Ballyvaughan 9/17/26

 

Good Morning!

I was supposed to do a circular hike that promised to highlight the area's flora and fauna.  It stormed last night, and the trail was flooded.  I was warned ahead of time that it floods frequently.

So I continued further along the coast.

This is very typical of the coastline: burren, flat rocks, and some greenery.  Much like yesterday - very flat and rocky. This area is called the Wild Atlantic Way because it highlights the rugged landscape, dramatic cliffs, and powerful weather shaped by the open ocean, not to mention the fierce coastal winds. It follows the naming convention of famous global coastal road trips like California's Pacific Coast Highway.

A small mini-market near my hotel.

The main church of Ballyvaughan parish is the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Ballyvaughan, built and twice rebuilt after damaging storms from 1858–1866. A graveyard surrounds the church. Its presence and the fact that the original church was built before 1302 inside a ringfort may indicate a monastic origin for this site.

I found the right window interesting because it shows leaping deer in the center.

And it had some interesting tile work.

I wanted to eat light tonight because I was hell-bent on ordering dessert.  I ordered an open-faced crab sandwich on brown bread, served with Marie Rose sauce. It had huge chunks of crab. Yum. It came with a mixed salad of green, slivered red and yellow peppers and sunflower seeds.

I went back to the same restaurant tonight because I was dreaming of the Eton Mess that I didn’t order last night.  Eton Mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of berries, meringue, and whipped cream.  It was first mentioned in print in 1893 and is commonly believed to have originated at Eton College. It was a winner - everything I love about a dessert.

On my way back to my hotel, I saw this house with four perfectly rounded piles of stones, clearly meant to be decorative. I thought them rather strange, but to each, his/her own.

So I bid you goodnight and God Bless!

Doolin to Ballyvaughn 9/16/26

Good morning, at least when I took this photo

My hosts, Pat and Rita, own the Pairc Lodge in Doolin, Ireland.  The beautiful dog is Rex, and he could be named Rotten Rex.  He is the sweetest thing and is pampered by the owners and guests alike.

Sometimes things just go wrong.  I will take 75% of the blame.  I looked over my information numerous times, and I missed/wasn’t clear that I was to take the luggage transport to a village about 9 miles away to start today’s trek. Originally,  I couldn’t connect with the trail map, and I couldn’t figure out which way to go.  Finally, after about 2 miles, I realized I had walked completely the wrong direction.  Just call me Wrong-Way James. After I had walked 14.5 miles, I realized that I still had 9 to go, and it was about 3:30. I was in a beautiful place for a number of miles, but there were no hotels, no bars, nothing but beautiful scenery.  

This area is called the Burren.

 

The Burren is a stunning, moon-like limestone landscape in County Clare made of cracked grey limestone pavement, underground caves, and fossils. 

Beautiful scenery.

And flowers!

A bar!  Is it a mirage?  Nope. After much effort and a few prayers, I managed to book an Uber, but I had to pay a pretty penny for the driver to come out to this remote area.

Look at these sweet faces.

I am staying two nights at the Hylands Burren Hotel in Ballyvaughan.  The red building is my hotel, and it extends for a half-block out the rear of that building. It is quite nice - rather posh. Ballyvaughan was originally a fishing village, but now it caters equally to boaters, sailors, and tourists.

In Ballyvaughan, I have seen several of these new houses with modern thatched roofs.  I think they look terrific, very reminiscent of the past without the upkeep!

Just to add to my aching feet.  I walked another mile to Monks Ballyvaughan, a fine-dining restaurant with an interesting story. Monks Ballyvaughan is steeped in history, with origins dating back to the late 1800s. Once home to Peter J. O'Loghlen, a publican and Clare TD (elected member of Congress) in the 1930s, the house welcomed notable guests, including Éamon de Valera, an Irish statesman who served as president of Ireland from 1959 to 1973. During Ireland's turbulent past, the building withstood threats from the Black and Tans and remained a symbol of resilience. Situated by Ballyvaughan Pier, the premises once played a vital role in supplying North Clare, with the O'Loghlen family serving as skilled boat pilots guiding essential goods ashore.

I ordered the fish pie with salmon, smoked haddock & prawns, fennel cream, vine tomatoes, parmesan crumb, and side salad. It was a velvety combination of succulent fish, lightened by halved cherry tomatoes with just the right touch of fennel and topped with buttery crumbs.

So all’s well that ends well.  It was still a terrific day but I am pooped.

Good night and God bless.

Doolin to Inis Oirr 9/15/26

Good morning. 

I saw this waterfall as I headed to catch the boat to Inis Oirr or Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands.

The view as the boat comes into the harbor. With 343 residents as of the 2022 census, it is the second-most populous of the Arans. 

If I thought the water was rough yesterday, I hadn’t seen nothin’ yet.  We rocked and dipped, and at one point, I was sitting directly behind the captain's quarters when the boat took a huge dive and water came over that top area and drenched me- just me, no one else.  I was so shocked.  Dang, that water is breathtakingly cold.  Brrrrr!  All I could do was laugh.  Still, the trip over was exhilarating. I felt like Queen of the Ocean.

There is a six-mile trail/walk on the Island that I turned into seven miles, missing the crooked little turns. What this walk lacked in distance, it made up in steep ups and steep downs.

It was very windy, and you can see which way the wind blows.

This bike was just parked there with no fear of theft. There are no police on any of the Aran Islands.  I can not imagine leaving my bike parked like that in the US. It would be gone before I got my helmet off.

This is the very top wall on the Island.  I loved the lone horse posed up there, enjoying the day.

The Aran Islands have nearly 1500 miles of dry stone walls. Generations of islanders built these stone walls over several centuries, mainly to clear the land. 

There are quite a few of these signs. They must have a lot of bikers who take a spill going downhill.

O’Brien’s Castle, also known as Furmina Castle or The Great Fort, is an impressive tower house dating to the 14th century, built on the site of an ancient ringfort as a stronghold for the O'Brien dynasty. It was built to watch the sea and guard Galway Bay against pirates and plunderers.   The island chiefs controlled the western sea passages. Merchants in Galway paid the O'Briens an annual tribute—including 250 gallons of wine—to keep the trade routes safe from sea raiders. 

.

Wild blackberries grew down every one of the many stone walls.  They were really sweet, and I wanted to pick some for a pie, but I didn’t have a bucket. Nor a stove, for that matter. As a kid, I used to pick blackberries for my grandmother, Mama James, and she would make the world's best cobbler.  Mama James made me wear a bonnet so I wouldn’t get sunstroke.  I hated (and still do) anything on my head.  Papa James would make me carry a hoe for rattlesnakes. 

The Plassey was a steam freighter that carried a varied cargo when it was lost in a storm in the 1960s. The 600-tonne ship was caught in terrible Atlantic weather, blown into Finnis Rock, and eventually driven by strong winds to the eastern edge of Inis Oírr. The eleven crew onboard survived, thanks to the brave islanders who rescued them from certain death and salvaged the cargo. I had visions of pirates and ghost ships, but the real story may be even better.

Isn’t he cute?

Loch Mór, or the Big Lake, is the island's only freshwater lake.

I had about 45 minutes before it was time to catch the return ferry, so I went into the island's only bar.  I guess if you only have 340 people, you just need one bar.  If it were Spain, they would have at least 12 bars. I ordered a Coke Zero and a bowl of vegetable soup.  The soup was good. I kept seeing the young bartender give the local men glasses of water, and they would squirt this Mi Wadi into it. Like a community bottle. I had to ask him about it.  Evidently it is very common here, and it is free. He gave me some water, and I tried the orange one.  It is just very concentrated flavoring and has no alcohol, but he said it could certainly be used with alcohol. I liked it.

Look at the beautiful color of the water.

I did a little research on the best pubs in Doolin.  McDermott's was listed right after O’Connor's, the number one pub.  I ate at O’Connor’s last night. I had to walk almost two miles each way, but it was fun to try a new place.

I  ordered the fish and chips, and at first, I saw the chips and thought they were frozen.  Surely not!  They weren't frozen, but they weren't chunky chips, which I have become accustomed to. The Cod was excellent, crisp without being greasy. I think O’Connors is slightly better, just slightly because of the atmosphere.

That is all that is fit to print.

Good night and God Bless.

 

Doolin to Innishmore 9/14/26

 This will be a short blog today.

I took an hour-long ferry ride to Inis Mór, or Innishmore, which means ‘big island ’. It is the largest of the three Aran Islands.  The ride over was pretty bumpy, but I have learned on these hikes that you never know when you'll take a ferry, so I always bring Bonine. I can guarantee seasickness if I don’t take them.

Here we are docking in a pretty decent fog. I was barely off the boat when it began to rain.  It rained cats and dogs.  The wind picked up, and then it rained sideways.  I walked about two miles of a 9.5-mile circular route.  By this time, I was soaked, my backpack was soaked, and even my phone was starting to get wet.  I had rain gear, but it wasn’t doing me much good.  I thought, screw this, and turned around and headed back to the tiny little village. I found one pub open and headed in.

The bar was pretty dark, but there was this young man playing a guitar and singing an Irish Crying in Your Beer type song.  He was pretty good. Then I found out that he and a buddy had come to the island by paddle boat - you know, the type that you use your feet on - and it took them over 6 and 1/2 hours. They didn’t want to pay for the ferry. Ah, the young and broke.

I started with a Diet Coke, and I had to order something else or leave, so I got a glass of wine. Then these three Irish ladies joined me because the place was packed.  The photo is blurry because my camera lens was wet. They were so much fun.  We laughed and solved most of the world's problems, made fun of a few things, and just had a grand old time.  On the way out, they sent me a glass of wine.  I have never had two glasses of wine before 3:00.  It is not that I have never had more than two glasses, just not before 3:00.

We had a different style of boat going back. Good thing I had taken more Bonine because these were the roughest seas I have ever been on.  We rocked and rolled.  The woman sitting close to me was green. Her mother, in her late 80s, laughed and loved every minute of it.

The view of Innishmore as we were leaving.

I made a beeline for another pub when I got back.  I am sure I looked a fright, but I knew that if I didn’t go to dinner and instead went back to my room, I would not want to leave.  I ordered O'CONNOR'S ATLANTIC SEAFOOD CHOWDER, described as “a broth of fresh seafood, vegetables, and herbs finished with double cream, served with homemade brown soda bread.” It was warm and rich, and did I already say warm, very potato-based, with chunks of white fish, lobster, and crab meat. The perfect meal for a tired, hungry, and very wet traveler.

So I bid you good night and God Bless.

Liscannor to Doolin 9/13/26

 Good afternoon!

After a ten-minute ride, I was dropped off at the start of the trail, which is at Conway’s Cottage.

I think it is just someone’s house that happens to be at the start.

Does anybody know what these flowers are called?

A mule for Pami!

Looking down at the Atlantic Ocean on a foggy day.

Horses for Janet, and there are two babies.

Part of the Cliffs of Moher Trail has been closed since 2024 because of the risk of severe injuries. The cliffs dramatically soar 390 feet above the crashing Atlantic Ocean. They have appeared in several major motion pictures, including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

There is no way to describe how magnificent and huge these towering cliffs are.

A little rock island, close to the cliffs.

There were many orange danger signs.

If you look closely, there is a man standing at the bottom of the cliffs.

I could see that some of the trail had fallen into the ocean and a new trail had been carved just above it.

A warning poster.  If you look where the woman is sitting, she is right on the edge of the cliff.  There is little chance someone would fall from here and survive.

Today was a fairly short day.  Counting my walking around Doolin, I clocked in at about 8 miles.

One of the colorful pubs in Doolin.

I had dinner at the ever-so-charming Ivy Cottage.

I ordered the Puy Lentil Pie, described as "aromatic Puy lentils in a wild mushroom gravy, topped with a creamy mash, and served with mixed leaves."  Translated, it was a lentil-and-mushroom cottage pie with a salad of shredded carrot and squash over weeds.  I happen to like those weird salad greens that I call weeds. I love lentils, and this was clearly slow-cooked to bring out the flavors. It was delicious.

So I bid you good night and God Bless.