Today marked the midpoint in our tour of Ireland. With seven days behind us and seven days ahead we had perhaps our best weather day so far. I think it is the first day it has not rained even a little bit. We loaded up the coach this morning for our transfer from Galway to Killarney.
Along the way we picked up guide, Shane Connolly, who had quite the accent and quite the sense of humor. Some of us thought he might make it as a stand-up comedian in the U.S. One thing about the Irish is they are very savvy about American politics and like to poke fun at both sides in the current election. But Shane was also very knowledgeable about archeology, natural history and geology and gave us an expert walk through the Burren, a rocky, desolate landscape. He insisted though, that it is of the best land in Ireland for raising cattle because the grass stays fresh in the winter and farmers bring their cattle up here where the limestone covered hills absorb heat from t
he sun so stay warmer than the valleys below.
While still in the Burren we stopped (along with 5 other busloads of
people) to see a megalithic tomb called Poulnabrone Dolmen. This site dates to around 3000 B.C. and marks the burial of 33 people. We had lunch at a pub called Vaughn’s where we were served Irish stew with a side of, you guessed it, mashed potatoes. Tea or coffee is served after every meal but I find myself longing for a nice glass of iced tea with lemon.
After lunch we headed out to the Cliffs of Mohr which Patrick tells us is the second most visited site in all of Ireland. The first being the Guinness storehouse in Cork. The crowds are well managed but it does put one in mind of such over loved national parks as Grand Canyon and Yellwostone. I have to say it was quite different from my last visit to the cliffs when it was so foggy you could barely see your hand if front of your face, let alone the cliffs.
And that was the end of our visit to County Clare. The rest of the day was on the road to Killarney where we are now ensconced in the nicest hotel to date with another full day of touristing on the agenda for tomorrow.