Day 18 - Cliffs of Moher

Hello,

Today I was a little less sleepyhead again and woke up with my alarm clock promptly at 7 am to catch the first bus to the Cliffs of Moher at 8 am. Since I didn't feel like getting my first glimpse of the cliffs along with what felt like seven thousand other tourists at the Visitor Center, I got off one stop earlier, in a place called Doolin, from where the so-called Doolin Cliff Walk starts.

After two hours on the bus, I started my leisurely walk along the sea, still at almost the same level. Then over time, the path started to climb, and I saw the first cliffs. At that point, I actually liked the view back to the gentle green hills even better than the cliffs. And of course, the sea, which looked even more amazing with a very delicate rainbow. After another section of 'honest elevation gain,' I reached a hilltop and suddenly saw the full length of the cliffs in front of me, and that took my breath away. This view into this semicircular basin, which suddenly looks dark and threatening due to the vertical cliff face, but also incredibly calm and steadfast, gave me a unique feeling that I can't describe here and was the highlight of the whole trip if not this journey.

Afterwards, I continued walking towards the Visitor Center, where of course the crowds were gathered. The stupidity of people is as shocking as always, especially when it comes to taking photos. Despite signs warning everywhere that the cliffs are still crumbling, apparently a large part of the visitors feel the need to take a photo doing push-ups at the very edge or to enjoy their sandwich with dangling legs on the last rock that hasn't broken off yet. Well, I didn't stay near the Visitor Center for too long.

My original plan was to continue walking along the coastal path for a little while longer, but the view in that direction looked rather unspectacular. So I decided to simply walk back to Doolin, where I had already enjoyed the view back on the way there, and have a cozy break with juice and cookies at my favorite spot as described above.

Said and done, and the view was really no less impressive on the second glance. Even though the weather had held up well so far despite the announced rain, it caught up with me in the end. With my rain gear and my great new backpack, however, this was no problem at all, and the landscape got a unique touch with it.

With a brisk pace, I even managed to catch the penultimate bus back to town in time, and I was back in Galway for a hot shower and dinner at half past five.

I hope the landscape comes across at least a bit in the photos (yes, I know, way too many but I couldn't help it), even though it can never be as amazing as in real life.

See you tomorrow,

Veronika