction with the audience, and it's not as if they're putting on a show, but are just a few musicians who happen to be playing in a bar. Indeed, we talked to one guy who was from South Africa, had gotten hooked on Irish traditional music, and had moved there about eight years before to pursue it. He told us that they rarely get paid to play. And we even noticed that they had to pay for their drinks!
 |
|
I was sort of embarrassed to take this picture (how touristy!) but I'm glad I did.
|