Moher, please!

Our plan on Monday was to drive through the Burren, which is about the most desolate area in all of Ireland. There was a skirmish between our car and a curb the night before, and let's just say the curb won. Our innkeeper was incredibly helpful in connecting us with the rental car company. No help from them, however. So, do you drive through the land that time forgot with half of your undercarriage gone? Eh, sure, why not? And I thought I would be missing out on sketchy vehicle situations by not doing the Mongol Rally. Ha! So, we set off for the Burren. The car was the only thing that made it through the day unscathed.

Our plan was to wind down past some caves and archaeological remains to wind up at the Cliffs of Moher. We again gave our GPS the benefit of the doubt and tried to program it to take the back way to the cliffs. We ended up spending a tidy bit being incredibly lost. We saw some beautiful areas, but took roads that would only qualify as "hiking trail" in California - 5 feet wide, tree-lined and winding, but at least they're paved. We finally stumbled upon a marked road and wisely decided to head to the cliffs.

The Cliffs of Moher drop some 600 feet into aqua-blue ocean and overlook the Aran Islands, one of the last Gaelic-speaking strongholds. Of course, there are cows in front of, behind and on top of the visitor center. I did a little off-roading on foot, and almost plunged to my death. That, or I was chased by a rabbid butterfly. We did the obligatory post-Mohertem at the Lisvardoona smokehouse for the best salmon I've ever tasted. We then abandoned all advice from the GPS and took the right proper roads to see Burren's more oft-traveled splendor. We stopped to see a stone burial site dating to 3000 B.C. Ancient Irish: Step 1: figure out that "cultivation" thing the Egyptians keep talking about. Step 2: pile up stone slabs to honor the dead and mystify future generations. Take that, Giza!

We made our way to Limerick and stayed in a Travelodge that looked more like an Ikea showroom, and was just as labyrinthine. We had dinner at the Cornstore. For a place with such a terrible name, the food was anything but. The real highlight of Limerick was spending some quality time with my river. I searched the banks high and low for a little spot to touch it, and finally found a little public landing. I stood on a rock and waved my fingers in the water, watching the swans swim by. It was the most overwhelmingly spiritual moment of my life being in the River Shannon and watching my tears mix in and float away.

Last night we stayed at Browne's B&B in the town of Dingle. Camilla is about the sweetest woman in the world, perhaps a bit unexpected since she is famous and all. Tom Cruise stayed with her for 3 weeks during the making of Far and Away. The deposit on the rooms is what paid for her beautiful wooden staircase. Her home is also green, having received grants of 5,000 Euro to put in a solar panel and other energy-saving modifications.

Today we drove around the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. Both scenic mountain/coastal drives. To get to Killarney from the Ring of Kerry, you pass through a national park. There's a big hullabaloo with the government trying to force the operators of horse-drawn buggies, or jaunting cars, to wear "nappies" to catch all the horses' residuals in the park. So, the jarveys (operators) are striking. That's right, there's a strike over what amounts to horse diapers. It took us 20 minutes to get through the picket lines on the road to make it to our hotel. Scabs!