"Yours Truly"
Photos taken by Debbie Weeks                                           Disappearing Lakes


One Week in Ireland: Day 2

We left Killarney early in the morning because we found out we had to get the car out of the car park by 8:30 AM. We carried our bags with us to the car park and I proceeded to step in animal dung after Debbie had warned me but I was too busy smiling at an older fellow. We headed north on 22/21 headed towards Tralee. and picked up N69. From there we drove to R556 to Abbeydorney, Co. Kerry to see Cristercian Abbey. We walked around some very old burial grounds and picked up some snails from the ground. It was in the middle of a huge field with cows grazing near the site. We never saw another person while there and it got a bit spooky when I was looking for Debbie. We stayed on the same route heading north towards Listowel. I previously sent copies of the Cornelius Sullivan letters to the library there, all over the internet with transcriptions, followed by snail mail with the penmanship photocopies. We then picked up R552 to have lunch at “A Day in the Bog”, which was a combination restaurant/museum. It was very quaint. Debbie had read about it in the Kerry travel booklet. The place looks like a little Irish thatched cottage. The food and hospitality was very nice. We expressed interest in checking out the museum which was a small room attached to the restaurant. There was a nominal fee but well worth it. It was a very old documentary film, perhaps 20 minutes long which was worn with age and shown on an old screen.  We were the only ones in the room. It was shown with an old projector. I learned a great deal about the tough backbreaking work of the bog workers to cut peat to keep their homes warm. It is still in used today all over Galway area. in fact many of the pubs burn it to keep off the chill. It is not uncommon to see people, much like primitive people of long ago, gathering around the fire. There is something about being around a fire, or campfire that brings us all a little closer to each other, telling stories and singing songs. Anyway, the museum was in Ballylongford.
  On the way we stopped to see Carrigafoyle Castle which was way out on a peninsula, all beautiful stonework with no roof and some of the wall structure was missing. We read that it had been destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. Inside was an open guestbook filled with numerous names in numerous languages from all over the world. It was fascinating just looking through the book. Coming back from the peninsula we saw Lislaughlin Abbey. We got out of the car and took many photographs. There is something about these old burial grounds which remain sacred. There was evidence of visitors there as many stones were draped with large rosary beads. I could see the pile of flowers in the corner with old planters. Around the back of the abbey, there were many above ground vaults whose last visitors are most likely dead as these tombs were covered with lichens and ivy and twisted roots grasping at the stone. They appeared to be forgotten. They were beautifully encased in their natural surroundings. We had considered traveling to Dingle, which is where beautiful Slea Head is located and the many passes [such as Connor pass] across the mountains which are so narrowly designed along the cliff’s edge. It was a very long excursion and we decided to explore the Burren more which is in Co. Clare. 
  We decided to take the car ferry across the Shannon River to save mileage. It went from Tarbert to Kilrush and required no reservations. It fills up very fast at about 15 minutes and takes about 15 minutes to cross and cost 15 Euros. That should be easy to remember. As we rounded the corner on the river, we saw a nice lighthouse. As we landed at Kilrush, we made our way towards Lahinch and onto the Cliffs of Moher. The day was very foggy and we were disappointed. It is a huge tourist area, and I noticed that they moved the original entrance across the street from when I was previously there. It had a huge gift shop full of stuff I did not buy… very touristy and over priced I think.[ I would highly recommend that if you want to shop in the Republic of Ireland that Killarney and Galway are the best areas in my experience. Dingle is nice as well. As far as Northern Ireland, I never shopped, but the currency is the English Pound rather than the Euro.] The visibility was terrible and was not worth the stop as we could see nothing. We paid a 5 Euro parking fee which covered our entrance to the Cliffs. There will be a new building entrance as it was in construction when I was there. It will be near the Cliffs, not across the street and it will be built into the mountainside.
 From the Cliffs of Moher we drove along the coast on Spanish Peninsula towards Lisdoorvarna, a place where there is still a matchmaker’s festival and we just missed it. Too late Debbie!!! She wouldn’t settle for any old farmer guy… but a young farmer guy might do. Then we ate at the Irish Arms restaurant in Lisdoorvarna. This was the last stop before we traveled into The Burren. The Burren is like a place from OZ, all stone, underground caverns, Holy Wells, ring forts and portal tombs, and disappearing lakes… probably one of the most interesting places I have ever visited. It has a drought season and water is a valuable commodity. I could have stayed there for a few weeks. Debbie called Clare’s Rock to confirm our reservations. We drove across some very rough terrain and counted the roads on some survey maps I had purchased. The roads were gravel and one carriage lane most of the way, which means you, could have difficulty maneuvering if another car came from a different direction. To give you an idea see the picture with my story about the first trip I took to Ireland. I am sure no tourist buses ever took these routes. They may visit the more accessible areas of the Burren. When we arrived we found the first hostel to be occupied by 16 German students. We rang the bell and a young guy directed us to check in at the lower house. We arrived and found a beautiful stone building with all modern rooms which had a large shared kitchen in the middle of the house. All the hostels we stayed at had shared kitchen areas. Debbie and I checked into our room and made our way around to catch some sights before the sun went down. We visited a ring fort but were denied access because it was getting late. We did see a portal tomb which was magnificent. We explored Cahermcnaughton ruins and took many photos throughout the day. One felt completely isolated but a reminder of civilization was near as an occasional explorer could be seen on the exploration trail. At one point I became extremely stressed out as we tried to avoid a pothole. Thinking we hit a pile of dirt instead found it was dirt and leaves concealing a pile of rocks.  Mind you, we were traveling 5 mph as we could not travel any faster. Oh well… what a racket and I jumped out of the car thinking the gas tank would explode. Debbie remained fully composed and went to work to climb underneath and pull rocks from the struts. I helped her out some by climbing under the car too, but she did most of the work. Debbie sensing my high anxiety told me to check out the field beside us… and I found a very cool portal tomb partly into the ground, alone in the field. That was very cool. Seems it was all under control and the noise worked itself out in a day. I was really concerned AAA couldn’t find us way out there.
  Afterwards we went to Cassidy’s, probably the only place to eat in the middle of the Burren. There was no turf in The Burren as they burned coal in their fireplaces. While sitting in front of the fire a young fellow asked Debbie, “Hey you must be Debbie” She looked at him, quite puzzled, when he replied, “I was the person who answered the phone when you called earlier.” Then he introduced himself. That was an unusual experience. We retired for the evening, after we showered, wrote postcards and also wrote in my journal. We stayed across from the disappearing lake. (I couldn’t see it)