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.

Louisville to Dublin 9/11/2026

Hello all!  

Sometimes, getting ready for a trip is the most stressful part of the whole trip.

Three days before, I spent five hours on the phone with Audible.  I could not get my books (on tape, to use an old term) to download. Then I got cut off. I won’t repeat some of the words I said to the air around me.  I called back and got another woman whose English was even worse than the original woman. Ultimately, I found out my iPod wouldn't work with Audible anymore, blah, blah, blah. Apple no longer makes iPods. I listen to books or music on long walking days so I find it an very necessary gadget. I ended up ordering an MP3 and sweating bullets that I wouldn’t receive it on time. I did, but I still had to figure out the new gadget. And I think I am going to like my new toy even more than the old iPod.

 

Then the day before I left, my computer locked up. I raced to the Apple Store - a two-hour wait.  As I was fooling around with it, I got it unlocked. Long story short, my hard drive is going bad. I need my laptop to write the blog, so I am limping along, hoping it makes it through the trip. 

But the good news is that I made it to Dublin with no delays and on time.

I spent the night in Dublin. I had an  excellent BLT on ciabatta at this pub.  They had me at ciabatta.

Irish bacon is more like ham - very good, but we do bacon better.  However, Irish chips are far superior.  Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, fried in something gosh-awful but yum..

On Saturday morning, the hotel called a taxi, and the driver took 30 minutes to arrive.  I was sure I missed the bus, but I got the last seat.  Whew.  I needed to take the first bus to Ennis, which would take about 4 hours, and then catch another bus to Liscannor.  There was no bus in Liscannor. All the buses in the area had been canceled because Trump had just arrived.  He is also in County Claire.  Jeez, I get out of our country so I don’t have to hear any more political crap, and dang if he didn’t follow me. Lucky enough, I found an Uber driver close by and made it just fine to my hotel - Vaughn’s Anchor Inn. It cost a bit more, as all things with Trump seem to.  LOL  Sadly, there were protests all around.  He is not well-liked in Ireland.

Vaughan’s is known for their excellent food, and it didn’t disappoint.  The amuse-bouche

was a curry carrot soup, very creamy and assurance that the meal was going to be great.

I chose a starter as my main course, Vaughan’s Vol-au-Vent with Lisconnor Bay lobster and langoustines with shellfish cream and homemade puff pastry.  And chips to die for.

I ordered an appetizer because the server told me they had passion fruit soufflé as a dessert special. It was served piping hot, with pineapple gelato, absolutely worth every calorie. I shuffled off to bed, fat, dumb, and happy!

Until tomorrow.