So next we drove through the Burren to the west coast to see the Cliffs of Moher. According to Wikipedia, the cliffs rise 400 feet above the ocean. We were so hungry when got there, and as is typical with our luck, the power was out in the area. So the visitor’s center cafeteria was barely functional. Also, they were doing some huge construction for a new visitor’s center. It seemed strange. They were digging into the hillside to make a partially underground visitor’s center. So they were destroying this beautiful hill to build something and then cover it back up again to make it look like it was before?
We started at O’Brien’s Tower which is the main tourist stop (see map). We snapped a few pictures from up there (note the hat!). The winds were fierce. Water droplets from the ocean surf below (400 feet!) were carried upward, like reverse rain, and dropped on the walking paths. The “safe” tourist areas had a nice stone pieces that made a barrier. They are full of trails left by organisms millions of years ago when the stone was mud on the ocean floor. These barriers barely slowed Aimee down as she climbed over to get some great video of the cliffs. The furthest point you see in the video is likely Hag’s Head and where Aimee will shortly make her way to.
Her first jump over the barrier near the Tower yielded this footage of a small island, maybe Goat Island, full of birds. The cliffs are FULL of birds nesting. Those little specks are birds. I left the audio in to hear the wind. All of the white spots are birds nesting in this picture.
Then Aimee went over the barriers to a very flat area. Notice the tower in the background and the sheer dropoff to the left. This was still close to the tourist area.
I followed her past the first “danger” sign. It appeared to be an area that was used in the past but hadn’t been kept up like the other areas. That was a short walk and we came upon another sign noting private property beyond the fence. I tried to to continue but being less than 10 feet from a sheer drop was too much for my height issues. I waited and Aimee continued on (having no such height issues). Her first video beyond the fence shows the walking path that exists and the proximity to certain death! Some brave tourists are going this way, but very few in comparison to the tour bus mobs back in the main area. The tower and that bird island are looking further away.
The winds are even stronger and she’s further from the tower now, pretty much as far as you can go. Her jacket gets blown in front of the camera. The path is pretty basic at this point. There’s maybe 1 or 2 other people that come out this far while she’s there.
Obviously she makes it back safely and has some great memories of an adventure beyond belief. We make the long drive back to Galway (it’s not the distance in Ireland, but the winding roads and variable speed limits).
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