Sabbatikos

There’s something undeniably magical about the Cliffs of Moher, and it isn’t only because it was the filming location for the “Cliffs of Insanity” scene from “The Princess Bride“. We looked forward to visiting this iconic spot, but first we had to get there.

We left Dingle anticipating a long drive to Galway (via the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren) ahead of us. We wanted to maximize our time at the cliffs, so instead of driving through Limerick (and I had practiced and back-pocketed some limericks for just such an occasion) we reluctantly decided it would make more sense to shorten our drive by taking the Shannon Ferry.

Unfortunately, the luck of the Irish fell short for us. We pulled up to the ferry just in time for boarding, but they took every car in the line, except us. While we were first in line for the next ferry, we were also the last. However, it was only about a 20 minute wait for the next sailing and the ferry ride was interesting.

The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions (which does make visiting them a bit crowded). Our first impression of the cliffs was the expansive parking lot followed by the long walk to the visitors center before making it out to the cliffs. Once at the cliffs the overcrowded hoards disperse across the vastness of miles of cliffs in either direction. The cliffs rise 600 feet dramatically above the Atlantic punctuating Ireland’s rugged west coast as if you are standing on the edge of the world. These are the Cliffs of Insanity! It was a clear day. From here we could see the Aran Islands, the Twelve Bens mountains in Connemara, and even the Dingle Peninsula in the distance. I think I even heard Vizzini’s laughter echoing across the cliffs in the strong Irish winds.

As we left the Cliffs we happened past Doonnagore Castle, an impressive tower dating from the 16th century. We wanted to explore it more, but it turned out to be privately owned and has a violent history.

We carried on across the barren Burren (or “Rocky Place”) and took a quick stop at Newtown Castle, located at the Burren College of Art. Here we climbed the narrow stairs to the top of the tower for a view across the countryside.

This was our last stop before rolling into Galway for the weekend. We checked into the Hyde Hotel and headed out to the nearby rooftop deck of Elephant & Castle for some of the best chicken wings we’ve ever had. We had gone to the sister location in Dublin for the wings a week earlier and had to have them again. Who’d of thought we’d be having excellent classic Buffalo Wings in Ireland?