Wednesday, September 30, 2009

DAY NINE – AILWEE CAVES, THE BURREN & CLIFFS OF MOHER

I woke up this morning to a beautiful, sunny day. I had been preparing myself for a rainy, Ireland… but we have been very fortunate to have had no rain what-so-ever. This apparently is very unusual and everyone keeps joking we brought the Florida sunshine with us. People in Ireland have misconception about Florida, as we get a lot of rain ourselves.

Report on Ty – Ty woke up this morning still hurting, but not nearly as bad as the day before. He said he felt well enough to go ahead with our plans for the day, which we were both glad about.

We had been looking forward to this day, the entire trip. We planned on driving into County Clare to visit the Burren Perfumery, Ailwee caves, the Burrens and the Cliffs of Moher.

After breakfast we headed out and arrived at the Perfumery first. I was interested in visiting the perfumery as they make their all-natural-products from flowers/herbs found in the Burren. The Burren holds over 70% of Ireland’s different plant species.

Inside the Burren Perfume shop:

I was purchasing some items for myself when Ty saw some Arnica balm. He rubbed it into his neck and shoulder and instantly felt some of the pain draw out of the muscle. I then immediately bought some of the Arnica balm. It is great stuff!

After we made our purchases, we went strolling through their wonderful herb garden.




I love the little signs which named the herbs and told what medicinal purposes they have.




Ty hanging out in the herb garden


After the perfumery, we made our way through the Burren to the Ailwee caves. The Burren is absolutely beautiful and Ty and I kept stopping to take pictures. The mountains are made up of limestone, which also covers the land. Even in such a harsh terrain, many beautiful plants and flowers grow all over the land.

The Burren (We took hundreds of pictures… here are some of our favorites)

I am fascinated by all of the man made stone walls that cover the Burrens. They are not held together by anything… the stones are simply stacked. They are all over Ireland, but in the Burrens they form a patchwork pattern, lining every property. It is amazing when you think of all the hours put into putting up these walls.

Another thing about Ireland, is around every corner are ruins. Ty and I are fascinated by ruins and they are a big deal to us. I wonder if the same is true for the people who live in this country and see them everyday.

I though this tree was beautiful. I have seen several that grow just like this in the Burren

We then headed to Ailwee Cave which is an undergound cave system discovered in the Burren back in the 1940’s.

Just before the cave is a Predatory Bird exhibit. We went through there first, before heading inside the cave. They had many gorgeous birds but they were all caged, making them difficult to photograph.



Trainer and his Falcon



After the birds, we headed to the cave. There is nothing like a five minute walk up a steep mountain slope to let you know how out of shape you are.

This sign should have really read “5 minute walk of death”


They had these cool statues carved out of tree trunks on the path to the cave



European Brown Bear remains found in the cave during the 1970’s. (This bear has been extinct in Ireland for 1200 years now!)


The tour guide called this formation “pillowing”.


Stalactites


A waterfall inside the cave. We couldn’t get a good picture


Quartz in the cave walls


Walking down the mountain side is so much easier that walking up it


After the Ailwee caves we headed to the Cliffs of Moher. We drove along the Atlantic shore, it was so beautiful.


We stopped in a little town called Doolin and had lunch at a pub. We have learned that the nicer restaurants do not hold a candle to good pub food. With our bellies full, we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a lot of uphill/up-steps walking but very much worth it. I have never seen anything so stunning in all my life.








O’Briens Tower – a look out point on the Cliffs


It was cold and very windy standing at the tops of the cliff. This poor dog was crouched down along the wall trying to shelter him self from the wind. When Ty bent down to tie his shoelace, the dog came over to him. Looks like Ty made a new friend.


Chilly Ty and Hope at the Cliffs of Moher


We drove back to the B&B exhausted and sore. We did so much today and really had a great time. I feel fortunate to have almost checked everything off my to-do list, while here. I can’t believe we go home day after tomorrow.

I leave you with one more picture… of a sign we found amusing (can’t go a day without one). It may not be funny to some, but we thought our kids would get a kick out of it.



1 comment:

  1. I liked day nine! It looked like a lot of neat places to visit. :D Safe travels home!

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