Week 04
- Thursday 31-7-2003 -

21:46, Picknick area at the R477 near Black head.

There's an end to all things. Good and Bad. End the end is nearing on a good thing. I've learned a lot of things the last weeks:
- What the gadget inside a guinness can does...
- What's the difference between whiskey and whisky...
- How salmon is smoked and what's the best time to catch it...
- I even learned a Irish dance!

But now the time is almost done. Tommorow I will see some views in the Burren and then I will have a long day of driving higways ahead of me. No more stopping for nice views, no more meeting people and no more draft guinness.

When I was starting this trip I was having more then 3 weeks in mind. Due to some problems I was delayed a few days. Altough I was able to spend 3 full weeks in Ireland, this was by far not enough. If I would have another 3 weeks I think I can just manage to do it all. But I will keep the last 9 days for skydiving, together with my friends of the ENPC. In the meanwhile I can only hope that some of the pictures I took come close to some of the professional photographs I saw at the gift-shops. Some of them looked great.

Oh oh, I just realise that I did not take a photo of my overnight place. It was on the parking at the cliffs of Moher. I think this is the only place where I took those pictures with my film camera so you will get them later...

Today I did explore the Burren region a bit more. I have to leave the entire south-west unexplored. People told me that the county Kerry and the Killarny Park must be some of the best parts of Ireland. I will need to see that another time. I am afraid they might be very touristic and as you may have noticed, I like to pure area's better. The Burren is such an area for sure! Yesterday I mentioned that I did find it hard to find an 'entrance' to the Burren. Well there is one place that you can consider to be one: The Burren Centre at Kilfenora. There they can help you with any questions you have. They also have a nice exhibition about the burren region. It has an admission, but it is worth it when you like to explore the region. At least then you'll have some background information. After leaving the centre I had 'upgraded' my map to show some of the things that would interest me.

Unfortunatly it was on private land. These are the remains of the Ballykinvarga fort. It has a 'Cheveaux de frise'. This is a field with a number of long rocks, pointing upwards. They were meant to slow the enemy down.

This was a viewpoint near some hair-pin corners. I did this part twice today, one time down-hill, one time up-hill. It was not that steep, I didn't even need the 1st gear. I have needed it on some other climbs this holiday.

Since my holiday of last year, I love getting underground. Sweden and Norway are countries with lot's of mines and natural caves. In the burren region there are also a lot of caves. Many of them are not open to tourists (you need some experience and a guide to visit them). There is one, but as expected it is 100% tourist proof. That means: concrete pathways, metal fencing, perfect lighting and a group of 20 people of which 5 are screaming kids... Yes you get underground, but I prefer the Settergrotta way (see Norway). The admission was also quite high for what you get (8 euro). The cave (Aillwee cave) has only a few features. The burren have a lot of underwater rivers. Some of them were only active at the end of the Ice-age. They are now caves. For people that have never been in a cave and will not go to France or the Belgium Ardennes, you might have a good time here. But if you have visited more caves already, you are better off walking somewhere along the Burren.

I took some photo's inside with my film camera, the sharp can not handle the darkness.

When I got out of the cave, there was also a mountain path. Less accesible, but the views were great. After a few minutes you leave the crowds behind. You also get a feeling for the structure of the rock. A view into the valley shows also some very nice stone walls on a stone surface. Some of the (can't remember the name) lakes, that are filled by the underground rivers, can be seen from there. They look like puddles, but they are real lakes.

Then I tried to drive one of the roads I could see from the side of the mountain. This showed not to be possible, most of it was on private land. When I was on the normal road again, I saw a sign of 'salmon smoke house'. So I went there. You did not get access to the smoke-house itself, but there was a video and you could taste (and buy) some of their salmon. All was free, but of course I could not leave the place without 300gr of smoked salmon for dinner. If you think you have missed this, they deliver salmon to private adresses all over Europe. More info at www.burrensmokehouse.ie

After those shoppings I went for a scenic drive. There was a minor road that I would like to drive, from Murroogh to Ballyvaghan. I did get onto the R477. This road did give such nice views that I forgot why I was there in the first place (as a matter of fact, as you might see from the title of this page, I still did not finish it).


Ballynalaskam Castle, near the junction of the R479 and the R477. This area is scattered with castles...


Some great views along the coast. Also a few spots to stop. Don't drive by the part near Graggagh. There is some space to stop in a corner. Maybe the snack-car will be there when you arrive.


Another spot to stop is at the picknick site just on the northern part of the coast. That's also the spot where I am now and where I will spend the night. I shot plenty of photo's here so you'll soon understand why.


Need to show you. My last dinner in Ireland. I will get some fish and chips tommorow at Rosslare. It was my first to get and I did also like it best there. I am curious if I will feel the same after 3 weeks fish and chips on other places.

Now I'll go to bed. The dishes can wait untill tommorow. And so can you!