Ireland, Day 6, Cliffs of Mohor, Jun 20

Everyone took a day off of cycling to allow us time to visit the Cliffs of Moher. It was an amazing place; not near enough time to explore; and I left my binoculars in the car!! 

The day started off with the leader telling us the driver had an appointment and we would not be leaving the hotel until noon. The Florida part of the group decided to Uber it over to a nearby castle (and tourist attraction). It was very nice, but super touristy. I think we were all just ready to start our day and did not want to wait around the hotel (my biggest bitch about the trip - waiting in the mornings for the driver).

Bonratty Castle

This man did an awesome job playing relaxing, yet lively, Irish tunes.

It was very hot and muggy that morning and after walking around the castle and grounds for an hour I was happy to sit still in the shade and listen to him. Minutes after the the sky opened up and there was a downpour so we were stuck inside the gift shop café for another hour.  

A stop along the beach on our way to Cliffs of Moher. Not sure why we had to stop... I think the van was falling apart and they weren't telling us they needed it to sit and cool or they needed to make calls to a mechanic... or what the deal was really. Some people got ice cream during the wait. I walked a block or two from the van and realized this was a little seedy. Not my kind of town (the shops reminded me of the trashy gift shops on Mederia Beach).

The Cliffs of Moher!

Super windy!!

I would have been great to spend a whole day here. A return trip is needed, for sure. But next time I'll remember to bring my binoculars and take my time walking the the entire path. The bus dropped us off at the visitor's center and you could walk north or south, but I read online that you could get dropped off at one end and walk to the other to be picked up. 

I borrowed some binoculars from one of the park employees and they helped me to identify Puffins!! So cute, but they were too far away, even with binoculars, to see great details.

Their cows are much prettier than our :)

I really loved all the dramatic cloud formations.

Lively town of Galway for the evening where we had a group dinner.