Freezing at the Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher

The scenery leading up to the Cliffs of Moher was amazing.  The signs leading us there were still giving us grief.  At the beginning of the trip I told everyone I sucked at navigating with maps.  The truth is I think I just didn't apply myself.  By then end of my trip to Ireland, I was surprised to find that I was actually very good as it.  I had no idea and was happy to find I had another talent to add to my resume.

Main Road...Uh Huh

Even with a good map, you will still get lost in Ireland; there is no way around it.  In fact the man who ran the B&B in Dingle asked if we were using GPS and when we said no, he seemed surprised.  He told us that even with GPS people still got lost as it didn't work half the time in Ireland.  I believe it. 

Still, we ended up getting there with minimal U-Turns and swearing which was a good thing.  The town we had passed through was just fabulous from what I could tell.  It reminded me of a costal town back in Oregon and I wished we could have stayed there longer, but we had a lot on our plate that day and had to get the car to Dublin by 9:45 AM the next day.

It was strange; the signs to the Cliffs of Moher were pretty small and looked almost handmade at times.  It was very odd.  In the US, when there is a big tourist spot, they let you know.  There is no way that you will miss that tourist spot guaranteed, but Ireland doesn't roll that way.  Nothing is really marked, you just have to trust your map and you will eventually find it.

O'Brien's Castle

We pulled into the filled parking lot and found a spot to the back and we were surprised to see that the parking was $8 Euros.  The thing about Ireland is that nothing is free.  Nothing.  Somewhere, money is being made which at times was a bit frustrating.  The Cliffs are free, but there is a monopoly on the parking so you are going to pay the $8 Euros unless you walk from the town which would be madness as the roads are narrow.  We had come this far, so we manned up and walked over to the Cliffs.  

Before you hit the Cliffs, there are shops and a facility with the history of the Cliffs, food and bathrooms.  The bathrooms were crazy.  There was a line, but a group of women came in and cut in front of everyone pissing many a person off including myself.  It was pure chaos and I was happy to leave as soon as I could, but not before I almost broke my finger on the door as someone threw the doors open.  

The crowds were everywhere; I finally realized the reason was because it was Sunday.  I had lost all track of time during the trip as it didn't really matter all that much as long as we made the routes we planned and got the car back in time.

Look Closely...Behold Stupid People!

Even with the crowds and the overcast weather the Cliffs of Moher were quite cool.  I bet it would be even more amazing at sunset, if there was a sun out.  The thing that concerned me was there was a sign telling people not to go beyond a certain point, but nobody cared and was going over the thing. Usually, I am the type to go off the beaten path, but not here.  I am very aware that people die at the Cliffs yearly as the winds are strong and the ground is not stable the closer you get to the edge.  It doesn't take a genius to see that.  But still human curiosity just can't be stopped.  Sometimes, it is best just to let Darwinism take it course.  I kept taking photos, but I was afraid I would capture someone falling if I took too many.  I lucked out this day as everyone lived while I was there.  Always a plus.

The Cliffs are beautiful, but also check out the area behind you.  It is so green and beautiful and deserves some love too.  Also, the manmade stone walls are very cool.  I couldn't get enough of them on the trip and took many pictures.

After a while, we decided it was time to go as we wanted to go to Gort.  You can't pass up a place with a name like that.  On the way out, we stopped at the gift shops, but they were a bit too touristy for us though we were at a prime tourist spot.  We decided to pass and pay the $8 Euros and be on our way.  It was time for Gort!  Yippee!!!