June 30, 2016

It was a special day. The professors bought us brunch. It was very exciting and we had an upper room all to ourselves. After our delicious meal, we had class in the same room and then a group meeting. The tourist center closes at 1 for some reason so we had to end our class early and go reserve our bus seats for the Cliffs of Moher. After we had the rest of the day free so we could go to the Cliffs or hang out here or whatever we wanted! It was raining and was supposed to storm the rest of the day, so half of us took Laurie’s advice and checked out the shops. We went into every single one, which was maybe 4. Again, there was no sweater that I loved so I didn’t get one. I couldn’t even find a pair of wool socks that were my size and color. In one of the middle stores, I found an amazing flannel that was lined with fleece. I tried it on and it felt like I was being hugged by a cloud. I was a little hesitant because of the price, but Stuart and Ryan both bought one. Rachel and I decided to hold back and think about it before buying. The last and easily the best shop we went into was a chocolate shop. The lady who was working there said her sister and their friend hand makes all the fudge. We got to taste some of them and everything was amazing! We all couldn’t leave the store without buying something. Content, we made our way back to the cottages. The afternoon was supposed to be used for homework. So I caught up on some writing and went through pictures and things. Our group was meeting all together that night for an ice cream and movie social. It was so good. We watched an Irish movie called Grabbers. It was a quality film about this town in Ireland where aliens invade. After careful research, the town discovers if there is alcohol in their system then they will be immune from the aliens sucking their blood. The drunk Irish defeat the aliens in an intense battle to save the day and celebrate by going to brunch. It was quite the movie. Highly recommend. The 5 of us (well 4 with Rachel asleep) stayed and talked about life for hours. We shared lots of laughs and stories to wrap up the night.

 

July 1, 2016 Cliffs of Moher

We had the option to go to the Cliffs of Moher either Thursday afternoon after classes or Friday during the day, so a group of 7 of us decided on taking Friday. We bought the earliest shuttle we could (9:30am) and prepared for our hike. 5 of us went past the visitor center and started at the beginning, Hags Head, and end back in Doolin for the full 13km hike. We were worried about the weather and expected the worst. We agreed we would be fully prepared to be drenched for the whole way and that’s what our mindset was. Right as we started our walk we could see the rain across the water and coming in fast. Thankfully, it only last a few minutes before clearing up again. We took pictures and walked and gazed at everything as we went. The weather changed quite frequently today and the wind would pick up a bit. We made it to the Visitor Center about 2 hours later and stopped for a short break and bite to eat. As we sat with our food, there was a downpour going on outside. We lucked out with our perfect timing. After we ate we walked through the exhibition they had, which was very well done. They had a movie that was spread out on 3 screens that gave off that 4D effect, except without our seats moving. Like all museums, we ended up in the gift shop. We looked around for a bit before turning our attention to the hobbit-like-shops carved into the mountain. Each one was a bit cramped and we didn’t spend much time in them. We got to the last one and turned our attention back to the trail. The weather has cleared up at this point, but the wind had also picked up. When I looked at the weather and saw high gales, I didn’t think much of it. But these were no Harrisonburg or Piney winds. These almost blew me away multiple times. We got to a small valley at one point and we all had to sit down until it stopped because it was so bad. Speaking of which have you ever seen it rain upwards? Well today I got to! The wind was blowing so strong all the rain and water from the puddles were blown straight at us. We were being bombarded from all sides, without any cover. When my family goes hiking I don’t have any fear and will go and sit or lay on the edge and look out at the view. That was not the case here. If we even got a little close to the edge then the wind was too much and I thought mmm…better not. So unfortunately I couldn’t get those sweet pictures, but that just means I’ll have to go back sometime right?

These high gales mixed with the muddy ground (because of the occasional rain) made for perfect slipping conditions. Each one of us had our fair share of slipping throughout the trail, making the process more difficult and funnier to navigate. Because this hike was so much longer than our usual adventures we were a little more conscious of the time, especially with the impending clouds. We reached the Irish flag at the end of one of the peaks, which was our goal last time we hiked the trail from the opposite direction and quickly realized thank goodness we gave up because we definitely would not have made it when we started so late at night. A little ways after that we hit the part that we had walked before and knew what to expect. Our walk the first night seemed so long, but it was now so short compared to everything else we had done today. We all also realized how small these cliffs actually were. The first time we were there we thought they were the biggest things. Oh if only we could’ve told our past selves what we’d be seeing. We were getting to the bottom and we thought we saw it all weather-wise, but nope Mother Nature had one last surprise for us. As we finished the trail and got back on the road with a short 20 minute walk left, a huge hail storm started and attacked us from the side. It grew stronger and stronger until it just stopped out of nowhere not even 5 minutes later. Our group trudged back to our cottages in a line along the road, Lord of the Rings style, now soaked through and realizing how exhausting it all was.

Upon arrival, we immediately began the process of warming up. Because it is already our last night here in Doolin we are doing a big meal where everyone will make whatever food they need to that won’t travel well and we’ll all finish it for dinner. So far what we have on the menu is soup, salad, noodles, vegetables, milk, ice cream, and who knows what else is coming. The plan for the rest of the day is to pack and end the night with some more of Doolin’s traditional Irish music. We will be leaving for Galway tomorrow morning and we’ll be making some fun stops along the way.