Ireland Picture Post #4: The Burren

These photos are from Day 6, Galway to Doolin via the Burren, Part 1 and Part 2.  The Burren was, much like Connemara, absolutely beautiful.  It was also a stark contrast - barren where Connemara was lush.

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Dunguaire Castle, located just south of Galway

Ireland Day 7, Part 4: Doolin town, Cliffs of Moher by land

Cliffs of Moher ferries: more exciting than Six Flags for a fraction of the price.

Suffice it to say that we made it back in one piece from the Cliffs of Moher ferry.  Thoroughly chilled to the bone, we took some time to collect ourselves in the renowned O'Connor's pub.  It gets some serious points for kitsch factor - they had police badges from all around the world on the walls, and license plates as well.  (Is this a tourist pub thing? We saw it a couple times during our trip.)

Ireland Intermezzo #2: Driving in Ireland

Our happy little Fiat Punto.

Today's guest post is written (and partially illustrated!) by the official "make-sure-we-don't-die" expert extraordinaire: Jason.  Enjoy!

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I loved driving in Ireland – sure, we had to repair a punctured tyre and bent rim, but isn’t that all part of the adventure?  And how else would I have met that nice mechanic in Galway?  As the old saying goes, “You can’t know a city until you’ve fixed 2 tyres in it.”  (Okay… I might have made that up.)

Ireland Day 6, Part 2: Coastal drive to Doolin town

After winding our way through the Burren, it was time to start thinking about getting to Doolin.  We drove north from Poulnabrone Dolmen up to Ballyvaughan, which is almost due west of Kinvarra (the town just 30 minutes south of Galway which we'd driven through initially).  So, after 5+ hours of travel we'd essentially come as far north again as we'd gone south.  The reason?  A scenic drive, of course!

From Ballyvaughan we followed the coastline west and then southward, taking in beautiful seaside views.  As official "make sure we don't die" driver extraordinaire, Jason had to be careful not to goggle too much.  These roads were very serpentine.

Ireland Day 6, Part 1: Galway to Doolin via the Burren

Phew – the car is fine.  Jason got it repaired this morning – it took no more than 30 minutes and only cost 30 Euro.  The rim was bent, not cracked as I’d originally worried, so it just needed to be hammered back into place.  There was a puncture in the back left tire, so the mechanic patched that up, too.  (Bless his heart, he answered my panicked call to his all-hours number at close to midnight the previous night, which, while posted on his website, he apparently doesn’t get many calls at – it sounded like it was his home phone.)  Now that we're paying more attention, there are a lot of signs for "tyre repair" and safety checks alongside the roads here.  Looks like issues with potholes and bushes are pretty common.

We had another amazing breakfast at the B&B and consulted with our hosts on the best path to take.  They gave us some great tips for restaurants and sights to see along the way, and we were off.