All Ears® Guest Blog

Emerald Isle - Day 7 - Ever-Moher (part 1 of 3)

Today’s word… Slan. - Pronounced slawn - it is Irish for goodbye or farewell.

We have one full day left of this adventure and the first item on the agenda is one that I have eagerly been looking forward and dreading all at the same time… the majestic Cliffs of Moher.

But first thing is first… FOOD!

The morning started with a wonderful breakfast at the Earl of Thomond Restaurant located in the main building of the hotel. As with all of the other days, except the arrival day, the cost was included in the cost of the trip. They had a breakfast buffet with a variety of bread, fruit, cheese, and cereal available for your starter then you had the option of ordering your hot meal from the menu.

After breakfast we headed out to the coach to begin our last day of touring.

Journey to… not off… the Cliffs of Moher

Ok... lets just get the icky part out of the way. The dread comes from this very strange and unexplainable fear of heights I have as it relates to someone (that isn’t me…) driving a vehicle along the edge of a cliff. That includes my parents, my husband, and of course random bus drivers. Ok.. maybe not totally unexplainable.. I’m thinking its likely due to a car accident back in high school that ended in a roll down an embankment caused by a driver I know today only as ‘Highway to Hell’ – and now I have a case of “I must control the steering wheel”. But that’s a story for another time.

Anyhoo….. knowing we were going to the edge of something, I packed my trusty i-pod so just in case I needed a distraction, I could slip into my podcast world and forget about the possible 200 ft drop outside the window.

But the luck of the Irish was truly with me this day. I was pleasantly surprised that the journey to the cliffs was mainly flat and provided extraordinarily scenery. Offering many more opportunities to enjoy my new favorite pastime… finding new and exciting random ruins!

The coach slowly crept up a hill until it finally came to stop in a parking area. Looking around there didn’t seem to be any buildings or other human markings you would normally see at a major tourist attraction. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the visitor’s center is actually built into the hill side to avoid damaging the natural beauty that surrounds the area, yet still provide a place where folks can learn more about the cliffs, the wildlife and the history.

We walked past the structure for now and made our way up the path to the edge of the cliffs that rise from 394 ft to as high as 720 feet in some spots above the Atlantic ocean. If you look closely at the steps you can see traces of the fossils in the stone.

The morning greeted us with the infamous Ireland mist and the edge was windy enough that you could lean into it and it would support your weight. Even with the clouds, the view was stunning.

Its comforting to know that danger can be communicated easily even without the benefit of an interpreter. These signs can be found dotted all around the area.

In reality I think it’s these people the sign folks are trying to get a strong message across to. It’s a picture that is on display inside the visitor’s center showing the wackiest of all tea parties, this side of Wonderland of course.

If you look really closely you can not only tell that the wind was calm that day…. either that or they made really good hat pins in those days. But you can see a faint line from the top of the left hand corner leading down. While it doesn’t show up to well in this retake, it appears to be a pulley system to move things.. likely insane people… from one side to the other. With ancestors doing crazy stuff like that, no wonder we wear bike helmets and protective padding at every opportunity.

...to be continued.

Missed an entry? Here's the link to the entire Emerald Isle Blog to date!

MouseFanTravel President Beci Mahnken is a veteran of 4 Adventures By Disney trips, more then 50 cruises including 18 with Disney and countless Walt Disney World and Disneyland adventures. Read her blog on the London and Paris Adventure by Disney. Here is her blog on the Backstage Magic Adventure!