Ireland Travel Series: Sligo, Ireland

This is Part VIII of the Ireland Travel Series. Read Part I here.

ABOUT TWO HOURS NORTH of Galway lies Sligo, near the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland. This town has a mix of the historical mixed with the industrial, as well as many neighboring country homes. We were fortunate to stay with a family friend who whipped us up some prime Irish coffees every night and introduced us to friends going out for the night.

We visited The Beach Bar (http://www.thebeachbarsligo.com/surfing.html), which had the foresight to offer both surfing lessons as well as beer! Sligo is situated on a gray bay with loads dark, craggy sand and shells, but the waves make for good surfing. The Beach Bar offers lessons for all levels of surfer. I was extremely impressed with the trio of wet suited folks who trooped in from the pitch-black evening outside and ordered up a round. The autumn was so cold that the hot spiced whiskey I had really hit the spot.

We also toured the local scene to see the colorful array of houses and even attended a rugby match. Sligo is home to the Sligo RFC Team at Hamilton Park. Other sights include the beautiful St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Glasshouse Hotel, and the pretty Garavogue River that runs through the town. This can be a spot to launch your trip up to Northern Ireland, but at this time, we were focused on visiting family friends.

We ended the trip with a final round at The Beach Bar. Surrounded by good cheer (and good beer), there is no place the captures the wild, rugged human spirit like the rolling green hills of Ireland.

Sights of the countryside.

Here ends the Ireland Travel Series. Until our next adventure!

Disclaimer: the above is presented as fiction, not fact.

Ireland Travel Series: Cork, Ireland: Blarney Castle

This is the sixth installment in the Ireland Series about studying abroad in Galway, Ireland. Read Part I here.

ONE OF THE LAST ADVENTURES we took in Ireland was a weekend trip to the city of Cork in the far southwest. Visiting Limerick and Cork is nice to pair together. We had no problems catching a bus cross country. Two popular bus services are CityLink (http://www.citylink.ie/) or Bus Eireann (http://www.buseireann.ie/) and takes a couple hours. Traversing the green pastures and villages dotting the moors makes the journey pass quickly.

In Cork, we set up shop in a dorm room hostel. It’s definitely recommended to take advantage of the cost-saving hostels throughout Ireland, and choose a room arrangement that is right for your group. We were feeling particularly thrifty and tried out a 12 person mixed dorm. The room consisted of only bunks, but there were locker options to keep valuables safe. There was also a communal room to cook your own breakfast.

However, we didn’t plan on spending much time inside. Our main attraction was Blarney Castle, a towering fortress of rock and limestone surrounded by a garden of hedges. The Castle is open year round, and you can view a list of admissions pricing here: http://www.blarneycastle.ie/pages/plan-your-visit.

The castle originates from around the tenth century and holds the famous Blarney Stone, whereby kissing it, you will be blessed with “The Gift of Gab,” i.e., eloquence. The castle is a series of levels that spiral ever upwards until your reach the battlements. The Blarney Stone is conveniently located in the wall on the outer hub of the battlements. There’s no standing upright to reach it—you have to lay down and grip two iron bars while lowering your upper body into midair to kiss the stone, that has received the attentions of thousands of visitors before you, including statesmen, council members, and celebrities. It’s still great fun, although there are no guarantees that you’ll leave the castle being able to rap Shakespeare. There are many legends surrounding the Stone; some claim it to be a war prize, others that it is of Biblical origin, and others still that a witch revealed the Stone’s power to the castle’s owners upon being saved from drowning.

Looking up at the Blarney Stone. Visitors lay down and suspend themselves in mid-air to give it a kiss. 

This is a classic castle and you can easily spend hours exploring here. We branched off into the gardens and found several amusing stops, such as a sacrificial alter and a dungeon (we were way too fascinated by the dungeon). After roaming the grounds in the brisk air, we stopped off at the Stable Yard café and indulged in ham-and-cheese pizza rolls, Guinness Irish stew, homemade cakes with cream, scones with jam, and washed it all down with a Bailey’s coffee. There is nothing like warm, hearty fare to stave off the chill.

Then it was back to Cork where we found the nearest pub to our hostel to pass the night away. Often the pubs are welcome to newcomers coming on stage to join a circle of musicians, whether you’ve brought your Irish bagpipes or fiddle along, and tonight was no exception. After returning back to Galway, I looked forward to backing my bags again, this time to visit family in Sligo. 

Read Part V of the Ireland Travel Series here.

Disclaimer: the above is presented as fiction, not fact.

The Cliffs of Moher

This is the fifth installment in the Ireland Series about studying abroad in Galway, Ireland. Read Part I here.

FIVE MILES along the southwestern coast of County Clare rises a stunning stack of bluffs over the ocean: the famous Cliffs of Moher. Shale and sandstone pile on top of one another like a perilous Jenga game, and the result is dramatic overhangs and hollowed-out caves along a three million-year-old river bed. They tower 390 feet (120 meters), and at their tallest 702 feet (214 meters) toward the north by O’Brien’s Tower. Princess Bride or Harry Potter Movie #6 Fans? You no doubt remember these cliffs making a memorable performance.

 The Cliffs are about an hour and a half to the south of Galway in County Clare. Bus Éireann Route #350 travels there after making stops in Galway and the surrounding towns. We took a day-long tour there via Arcadia University, and pulled into a large parking lot complete with a Visitor’s Center. Children under 16 are free, students and seniors are 4 euros, and adults are 6 euros. The Cliffs of Moher Information Office also offers deals that include transportation and ticket. There is also a fee to enter O’Brien’s Tower, a popular look-out point for photographers (Adult 2; Child 1 euro). Refreshments, mini museums, souvenir shops, and picnic tables are available in and around the Visitor’s Center. I include the main Information Office website at the bottom of this page.

For our group, we were content just meandering along the path and snapping photos. The Cliffs stretch around 5 miles down the coastline. There are always new parts of the Cliffs that will capture your attention, and lighting at the different times of day also adds another unique aspect. If you’re a big hiker, you might make it as far as the puffin colony. There’s also a surf spot here, Aill Na Searrachor, or its nickname, “Aileen’s.” Jet Ski tow is recommended, since the waves can reach up to 30 feet, but real pro surfers have been known to paddle out, too. I’d be too busy gazing at a bottom-up view of the cliffs to pay attention to the waves!

Our daredevil stunts mostly consisted of taking dramatic poses on the precarious outcrops. Warning signs are posted everywhere around unstable rock, but tourists from around the world pretty much ignored them. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend time on the Cliffs seemed to bring out taking once-in-a-lifetime photo opps, too.

  

We only spent around two hours at the Cliffs, not nearly enough time if planning to take the hike down to Hag’s Head and out to Liscannor Village. The Cliffs Coastal Trail stretches about 7.4 miles (12 kilometers) and takes around 3 hours. I’d recommend an independent adventure to pencil this gorgeous cliff-side walk in, and make sure to bring gear for blustery winds and rains.

When we arrived back in Galway, I found a new email waiting for me. My uncle had arrived to help paint his friend’s place in Sligo, and he’d invited me up for a visit. I’d been looking forward to meeting his “Irish family” for some time now, so I heartily agreed! But first, there was an upcoming trip to Cork to look forward to. 

To be continued…

Disclaimer: The above is presented as fiction, not fact.

Sources:

“Cliffs of Moher,” Cliffs of Moher Information Office, accessed July 25, 2014, http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/.

“Cliffs of Moher,” Wikipedia Foundation, July 15, 2014, accessed July 25, 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffs_of_Moher.

Through the Burren to Clifden

This is the fourth installment in the Ireland Series about studying abroad in Galway, Ireland. Read Part I here.

THERE’S NOTHING like hitching a bus ride through the Burren for a spur-of-the-moment weekend getaway and checking out small-town Clifden, which just happens to be throwing an arts festival. This sleepy village is about an hour to the northwest of Galway along the coast. After absorbing the natural limestone beauty of the Burren countryside, a group of us hopped off in Clifden to stay a couple nights.

We booked a room at the Clifden Town Hostel directly on Market Street, at which the six of us had our own private room. The hostel staff set us up with maps to nearby attractions, such as the Errislannan Riding Centre & Connemara Pony Stud, as well as Clifden Castle.

Pony Riding

Most people would scoff at riding a pony, but I assure you: they are as spirited as their bigger brethren. My parents enrolled me in a horseback riding camp when I was little, and I remember being upset because everyone else in the class got a horse except for me—I got a fat white pony. However, when they had the end-of-camp races, my little pony broke into a gallop the moment a tall mare tried to pass her. Yeah, I wasn’t really in charge of the horse.

 However, I’ve always sought out horseback riding opportunities whenever I can, and this was a no-brainer. The Errislannan Manor Riding Centre offers horseback rides along the rugged emerald coastal cliffs of Clifden Bay, which then dip down to a trek across the sand. The more comfortable riders could even take their steed for a dip in the ocean—an ultimate dream of mine! The stables had beautiful grey-duns, white and flea-bitten grey mares, and chestnut geldings, Connemara ponies all who looked right at home along the mist-shrouded green coast.  

My horse was named Barnaby, a big brown bloke with a white mark on his forehead. He mostly ambled along and followed the pony ahead of him; this trail was nothing new to him. Several times I had to scold him for stopping to eat saplings, but he was a good reliable horse. When we got to the beach and the guide let the experienced riders gallop, Barnaby showed off his stuff with an exhilarating canter across the damp sand. Then came the ride through the ocean with the surf curling up around his knees—fun! We meandered our way back to the stables, the ride taking around 3 hours for 70 euros.

Clifden Castle

This old manor ruin is hidden deep in the countryside to the west of Clifden, overlooking Clifden Bay. This was before Smartphones so it took us a while to find it! We ended up going on a little adventure of our own, through pastures where sheep and horses grazed, over and under barbed wire fences. Several times we feared we were trespassing; other times we were ambushed by a herd of beautiful gray mares and colts who assumed we were bringing them dinner.

The sky darkened late afternoon. We were getting worried about finding the castle, when one of us spotted a dilapidated courtyard. We followed it around to behold an ivy-clad fortress spearing the mists. All of us took shelter inside the ruins just in time; the skies opened up and rain came pelting down. We explored the castle until the showers passed and then took a nice leisurely stroll back to Clifden for dinner—this time along the designated path.

Clifden Arts Festival

Our last night in Clifden took us by surprise, as festivities commenced for Ireland’s longest running community arts festival. And boy, did they! The 10-day festival launched off with artistic showcases, street performers, parades, and musical sets in the pubs, topped off by a surprising fireworks display. This country town hosts a number of festivals throughout the year, such as the Arts Festival in September and the Traditional Music Festival in April. As I watched the fireworks cascade overhead while enjoying a pint and some delicious clam chowder, I knew we couldn’t have accidentally picked a better weekend to visit.

To be continued here.

Disclaimer: the above is presented as fiction, not fact.