Doolin, Ireland (08-26-19)

  There are tons of things to do in the Doolin area.














 We started with the Doolin Cave.  I was not a fan.

After crawling through a man made tunnel (I am claustrophobic) we continued on through a narrow cave, ducking down to avoid head injury along the way.  By this time, I was trying to control my breathing. However...once we arrived in the cavern, and saw the main attraction, I was in awe.

Although it's hard to get perspective, this 23 foot long stalactite, is one of the largest in the world, and is still growing. It was spectacular.

This picture puts it a little bit more into perspective:

The Cliffs of Moher are a well known feature of the area, and are stunning... We first saw them from the top down, as we paid the entrance fee to walk along the cliffs.

Quite a few movies have used these cliffs, including Star Wars and The Princess Bride.

For years, the Irish didn't believe in safety fences, just natural selection, but eventually, there were so many accidental and deliberate falls, that they installed fences, and have Rangers keeping an eye on people...

Looking at the weather forecast, we picked the best day for our day trip to the Aran Islands.  We chose to visit Inis Oirr, (the name means Eastern Island) the smallest and closest of the 3.  After a short ferry ride, we explored the island by hiring a pony and trap.

Trevor, our driver, talked about life on the island as he drove us up the small roads.  Irish (Gaelic) is the first language of the inhabitants, although they all speak English as well.  His brogue was so thick I had a hard time understanding what he said.

One of the things he talked about was all the rock walls.  They are all over Ireland, but more so in this area.

The ground is covered with limestone, and in order to grow any grass or crops, they pick up the stones and build them into rock walls.

Once that is done, they make a combination of seaweed, cow manure and sand, which turns into arable soil.

He dropped us at the top of the hill, where we could explore O'Brien Castle, a tower castle built in the 1400s as a refuge, and ruins of the 10th century St. Cavan's church. 

After a nice lunch outdoors, it was almost time to catch the ferry back to the mainland.

As we had pulled in to the island, we noticed that the ferry crew asked people standing on the dock to grab the lines, so Paul and Mike were at the ready when the ferry pulled in to pick us up.

The trip back to the mainland included a short stop along the cliffs, for a different view of them.  The cliffs are 700 feet tall. In the 3rd picture you can barely see the people standing on the cliff.

The music scene in Doolin is pretty lively, although as usual, it starts later at night than we like. 

Because Ireland's drinking and driving laws are very strict,  we hired a taxi to take us to and from McGann's Pub for dinner and music.

Being a weekend, the pub was very crowded, and unlike Sligo, where most of the patrons talked quietly while listening to the music, on this night in Doolin, the patrons talked over the band.  If the music got louder, the talking got louder as well.

For our Doolin stay, we chose a self cater cottage, and were able to cook many of our meals.  This cottage was by far the best place we have stayed at on this trip.  Everything was top notch, high quality, and the space was well thought out.








The particular area we were in is called the "Burren" which, not surprisingly, means barren.  The ground is covered with limestone, right up to the ocean.  The morning we left, Paul and I went for a walk on the Burren.

Four Days on Skye (08-07-19)

When the ferry was loading, our cars got separated, so once we landed on Skye, we rendezvoused at a nearby store to plan our route to our rental place.












As soon as we started driving away from the ferry, we got driving lesson #3:
Unmarked passing places and traffic. It turns out Barra driving was easy but on Skye, many of the pull offs aren't marked, leaving you to guess whether or not there is one between you and the car approaching.

We knew Skye would be busier, but it was really busy! Some of the turns had buses doing a 6 point turn to make it around the corner.

Our stay on Skye was one of the longest stays on our trip. We knew there would be a lot to do and we wanted time to relax as well, so we chose a 2 bed/2 bath cottage with a full kitchen.

We were so happy to be able to cook for a change, we did a huge food shopping and bought enough for all our breakfasts, sandwich making stuff for lunch, and 3 dinners.

Luckily the weather was still holding, so Paul and I took advantage and hiked a 5 mile trail in the Quiraing.  

This dramatic scenery was created by a landslip, which left behind sheer cliffs and rock pinnacles.

Its some of the most impressive scenery I have ever seen.

The trail had us going right along the edge at times, not making me a happy camper, but it was worth it, for sure!

We went up and over some of the cliffs along the way as well. 

All in all it was a fantastic hike.

5 miles and 1400 ft of elevation gain one day means no hiking the next day, so we all took a drive around the island.

Our first stop was SkyeSkyns. This small shop is a tannery that makes numerous items from sheepskin.  We were given a short tour, and learned about the process, and the different kinds of sheep.

This particular breed of sheep has one spot.  Each animal only has one, but it can be anywhere on their body, any size, and the color varies as well.
Of course their small store had many items for sale, and we all perhaps bought something.

Lunch was soup and salad at the oldest pub on Skye-the Stein Pub, established in 1790.




















Neist Point is a famous lighthouse on the northern end of Skye. So famous, in fact, that it seems like everyone on the island wanted to see it...all at the same time.

The road to the lighthouse was so backed up, it took us over an hour to go a short distance. What we have learned about single track driving is that you have to pay attention to how many cars are coming at you.  Most passing places only have room for about 3 cars, so if there are, say, 5 or 6, they spill into the single track, and then NO one gets anywhere.  These drivers apparently hadn't figured that out yet, and about 6 cars had to back down the hill into a driveway.

That happened numerous times along that road- it was actually quite entertaining, because we weren't in a rush.

One of other famous features on Skye are the Fairy Pools.  This is a group of quite a few waterfalls-

 some tall, some wide.

 Its about a 2 mile walk to check most of them out.

Our final day on Skye started out lazy- we all took some morning downtime on our computers.

By afternoon Paul and I were ready for an adventure and headed to Dunvegan Castle.

Built in the 1300s, this is the seat of  the MacLeod Clan, and holds the distinction of being the oldest castle still in use by a clan.




It has been added on to and renovated many times over the ears, but still has the dungeon.

When the laird didn't like someone, they would be walked up a few steps into a small room with a hole in the floor that dropped 16 feet into the stone dungeon. (the hole in the floor is now covered with Plexiglas).

 There, they would starve to death. It was not a  coincidence that it was located near the kitchen so the starvee would smell all the wonderful scents emanating from it.

















Since the weather, for the most part, held while we were on Skye, we ate and drank outside as much as possible