County Clare
We decided to use Doolin as our base in County Clare. We'd been there 10 years ago and had enjoyed its fishing village feel. I'd have to say that Doolin has been a victim of its own tourism success. Even though it's sliding into the off-season, the town was still packed. The land outside of Doolin is owned by farmers who are clearly completely sick of finding people in their fields. The area now has a sort of "gawk and then get out of here" feel to it.
I finally got to see the Cliffs of Moher, which look exactly like they do in the post cards. They're beautiful, really, but I guess I just have a troubled history with them. There's something about them that cause Peter and I to become very short tempered with each other. (I read once that the same thing happens to some couples in Ikea because the pressure to achieve domestic perfection hangs heavy in such an outlet.)
What interested me most at the Cliffs was how other people acted. They all seemed far too willing to climb over the slate barrier and get way too close to the edge. Peter even told one guy "The coast guard has enough to do without you adding to it."
Sunday was our big touring day. We went to the Burren, the Pol ne Brone dolmen, and Ailwee Cave. The landscape of the Burren was cool and I can't wait to see it in the spring, when it's full of all manner of wild flowers. (The Burren is a biological oddity because it can support alpine, arctic and Mediterranean species.) The dolmen was impressive in its Stone-Age-artifact sort of way. I enjoyed visiting it although, after reading the rules sign, I had to restrain myself from violating the third rule.
My favourite though was Ailwee Cave, which is called Ireland's premier showcave for a reason (although Peter insists Michellstown is better - I will have to reserve judgment until I've seen them both). The cave was discovered in 1940 by a local guy who was out walking his dog. I give the guy a lot of credit for crawling into the unknown like that, These days, the cave has been renovated particularly for tours, with a concrete walkway, steps, lights and handrails in places. Interestingly enough, no evidence of human habitation was ever found in the cave.
Bears were the main residents of the first part of the cave, because a dry lair area and the constant 50 degree temperature was perfect for their hibernation needs. We got to see 1000 year old bear bones in the first section of the cave. We also got to see some spectacular rock formations and a waterfall. We pictured these great big grizzly bears hunkering down in the cave and then going out in the spring to terrorise the early humans. We were disappointed when we learned a few days later that the European black bear was only about the size of a sheep or a dog.
The highlight for me was when our guide turned off the lights to show us how dark it really was deep in the cave. It's a cliché to say that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but it was very true. Complete, pitch darkness is pretty damn impressive. If you go into your darkest closet, put your hands over your eyes and then close your eyes you might get a slight taste of the total darkness.
After the cave, we did another thing that I totally enjoyed. As Peter said, it's not a trip unless we visit a petting farm.
Admission included a bag of food for the animals, so I was a happy girl indeed. I've been to a lot of petting farms and there was something a little depressing about this one. Nearly all the animals were skilled in the art of creeping forward, grabbing the food and then jumping away so as not having to provide the quid pro quo petting opportunity. "Betty" the llama was particular skilled and suspicious. She was also actually a he, so perhaps there were greater problems there.
The best part of the petting farm was feeding She quite willingly ate out of my hand, even trying to eat my hand, my jacket cuff and my zipper. Peter was trying to take a picture of us with his cell phone, so I thought I'd be clever. I opened up the feed bag, thinking Ossie would have a struggle to peck her beak into the bag and that would provide enough time for Peter to take the picture. Ossie outsmarted me by grabbing the whole bag out of my hand. She stretched out her neck high above her head, brandishing her prize nearly out of my reach. I was able to grab the bag before she swallowed the whole thing.
The biggest disappointment of the farm was not seeing the brochure-promised family of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. We found their field, but the pigs were nowhere to be seen. On balance though, Ossie more than made up for the missing pigs and the sneaky llama.
I finally got to see the Cliffs of Moher, which look exactly like they do in the post cards. They're beautiful, really, but I guess I just have a troubled history with them. There's something about them that cause Peter and I to become very short tempered with each other. (I read once that the same thing happens to some couples in Ikea because the pressure to achieve domestic perfection hangs heavy in such an outlet.)
What interested me most at the Cliffs was how other people acted. They all seemed far too willing to climb over the slate barrier and get way too close to the edge. Peter even told one guy "The coast guard has enough to do without you adding to it."
Sunday was our big touring day. We went to the Burren, the Pol ne Brone dolmen, and Ailwee Cave. The landscape of the Burren was cool and I can't wait to see it in the spring, when it's full of all manner of wild flowers. (The Burren is a biological oddity because it can support alpine, arctic and Mediterranean species.) The dolmen was impressive in its Stone-Age-artifact sort of way. I enjoyed visiting it although, after reading the rules sign, I had to restrain myself from violating the third rule.
My favourite though was Ailwee Cave, which is called Ireland's premier showcave for a reason (although Peter insists Michellstown is better - I will have to reserve judgment until I've seen them both). The cave was discovered in 1940 by a local guy who was out walking his dog. I give the guy a lot of credit for crawling into the unknown like that, These days, the cave has been renovated particularly for tours, with a concrete walkway, steps, lights and handrails in places. Interestingly enough, no evidence of human habitation was ever found in the cave.
Bears were the main residents of the first part of the cave, because a dry lair area and the constant 50 degree temperature was perfect for their hibernation needs. We got to see 1000 year old bear bones in the first section of the cave. We also got to see some spectacular rock formations and a waterfall. We pictured these great big grizzly bears hunkering down in the cave and then going out in the spring to terrorise the early humans. We were disappointed when we learned a few days later that the European black bear was only about the size of a sheep or a dog.
The highlight for me was when our guide turned off the lights to show us how dark it really was deep in the cave. It's a cliché to say that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but it was very true. Complete, pitch darkness is pretty damn impressive. If you go into your darkest closet, put your hands over your eyes and then close your eyes you might get a slight taste of the total darkness.
After the cave, we did another thing that I totally enjoyed. As Peter said, it's not a trip unless we visit a petting farm.
Admission included a bag of food for the animals, so I was a happy girl indeed. I've been to a lot of petting farms and there was something a little depressing about this one. Nearly all the animals were skilled in the art of creeping forward, grabbing the food and then jumping away so as not having to provide the quid pro quo petting opportunity. "Betty" the llama was particular skilled and suspicious. She was also actually a he, so perhaps there were greater problems there.
The best part of the petting farm was feeding She quite willingly ate out of my hand, even trying to eat my hand, my jacket cuff and my zipper. Peter was trying to take a picture of us with his cell phone, so I thought I'd be clever. I opened up the feed bag, thinking Ossie would have a struggle to peck her beak into the bag and that would provide enough time for Peter to take the picture. Ossie outsmarted me by grabbing the whole bag out of my hand. She stretched out her neck high above her head, brandishing her prize nearly out of my reach. I was able to grab the bag before she swallowed the whole thing.
The biggest disappointment of the farm was not seeing the brochure-promised family of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. We found their field, but the pigs were nowhere to be seen. On balance though, Ossie more than made up for the missing pigs and the sneaky llama.
posted by -Ann at
1:14 PM
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