Tralee to Galway

April 27^th 2012 

TRALEE TO GALWAY

How can something be 5000 years old?  I find it hard to imagine this or as they say in Ireland -

“Jesus that is older than Christ”

Poulnabroune Tomb

Yet there it was right in front of me in real life.  We were In the Burren in the north west of the Clare coast and had sort of stumbled on the fort.  The Poulnabroune tomb looked very eerie in the setting light and I managed to get a photo of the sun setting behind it.  They have linked all sorts of devil worship and witchcraft with this thing as some dead bodies have been located on the site and the weird comings and goings have played on people’s superstition over the years.  Over 90 of these tombs exist in this area

We had set off that morning from Eileen’s place Denton B&B in Tralee and after breakfast as we were walking out the door with luggage in hand I made the mistake of telling Eileen that we had a B&B in Australia.  Well around 45min later we managed to extract ourselves from the front door As Eileen engaged us in conversation and every time we made a move to go she would bring up another topic and we would be off on another subject.  Finally after about 30min Sharon said “my arm is getting sore” and handed me the load of topcoats and rucksack she had been clinging to. 

We have found the hospitality of the people and their inquisitive nature and endearing way of talking is quite amusing and fun to be around. 

When we left Tralee we made our way north to Listowel where we parked the car in the middle of town and set off for a walk along the river.  It was just what we needed as after so much driving and eating you begin to feel bloated and listless behind the wheel. 

Listowel

River walk

Listowel is a famous literary town boasting some of the greatest literary writers in Ireland's History and has a festival which brings literary people from all over the country and overseas every year. We visited the markets & the Europe gardens where Rotary have planted a garden for each country that was involved in the wars. The garden is a beautiful place just about to burst into bloom for spring & filled with thousands of flowering bulbs along the walks.

Now Listen to ME

From Listowel we made our way to Tarbert where I managed to get out a book for the first time on this trip while we waited for the ferry.  The ferry crossing over the legendary Shannon Inlet to Kilmer took around 20mins and was very smooth.  Reminded me of the many crossings we have made to Fraser over the last few years.

From Kilmer we passed through Kilrush and stopped to view yet another walled garden, Vandeleur where I attempted the maze and quickly thought the better of it.  

Yes another bloody walled garden

Then out to the coast again to follow the road along the magnificent Clare west coast. 

When the sun decides to make an appearance it is a very special place and just a pleasure to experience sights. 

I was not prepared for the Cliffs of Moher which near the end of the day turned out to be one of the most exciting places of our entire trip.  

Cliffs of Moher

The landscape seems to stretch like a canvas with no trees or buildings to separate the land from the sky and then these huge cliffs tower into a haze in the distance.  There is even a little castle there which I wrongly assumed was a modern re-creation as it looked like it had been built about a week ago as it was in such good condition.  Surprised only to find it was almost 200 years old.  

We entered the discovery centre which is a modern building cut into the side of a cliff complete with grass roof and 4 levels serviced with a lift and fitted out with all modern electronic gadgets and light and video shows.   But this is modern Ireland laced with so much primitive Ancient history combined with the latest cutting edge structure, electronics and technology.

When we finally reached the Burren it was quite late in the day.  At this time of year the sun starts to set around 6.30pm in the day and unlike Australia where it sets in about 15 minutes the sun is still low in the sky and does not get dark until after 9pm.  I knew the Burren was some kind of a sightseeing place however had never spent very much time thinking about that when growing up here.  It presented itself as what appeared to be a series of huge cliffs almost white in colour. 

The Burren

“My god’ Sharon exclaimed, as we got closer.  “What is that” pointing off into the distance.  Then we were there and suddenly it was all around us.  Solid formations of limestone rock stretched off into the distance, laced with millions of holes and indentations as far as the eye can see.   Strangely the area is full of livestock (sheep and cattle) and apparently this is crucial to the survival of the local fauna.  How the hell can cattle or sheep live up here? Was our first response but then we realized we were in the magical place that fairies and bumble bees inhabit and it is just reasonable to imagine the magic.

By the time we reached Galway it was starting to get dark and we were both exhausted from what has probably been the longest day so far.  We kept driving toward the city and no likely accommodation places presented themselves.  Then we spotted the Radisson Blu Hotel and I wheeled the car into reception.  I thought it time for us to get some luxury after all the little pokey B&B rooms we had stayed in.  We booked in and quickly got seated in the beautiful restaurant just in time to watch the sun set over Galway Bay.  That night we crawled into a king size bed with luxurious sheets, feather pillows & a  room with a big ensuite and all the modern TV and heating etc.  What a great way to end a truly memorable day