Friday, March 29th was our trip to the “Burren” and then on to the Cliffs of Moher via tour bus with our driver, Tommy. We left Galway at around 10:00 AM which was an easy time to start. On the way to the Burren we passed a few castles, stopped for 10 - 15 minutes at each and learned from Tommy, which had good feudal lords and which didn’t. One by the name of Lynch, actually hanged his own son for killing an opponent in a duel (duels were illegal). When no one would step forward to do the hanging, Lord Lynch put the noose around his son’s neck and pushed him off the scaffold. Local myth says this is where the word lynching originated. Sound kinda fishy? We found myths aplenty in Ireland.
The Burren is a UNESCO Geo Park of glacial era limestone cliffs, caves, and tombs. It formed 325 million years ago but people populated it 2,500 - 4,000 B.C. They couldn’t bury their dead because of the thick limestone base (like Bloomington, IN) so they dug into what little dirt was there andcovered the people with stone. (Cindy has pics.)
The Cliffs of Moher are are also in the area and abut the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs tower up to 700 feet above the ocean and span 5 miles of ocean frontage. Again, Cindy has pics but they can’t do it justice. It’s overwhelming. There are stone fences erected to keep tourists from the face of the cliffs with signs saying, “Stay inside the fence, erosion is still occurring.” This dissuades most people but not all. Many young people hang over the edge and tempt fate but none were sacrificed this day.
I must admit, I probably would have done the same but for my lumbago, vertigo, minor case of pneumonia, and gout. Oh, and acrophobia, did I mention acrophobia? But I do have nerves of steel. I really would have hung over the cliffs too, if not for these distractions, oh and my nebulizer. The hose wouldn’t reach the cliffs edge, especially with Cindy holding onto my sleeve and nagging about having to tell my daughters about my untimely and foolish death. In any event, it was a great day. Our last stop was also along the Atlantic and also beautiful.
Tommy had plenty of Irish stories, myths, and of course jokes that made it even better. Do you know how to tell a pessimist from an optimist from an Irishman? A pessimist says the glass is half empty, An optimist says the glass is half full, the Irishman says, give me the glass and put a little whiskey in it. Cindy says she’s going to do a DNA test because she’s sure now her biological father must have some Irish in him. Just kidding, but she did say that. With that, we headed out for dinner, an Irish pub, just across the street from our hotel with music.
I’ve got one more quick story about this pub. At closing time, 3:00 AM I woke to singing, yelling, honking, fighting, so I went to the window and what to my wondering eyes should appear? A drunk guy who got lost in a 4’ x 3’ doorway with an open front. It was hilarious. He finally found his way out, wobbled up the sidewalk 5 or 6 feet, turned around, wobbled back and fell into the same doorway and the same dilemma. He found his way out again, got into a scuffle with a passerby at which time his wife found him and dragged him home. Ya gotta love Ireland and the Irish!!
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