| Ireland 2002: Day Two | |
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After a righteously fun and late night of wedding
reception antics, Andrew, Rebecca and I managed to rouse ourselves for a long, fun filled day
of Irish sightseeing. Running on large quantities of fat (I love Irish Bacon) and caffeine
we set out to brave more of the narrow Irish roads. On the day's agenda, the Cliffs of Moher,
the High Crosses of Kilfenora, the Burren and the Poulnabrone Dolmen. The Cliffs of Moher: Labeled as "One of Ireland's most spectacular sights," the Cliffs were our first stop on our marathon of Irish sightseeing. We decided to approach the Cliffs at Hags Head, a less touristed spot at the Southern tip of the Cliffs, trusting in the advice and directions on our Lonely Planet guide. Well, the advice was fantastic, but the directions ("you spot a rough track turning to the left / you can then drive only a short distance, and then you'll have to walk along the path out towards the point") did little to describe the actual route to Hags Head. After some wrong turns, some close calls on the incredibly narrow roads, a tad bit of frustration, and at least one imitation of the Austin Powers' 12-Point U turn, we made it to Hags Head. In a word, we were stunned (even Rebecca was... once she woke up!). |
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| High Crosses of Kilfenora: From the Cliffs, we returned to the car and hit the road once again, setting our sights on the region known as "The Burren" - Irish for the Rocky Country. The first stop in The Burren was at a town called Kilfenora. Kilfenora is famous for its "High Crosses," which are the large, stone versions of the Irish cross that everyone has probably seen, but on a smaller scale. Many of the best crosses are located at the Kilfenora Cathedral. (Yes, I said Cathedral and not church. While this is one small town, it indeed has a Cathedral, and, in fact, the pope is the technical bishop of the diocese of Kilfenora and Killaloe.) While the most famous of the crosses is the 800-year old "Doorty Cross," we, not being huge cross aficionados, enjoyed the 12th Century cross a short distance away from the Cathedral. |
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We also saw some other, er, religious artifacts of the region. |
| The Burren and The Poulnabrone Dolmen: Having recharged ourselves with some traditional Irish lasagna, we jumped back into our Nissan Primera, eager to once again face the challenge of roadtripping in Ireland. Having had our fill of semi-modern religious artifacts, we decided to go to one of The Burren's most famous sights - The Poulnabrone Dolmen. The Poulnabrone Dolmen (btw Poulnabrone is, according to one source, Irish for the hole of sorrows) is effectively a megalithic tomb constructed out of limestone some 5,000 years ago. When it was excavated in 1989, the researchers found the remains of some 25 bodies as well as pottery and jewellery. In case you, like Andrew and I, were wondering why it took so long to excavate the ruin, the answer is simple: the whole edifice was covered in dirt. One impressive piece of information: the capstone to the tomb weighs five tons! |
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| On to Day Three! |
