The Cliffs of Moher, from above and below - with PUFFINS!

There are some touristy sites that are too crowded, too developed, and very much hyped - and yet, worth it.  The Cliffs of Moher fall in that category.  They are beautiful and awe inspiring, and worth dealing with the buses of German tourists.
We went there early (-ish- we first needed to have yet another large breakfast, which was wonderful), and arrived at the cliff’s visitor center early enough that it was not too busy.

The day was bright and sunny, with just enough clouds to give texture to the sky.  The cliffs looked glorious, and so did the view of the Aran islands, and Connemara in the distance.  The visitor center is very well laid out to enjoy the cliffs from different point of views, with nice wide trails and railings to make it safe.

It links on both ends with the coast trail, which is more uneven (but still easy), and has no protection at all between tourists and cliff.  It is less crowded there and a very nice hike, and it is possible to be as stupid as you want.  There was a lot of stupidity happening....:  This woman is napping at the very edge of the cliff!  (Note that she carefully placed her expensive designer bag on the safe side.)  I hope she did not roll over the wrong way during her nap.....  in any case, she was gone when I got back.....

We could not figure out if this memorial was for doomed sailors, or stupid tourists....  or maybe both...

The stupidest I got was taking this pictures of nesting sea gulls...  I did not even have to lean in that much......
They dot the entire cliff with their nests (at first, you think there are just white dots everywhere, but they are gull’s nests....).

The day was so beautiful, and the cliffs so awesome that we decided to take the short boat trip that gives you a view from below -

and also makes it possible to get a much better view of the tens of thousands of birds that nest in the area - including.....  PUFFINS!!!! (I love puffins!!!!).

 The razorbills,

 gannets,

 and guillermots were beautiful too.

This is Joe doing his thing.

The weather was so beautiful that I think I got sunburned....  which is unusual in May in Ireland....

After a quick lunch of lamb burger in Doolin, we went back on the sea road, around Fanore and Black point, to walk on the Burren by the side of the sea.  There was one big hill with sheep on top, so I had to climb it! (I am in this picture, toward the top, but wearing a beige shirt..... so hard to see).  It’s actually quite easy terrain, as the limestone forms natural steps.  It was steep though.

The sheep did not seem interested in talking to me.....

I then turned around and walked on the other side of the road, toward the ocean, along the way seeing more  varieties of flowers.

Since the terrain is so rugged, one has to look at ones feet all the time, making it easy to see the flowers.  My 2 favorites were this blue gentian,

and this one (I don’t know what it is).

There was still some time in the day, so we went to Aillwee cave - a very large underground natural cave carved in the limestone tens of thousands of years ago:  It was discovered by chance in 1940, by a farmer whose dog ran into it.  He did not tell anyone about it until 1973, when he ran into some geology students in a pub..... It was interesting and a bit eerie:  the guide turned off all the lights for about 30 seconds and the darkness is so deep that it starts bothering you almost right away.  Really an odd sensation.


We were tired after that.... so picked up a roasted chicken in this lovely local butcher shop, and are eating dinner in our room, with the view of the cliffs for company. (You don't just buy a roasted chicken from the nice butcher....  you have a long conversation about your day, and what you plan to eat with the chicken, and where you are heading next.  And then, another customer walks in and you have that conversation with him too....  I only understood about half of it, but it was delightful).
We head south tomorrow.
More birds below....