Each day on the bus starts with a brief devotional and singing a hymn. Phil Good, traveler from Lancaster, has been leading these. His messages are very meaningful and his wife, Sandy, is a wonderful song leader. If we ever get to Lancaster, PA, we will attend their church.
Today we traveled north to Tarbert for a boat ride on the Shannon Dolphin Ferry across the mouth of the Shannon River to land on Clare’s shore at Killmer. Shannon is the longest river in Ireland – 250 miles long, and divides South and Northeast Ireland. The river ends in a wide estuary, requiring a boat ride to cross it. The bus drove onto the boat and we climbed the stairs to the second deck to watch the crossing.
We will stay in Limerick tonight, so tour members, especially the men, had fun trying to come up with original limericks throughout the day. E.g.: pedantic rhymes with romantic!
Note: Haven is the same as harbor in Dutch.
As the bus continued on its way, Patrick recounted much of the Irish history, but it is almost too confusing to report here. It is filled with problems with England and Spain, Protestants and Catholics. Patrick reported that the Irish weather destroyed the Spanish Armada at one point.
We made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. These majestic cliffs rise from the Atlantic Ocean to over 600 feet and extend for over 4 miles. Sea birds (puffins) live in the cliffs. Winters are wild here. The bus parked by the Visitor’s Center. It was a bit chilly, and Marian lent me her sweater while she wore a warmer wrap. From the Visitor’s Center, we could see a trail leading toward the cliffs, with people walking all over the place. I felt a bit frightened because it looked like a long walk uphill for a long way. The trail went out and up from the Visitor’s Center. On branch went off to the left above the Cliffs. From the top, one could look down on the birds below. The other branch went far out to the left to O’brian’s Tower and beyond. From this trail, the walker can get a great view of the Cliffs all along the way. The literature says it is a 15 minute walk to O’brian’s tower, but I’m sure it took us more. From the tower the trail extends much farther with a continuing great view of the cliffs and the countryside. Verle and I went much of the way on that trail, too. I was so glad that my hip wasn’t bothering me much, and we enjoyed the lovely day. We bought some ice cream on the way back down and made it back to the Center and the bus without difficulty. Whew!
We left the Cliffs of Moher and were scheduled to tor the Burren (large stones) Region, but if we drove past them, no comment seemed to be made.
As we drive along, we continue to enjoy the buildings in the towns and countryside – most are made of stone or a concrete/plaster finish in many colors. Small towns usually have blocks of rows of these buildings in a solid block with one continuous roof. One wonders if fire is a potential problem, but we haven’t seen burned buildings. As we wonder through the villages, we see thick concrete chimneys with from 2-4 or more chimney cones sticking out the top. Occasionally we see a thatched roof on an old building. One building had a thatched roof that wrapped around porch roofs and other construction features. We seldom see brick used in home construction, although there are a few brick homes in Kilkenny. We almost never see police cars as we drive through Ireland, and we don’t remember seeing any trash lying around.
Patrick passed around some yummy mints: Classic Mint Medley brand, Datos Cortados P.O. 7202 Willenhall WVJ 90JUK
Bus riding continued with limericks – David shared a limerick tribute to Patrick, our guide. Patrick continued to tell us more about Ireland. Before the 1845-49 famine, there were 8 million people in Ireland. Now there are only 5 million. A black blight on the potato crop also contributed to this problem. Potatoes are a staple crop for the Irish – Irish stew usually contains potatoes.
Irish farms are very small and the rock fences all the way around them take up more of the land.