'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl

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June 27th 2009

Published: June 27th 2009

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txubergeek

Hooker

Statue of a Galway Hooker (fishing boat) in Eyre Sq

Thank you, Steve Earle, for popularizing that damn song. I think I heard about 14 different buskers (that's street musicians to you and me) trying to belt out a country twang and sing this song. Needless to say, country twang isn't that common in Ireland. At least not the country twang that I'm used to.

So...Galway. Actually, Galway & The Burren & The Cliffs of Moher. After departing County Clare, I took up residence in a hostel in Galway City for 3 days. My friend Sara had recommended that I go there, and so I took a leap of faith (and a 7 Euro bus) to give it a whirl. Looking back, I think I liked Galway more than Dublin (where I am right now). It's fairly compact, full of college students, a lot of mod-cons, street musicians. It was Austin Jr. Not much going on in the city at the moment, but I got in a few good walks and a day trip out to the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren.

What are those places, you may ask? The Cliffs of Moher are a pretty popular photograph spot, where Galway Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and has

Thatched Roofs

The thatched roofs can get elaborate here

a set of 700 ft tall limestone cliffs. On one side is the national park, with a very protective barrier, people hawking random trinkets and those pay-per-use telescopes so popular at such locations. However, on the private ranch other side is where the action is. The danger level ramps up a bit, as the protective barrier is gone and nothing is between you and certain death other than inertia. There are stories of people every year who get blown off this side of the cliffs due to high wind, and though the winds were pretty strong nobody perished on my trip. Got some good pictures of the cliffs, as well...

The Burren is the rocky area of western Clare county where, in the last ice age, limestone was pressure-formed and essentially covers the whole surface. What is there to see in The Burren? Rocks. Really, that was the main attraction...rocks. Not my favorite part of the tour, but I imagine most people go for the money shot of the Cliffs anyway.

Tidbits of Info (or Lessons Learned, as it were):
The Irish have a problem with obesity very much in the way that Americans do. I have seen

The Burren

Cracked limestone of the Burren

more muffintops in Galway and Dublin than at an Otis Spunkmeyer factory.
Most Irish young people don't drink in bars. They buy a 4 pack of beer and sit on the shores to drink. The bars were filled with older Irish folks and tourists.
You may not know this, but restaurants are expensive in Ireland. As a result, I've been cooking in hostel kitchens a fair amount. Fortunately I can whip up a balanced meal with 4-5 ingredients.

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