Day 11 - Dingle to Galway

We awoke to a break in the storm. Dingle locals were emerging from their post pub hangover and not completely understanding that the sky was actually blue. According to Yahoo Weather, we had a 2 hour window of blue sky before another storm hit. So, we deviated from the itinerary and made a run for it. To come all this way to this remote area and not see anything was such a waste. Galway could wait. It was already raining there.



Taking the time to do the Ring of Dingle a second time was completely worth it! What a difference blue sky makes. It was bitterly cold with some crazy wind gusts, but we could see everything that we were suppose to see. And….I finally saw Skellig Michael and Little Skellig…after all these years. The were the 2 faint islands on the horizon, but there they were.

 When we turned the corner, Matt said, "this looks a whole better now!"

We took the full two hours and by the time we got back to Dingle, the black clouds released their rain. From Dingle we set off for The Burren. I had tried to take Matt here in February 2014, but due to the storms, the rivers and lakes flooded making the roads to The Burren impassible. The weather was a constant flip between heavy rain and bursts of sunshine. The limestone of the Burren was formed approximately 360 million years ago. However, what is unusual is that huge amounts of the stone have been exposed to the atmosphere over time. The stripping action of the glaciers during the last Ice Age and the unsustainable use of the land by prehistoric farmers have both caused the removal of much of the top soil. The legacy is the most extensive example of exposed limestone pavement in Europe – a rare global landform and one of the most distinct landscapes in Europe. The rock is constantly being dissolved by rainwater thus creating magical features on the surface and in the underground.
 
The Burren is one of Europe’s most important botanical regions. The region boasts a unique Arctic/Alpine/Mediterranean mélange of wildflowers. It’s the only place were these flowers grow side by side. Lime-loving plants can be seen growing within centimeters of lime-haters. Some montane flowers thrive at sea level. Native species grow in huge abundance. If you are a botanist, this place is your Mecca. We were lucky, there were still Springtime flowers blooming.



Our first official stop was at Caherconnell Stone Fort. They only just discovered this fort in 2007 and have been excavating the site ever since. It was very interesting with points of interest explained along the way.

Next stop in The Burren was to see The Dolmen, an ancient monolithic tomb from the Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BC). Dolmens were typically covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow. In many instances, that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the burial mound intact. What’s great about this place is that you can walk along the expense of the limestone and study the interesting shapes and wildflowers. The storm clouds made the area extra moody as big drops of rain began to fall.

We arrived to our B&B in Galway by 6:00. The rain had finally stopped and outside our window was a rainbow. Downtown, we found lots of pub festivities and people out enjoying their bank holiday weekend. After dinner we walked the harbor. It was a lovely evening, but off shore was another set of black storm clouds coming our way threatening to derail the activity we had planned for the next day.