Friday, February 1, 2008

The Burren and Ennis: February, 2002


If you’re like me, you sometimes don’t pull your camera out in time to capture some of the places you visit. Sometimes, the lighting isn’t good, as at Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty, a 17th Century pub with traditional music where locals and tourists alike enjoy some fun. I remember another wonderful meal by a beautiful fireplace at a pub in a swank hotel which happened to be near our B&B lodging one night, but I have no photo to share. In short, I miss capturing a lot of places in photos.

The Burren, through which we drove back from the Cliffs of Moher, is a limestone pavement with deep crevices formed by glaciers and wind over eons. Somehow, little plants manage to grow in these crevices known as grykes. Compared to most of Ireland, driving through the Burren for me was rather unimpressive, although it is an interesting contrast. We visited some kind of horticulture lab and learned a little more about the area, but I have no photos until, quite unexpectedly, a traditional fox hunting party emerged from a field beside road. We stopped and watched for several minutes as this unique spectacle passed the country road. Fortunately, we found the camera and snapped a couple of photos.

When the road cleared, we proceeded on toward Ennis to spend our last night in Ireland. I know we stopped at the ruins of a church, which I believe was the Ennis Friary or Clare Abbey.

We arrived in Ennis with time to stroll about the city a bit. We could have spent more leisurely days in any number of places, but we chose to see a great deal of Ireland in a few days.

The next day we drove to Shannon to catch a plane back home. We hope to return to Ireland again one day.