Also see Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10

Day 11: Galway to Cliffs of Moher to Lisdoonvarna
We left Galway and hopped a tour bus to the Cliffs of Moher, something we had really been looking forward to. The tour included a few other stops along the way. Like this fairy fort:

Which was basically just a big circular path in the woods. The path had trees on both sides, but the middle of the circle was empty aside from some bushes. There is some serious lore surrounding fairy forts – basically it’s bad news if you destroy one. And the Irish take this very seriously, so you’ll see little rings of trees in the middle of fields. We stopped and walked around the path at this particular fairy fort, and the tour guide got very solemn and told us to Stay On the Path! Do Not Leave the Path! Do Not Enter the Middle of The Fairy Fort! We were all nearly silent while we walked single file around the circle. Nobody tripped and fell in the middle, thank god.

Next we drove through some very rocky terrain, common in that part of the country…

…and we stopped at this burial, Poulnabrone dolmen, which, sorry, I didn’t really learn much about.

We got out and walked around for a bit and continued on. This particular bus was somewhat crowded and I had to sit near the back. I had been struggling with motion sickness the whole trip, so that was not a good place for me. Our next stop was in a small town with an old cemetery where everyone but me got out to take pictures. I stayed on the bus and tried to calm my stomach. It worked, because by the time we reached our next stop, the Cliffs of Moher, I felt good and eager to explore.

The Cliffs. How can I say this? They are truly breathtaking. I kept thinking about how humans think we make such amazing things, but some of the most beautiful and spectacular things in the world don’t require humans to create at all. Now, my little point and shoot camera was powerless against the majesty of the Cliffs, so you’ll have to just go there someday and see for yourself, but I’ll show a few anyway so you don’t yell at me.

And here’s me blowing away in the wind. It was so crazy windy at the top that we could barely stand up. It’s so fun to watch people try to remain stable in that kind of wind – I couldn’t stop laughing.

After the Cliffs we took the bus to Lisdoonvarna, Matchmaking Capital of the World. We checked into the hostel and walked to the store for dinner supplies. We ended up buying individual frozen pizzas, then realized that the hostel only had one small oven, even to hold one pizza at a time. Some chose to wait for the oven, but I figured I’d just throw mine in the microwave. It was pretty nasty, don’t try it at home. All five girls shared a room again, but this time we had enough beds. Nobody went out that night, and instead we stayed in and chatted until we fell asleep.

Wait. Did I mention the torrential downpour we got stuck in? No? Let me just tell you, it was like taking a bath fully clothed. We were walking back from getting our pizzas and it started to sprinkle. Then it started to drizzle. Then rain. Within a few seconds the sky was dropping sheets of rain and hail on us. We took off running, but it was pointless. In the few minutes it took us to get back to the hostel, we were soaked. And lest anyone disbelieve me, I made someone take a picture:

The only reason my shirt is dry is because I had my coat zipped up protecting my dinner. It’s not easy to run with a frozen pizza stuffed down your front either. Try it.