It was one of my last weekends in Ireland, and there were still a few places that I absolutely had to see. So I ventured out on my own to Galway, to use as my base for a couple of day trips!
The Cliffs of Moher have been, for a long time, a major tourist draw. The cliffs stretch on and plummet to the Pacific Ocean below. Like almost every other tourist, I went past the “Do Not Cross” sign and kept walking along the path that hugged the cliffs. I’ll admit I was a bit scared, but only since I might fall in because I’d be distracted by the grandeur of the place. I know now why all the songs have been written about them.
I crawled up to the edge and had a look down to the crashing waves. It was one of the cliffs in the photograph that I scaled.
The Burren is a breathtaking expanse of land almost completely composed of limestone crags. Huge blocks of limestone puzzle, cracked and weathered by time and the elements. Some of the notable features of the Burren are these ancient tombs that dot the land. These structures are left over from the Neolithic age of Ireland.
The second day we spent in Connemara, a region of County Galway that lies north of the city. The region is quite unlike the rest of Ireland with its rugged terrain. Nestled here is Kylemore Abbey, a former estate and fairy tale castle that has been recently converted to a religious house. As I drove along the road approaching the abbey, the structure appears out of nowhere and seems to be out of some sort of film or dream.