We’ve been working our way around the outer perimeter of Ireland following the Wild Atlantic Way, a tourist route that takes in some of the most beautiful scenery and many really nice coastal towns. It’s been a great time and a good way to really get a feel for all that Ireland has to offer. From our perspective as tourists, it would appear that Ireland is doing fantastically well as a country with everything so well organized, modern, clean, friendly, cared for and interesting. Really impressed. People said we’d have a hard time driving here on narrow roads but actually, we’ve found them to be quite OK. It might seem surprising that we actually have the same wheel base as Ivan does & even though we’re a big cube, Jon can put this cube in most any place. People have been so nice to us and there is a definite feel of patience and decency here. And when the sun comes out it is glorious!
Here is a map of the Wild Atlantic Way. We did most of it, exploring more of the peninsulas than we thought we’d be able to.
We just crossed to Northern Ireland yesterday and we already notice a difference. One funny difference though is that in contrast to “please take you trash home with you” advice that we’ve encountered previously, now some trash cans here say: “Any trash – Anytime”! Haha, that’s great!
I’m not sure what percentage of miles we cover on foot compared to driving but it is most likely a measurable ratio. Because we favor the outdoors and nature, we’ve covered a lot of ground hiking up hills, over fields, along rugged coastline and the views have been truly gorgeous. I do count sheep on sleepless nights but here in Ireland, you can count sheep all day long too and you’d never reach the end. Sheep are everywhere and because it’s customary to use water based paint to sort and track them, they come in a variety of colors. We like the ones that are red white & blue because they remind us of bomb pops that we ate as kids. It’s been great to see all the moms and lambs. If you thought mountain goats were the only sure footed ones, think again. We’ve seen sheep on cliffsides and wondered how many fall to their deaths each year. And some are painted red so they look like they have a gunshot wound.
We’ve done so many things as we’ve circled around the island, it is a blur.
They make a big deal out of the Cliffs of Moher, but they were a little disappointing because they’ve gone the serious tourist route. We felt like we’ were being herded like sheep. They were pretty though. Thankfully, there are many other lovely cliffs such as Slieve League further north that are not as touristy.
Also, the cliffs on Achill Island were fantastic and there were TONS of basking sharks there. It’s hard to believe they used to routinely hunt them for lantern oil but now everyone just appreciates that they’re there. It’s great that we can camp right in the parking lots and stay at these places for longer.
We’ve taken some nice bike rides on the greenways in Ireland. The rhododendrons are an invasive but they are also so colorful on the hillsides and on the path.
This pic above is of Ireland’s only fjord, Killary Harbor. It was very beautiful but I’m excited to see Norway’s fjords this summer because I expect they will be very impressive.
Lots of waterfalls. All of them have trails around them so you can really enjoy the area. Lots of communities put in great effort to make these places nice and welcome tourists to come.
We’ve hit the bars a few times to listen to trad music and enjoy some beers. Instruments are played by old & young. I never knew a harp could sound so beautiful and I always loved the accordion. We are actually a little tired of Guinness now (is that bad?) and wish there were more IPA’s produced here.
I was dying to go scuba diving here. I read various statements like the Gulf Stream brings in warmer waters and the water is very clear and there is lots to see and maybe you’d see a basking shark and maybe you’d swim with the seals and ….. We had 4 or 5 spectacular summer weather days and on one of them, we took a ferry out to Inishmore island to do a dive and we rented gear because we knew we would never get ours dry in the truck. Well, the day didn’t go as planned. Jon couldn’t breathe out of either regulator he was given so aborted his dive and I couldn’t breathe very well out of mine, but even more, my mask was leaking so bad and was then so fogged up from the ill fitting hood on the rental wetsuit that I couldn’t see a thing. The water clarity was so bad on our day it was comical and all I could do was stay glued to Ivan and bide my time till the dive was over. I came out of the water shaking like never before. I had intended to take some underwater pictures but realized while still on the boat that with 12 mm of wetsuit and gloves too I could barely move, let alone take pictures. We do dislike diving with dive shops and vow that never again without our own gear. We did learn that cold water diving is not for us. Period. I’ll do a snorkel any day but not dive in cold water. We spent the rest of the afternoon warming up and took the ferry back to our trucks. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a lovely day, just not the diving part. And surely there are good dives to be had here.
Upon getting back, I noticed that the glass in the front hatch had completely shattered on the inside, but not the outside. We have no idea what caused this, possibly pressure differences when the sun hit it that day, but now we have a new hatch on order to pick up on our way back through the Netherlands soon.
We moved on towards Clifden to this unbelievably beautiful peninsula called Dog’s Bay and spent 2 days there enjoying summer. We had the nicest cold water snorkel, I swam again in the clear blue water, we took the packrafts out and did an ambitious tour around the whole peninsula including some downwind wave work and then some good upwind work on the other side! The flower covered hillsides were dreamy and we were for the first time in so long, totally warm.
We’ve had some really nice campspots by the sea with lovely flowers and long beaches to walk on. The locals come to ride their horses on some of them. This one spot was also a great place for a morning run. In the backwaters, they cultivate oysters & mussels.
We really enjoy traveling with Ivan. We have a lot of laughs together and we appreciate the same things. We contemplate the stupidest stuff and feel fortunate to have the time to do so. Have you ever noticed how on a sign, the You Are here is usually all rubbed off? Why IS that?? He also helps out with pics of us.
There have been lots of arches, sea stacks with nesting birds and cliffs.
Slieve League was so dramatic and we did a long day hike all around the cliffs and at one point, there is a really narrow part where the cliffs fall away from each side, pretty cool.
Some crazy beautiful beaches…
We do everything with rain gear either on or in the bag. Unlike other places we’ve been though, it doesn’t generally pour down rain here, it showers or mists. So you can dry off in between this constant parade of squalls. Now because of this, the only red faced we get is from windburn, never sunburn!
You can’t get very far without passing a castle and many you can stop and have a look at. The history is often sad here because everyone was always fighting. Out of it came these fortified structures that remain today in various states of decay.
We’ve driven some very scenic roads too.
We visited a cave with a huge stalactite.
We visit some museums too. I learned that during the Great Famine, there was a lot of grain, oats and other products being exported out of Ireland but at the same time, the people were starving and many died while walking miles searching for food. A million died, another 2 million left and came mostly to the US. That million lived on their potato crop. And when it failed, there was nothing for them. Sick. We also learned about Ireland’s ponies.
We’ve visited several national parks. They are small by US standards but nicely done, calm and free. The Burren had interesting rock formations and lots of wildflowers.
Glenveagh National Park has a cruel history but thankfully a good outcome. We toured the gardens, walked the trails and ate our lunch in a conservatory with the sun out with all the plants where we could be hot for a change!!
We visited Ceide Fields and learned about Ireland’s precious peat bogs that have preserved Stone Age dwellings from 6,000 years ago and provide evidence that people were raising and milking cows that long ago. Bog bodies are preserved in time which seems counter intuitive but the density of the bog allows no bacteria to decay them. We learned why it’s sad that the bogs are being harvested for heating material when they took so many thousands of years to form.
Anyway, so much to explore and learn (at least until we forget it again!) and contemplate. Look at all these fossils! Ireland was once covered by a tropical sea.
We are working our way around to complete our circuit of the island. It’s been more than any of us expected and there are still a few more cool spots on our list to visit. The town of Londonderry was where Bloody Sunday happened. The Giant’s Causeway has dramatic coastal scenery and tessellated pavement. Excited to learn more, hopefully under some sun.
