Day 7 - Co Kerry and Co Clare

Lenda - Wow, what a full day!  Hit the road early (for us - 10am) and headed thru Tralee (as in "The Rose of Tralee") on our way to Tarbert where we drove our car onto a ferry for a trip across the mighty Shannon river leaving behind the intense green of Kerry for the west coast surf beaches of Clare.  Hit a great surf shop in Lahinch and traded some old surfing magazines and bumper stickers from Wind and Sea for a few back issues of Irish surf magazines.  Amazing break, freezing water.  These guys are nuts.

Next stop after Irish Surf City was the Cliffs of Moher.  Clear skys, wind gusts that almost knock you off your feet and birds that are suspended mid-air as they can't move forward against the wind.  650 feet straight down to the crashing surf.  Unfortunately Mike's Irish fisherman's cap was sacrificed today...blew right off my head and landed on the edge of the ledge.  Diane's comment:  Can't we go get it?  Right.  The cap will be remembered fondly.

Then across the bleak Burren where Diane was able to see Poulabrone Dolmen.  Nothing surrounds this burial memorial other than 10 miles of limestone etched over the years into a lunar landscape.  The dolmen has been standing since before the pyramids were constructed  >2000BC.  It is totally eerie and totally cool.  Excavated back in the 1980's, it contains the remains of about 30 bodies.  Huge limestone slaps on each side support a cap stone that 8 people could lay on.  Here's the question.  How did the 1.5 ton capstone get lifted10 feet in the air back in those days?

With enthusiasm, we decided to let the GPS take us thru the outskirts of big city Galway and into Spiddal, Co. Galway.  What a drive.  Saw a world class golf course out in the middle of nowhere.  Then had to drive carefully while a farmer walked his herd of cows down the road.  Amazing - they never crossed the double white center line.  Then 12 miles of roadway only one car wide with shoulder-height berms on either side, and grass in the road center tickling the bottom of the car.  At one point, we had to back up for about a city block so another car could get through.  As close to off roading as you could get - pretty fun for this city girl!  Finally arrived in Spiddal, found our B&B and headed into town for dinner and a sunset at 9:58pm over Galway Bay with Co. Clare in the background.  Off to bed - Co. Galway awaits us tomorrow!