Our "house" is truly in the middle of nowhere with a dirt road leading up to it. Asides from us there is only one other house further down the mountain but otherwise we rarely see anyone or any cars!
Read MoreWhen we were first driving from Dublin to our farm house, we couldn't help but notice this very tall, perfectly cone shaped mountain about 15 minutes before arriving to Louisburgh. We had asked the family who own the farm house what the name of the mountain was, and they told us that it is Croagh Patrick, a very famous mountain, and they explained some of the history. This coming Sunday, the last sunday in July, is the annual Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage, in which over 25,000 pilgrims descend on the nearby town of Murrisk and climb to the top of of the mountain. We've been wanting to climb the mountain since we first got here, but we didn't really want to do it when it's so busy, so we decided to hike the mountain today since the weather was nice and warm.
For those wanting to know more about the history, as it's really rather interesting, here's an article from this months edition of "Ireland's Own" on the history and tradition of the Croagh Patrick pilgrimage.
If you don't have time to read it, or find it hard to read from these pictures, here are some of the highlights:
Today apparently is also a pretty popular day for climbing the mountain, according to the magazine it is known as "Garland Friday", and is when nearby residents typically do the pilgrimage. I guess that makes sense for us, since we are officially nearby residents, at least for a little bit longer :)
We drove into town, parked at the local car park, and began our trip. We were greeted early on by some signs explaining the pilgrimage and a statue of Saint Patrick.
With the mountain in the distance, we set off!
The hikers with Croagh Patrick towering above
Even with pictures, it's hard to see how difficult of a hike this is. To get to the peak, you have to first climb a long, windy path all the way up a first mountain, before looping around and going the rest of the way up the main Croagh Patrick peak. It is a very rocky and steep path in parts, and we witnessed quite a few spills.
Try to follow the dirt path and you can see the way up
The way up was a loooong process, especially with two little kids. There were a lot of people on the path, going in both directions, which made the atmosphere fun and full of energy, but occasionally difficult to navigate.
We were glad we packed our little first aid kit, not for our own family thankfully, but early on there was a woman who had fallen and cut open her knee, and we were able to provide Neosporin and bandaids to our fellow hiker. Thankfully that was the worst of the injuries we saw.
On a side note, one of our new friends, Mike (Ciara's dad) is on the mountain rescue squad. They have to deal with a lot of injuries on the mountain, especially on the Sunday pilgrimage, and to get injured people down they either have to airlift them via helicopter (if the weather is good), or more likely (when the weather is bad) need to have about 6 to people carry them down on a stretcher.
Early on in the hike, you can see it was quite busy
Mommy and Hannah on the rocky path
Getting higher!
One of the many breaks. Just a little left to the top of this mountain!
Kian checking out his progress
This is as high as we made it. It was about an hour or so left, and apparently at the end it is VERY steep, so probably for the best we turned around.
As we continued our climb, we started to realize we were not going to make it all the way to the top. Both kids were doing all their own walking, and they were getting very tired, especially Hannah. We set a goal to make it to the top of the first mountain, where it flattens out before looping around and continuing to the main mountain. At long last, we made it to our goal, and were rewarded with spectacular views of Clew Bay. In all, it took about 2 hours, with multiple short rests and a small lunch break on the way.
As high as we made it. Clew Bay is below, with some of the 365 islands visible.
The way down was much faster, but not much easier. Since it was so rocky, it meant lots of slipping and sliding. Most of the falls we witnessed were people on the way down, so we were being very careful. We held both kids hands the whole way, and while Kian was able to keep his balance and had a lot of fun, Hannah was a bit wobbly and had to be carried in some parts.
At long last, we made it to the bottom. The kids were great troopers and deserved a rest :)
Little hikers, big mountain
And were well rewarded with ice cream from the welcome center!
Hannah finishing Kian's ice cream and her own
After finishing the hike, we made our way over to Andrea's house for another playdate with Ciara and Roisin, and met their dad Mike. They have a very nice house with lots of fun toys and a dog, including some of the same awesome Ikea toys our kids have, so the kids were all having a blast and didn't want to leave. Hannah and Ciara were especially good together, and went off playing together like little girls do.
Hannah and Ciara seemed offended to have their playtime intruded on with a picture
We all had so much fun, we setup more plans with them for dinner tomorrow at their house! We're going to make Persian food, yum :)
After leaving, we went to a local restaurant in Louisburgh, called A. Gaffney. This restaurant is owned by the family of the people we met at Carrowmore beach the other day, and so they had recommended it to us. It was a nice restaurant with very yummy seafood, and was a great way to end this fun and action packed day.
Ok, so we did it to get it out of our system... We slept at a hostel. Will we do it again? Probably not, but they say never say never! The kids loved it, but I didn't really get that "we are all travelers let's share stories" vibe. It likely has something to do with the fact that we were a family, and had a private room. Most of the people at the hostel were alone and I overheard some of them trying to have conversations with others. I have no complaints about the hostel. It was clean and quiet and comfortable, but I think I had made up this super fun, let's make friends atmosphere in my head!
The view of Shop street from our room in the morning
A light breakfast was included as part of our stay, and we had to wash up after ourselves. After eating, we headed out to check out Eyre Square, but as we often do we got distracted by a mall on our way. We went in to have a look around and ended up window shopping for so long that it was advisable to eat something before getting back on the road. The shopping mall was close enough to Eyre Square, so we stepped out to take a look before eating lunch.
Eyre Square
After lunch, we continued our journey down south along the Atlantic Wild Way. This time we actually made a reservation at a bed and breakfast in the Ring of Kerry (in Glenbeigh). The goal was to make it there around 4 or 5 PM (I'll save you the suspicion and let you know now that we didn't make it until 9:30 PM!! Ha!)
On our way, we drove through some very neat landscapes in an area of Ireland called The Burren, where we decided to make a stop at the Aillwee Cave. The kids were really excited, it was their first time being in a cave. There was a guided tour that taught us a lot about the history of the cave. Hannah's favorite part was the waterfall and Kian's favorite part was the lair where the bear(s) supposedly would sleep during the winter, about 2000 years ago when there were still bears in Ireland.
Kian also enjoyed his head lamp, as it made him feel like Martin from Wild Kratts.
After the cave, we stopped at the farm shop on our way out where we could sample freshly made cheeses and fudge. Mmmm Mmmm...
Next stop was the Cliffs of Moher. Unfortunately for the tired kids who fell asleep in the car, the ride was not very long, and so they weren't very happy at first.
The Cliffs of Moher are magnificent, but the admission price is a bit ridic! I continue to be glad that our kids are under 6 and can get in almost anywhere for free. The entire site is very touristy, with big buses pulling into the parking lot and lots and lots of people walking around.
Nonetheless this wasn't a view we were going to pass up. We did not walk all the way to the end, just up one way to a little tower, then we turned around towards the main cliffs and went half way to the second cliff before heading back. We took the "safer" path, which is barricaded by big stone blocks. On the other side of the blocks you can walk on the edge of the cliff if you would like, and we saw quite a few people doing it. They do have big "DANGER" signs to let you know, you walk the edge at your own risk!
Also, for the Harry Potter enthusiasts, such as ourselves, it was fun to see the film location of one of the scenes from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
It was getting pretty late, and we still had a very long drive to the B&B where we were going to stay for the night. It really isn't that far of a distance as the bird flies, but in Ireland the roads are not exactly super highways, or even remotely straight, and there is a big river in the way with no bridge, making the only driving route something that would take us significantly out of the way. We knew that there is also a car ferry that can take us across the river and make our drive much shorter, but we did not know when the last one would leave. Around 5:45 PM, the Atlantic Wild Way brought us into a town and we decided to ask a shop owner if he knew more information about the ferry.
He did! The last ferry would leave at 9:30 PM and we were only about 45 minutes away. We took the 7:00 PM ferry across the river.
Hannah kept saying that we could not drive on a boat with our car. "The car is too heavy", she kept saying, and would fall off. She was definitely surprised when she saw the number of cars on the ferry.
The ferry took us across the river Shannon from County Clare to County Kerry.
The kids looking at the Shannon River from the ferry
We grabbed dinner from Alma's Takeaway in Milltown, a little shop that served pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets, and the likes. It was good food, and I loved that the shop was run by two women. Since everyone was quite exhausted, we all went to bed shortly after arriving at the B&B, the Kerry Ocean Lodge.
Tomorrow is another day :)
We woke up to a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and best of all dry sneakers! Hurray! Time to go to Clare Island. We can actually see Clare Island, in the Atlantic Ocean, from the windows of our little cottage.
The drive to the Roonagh Pier was a little less than 15 minutes. Yes, very narrow roads again in case you were wondering. We took the 10.45am "True Light" ferry which is the fastest ferry to Clare Island. The ride took about 10 minutes and we were able to enjoy some beautiful scenery.
View of Clare Island Harbour from the ferry
Once we arrived we stopped at an unmanned information center to pick up a map and figure out our hiking route(s). I really wanted to see the lighthouse and hoped the weather would stay nice so that we could hike all the way there.
Map of Clare Island
The first historical site on our way was the Clare Island Tower House. What is really neat about it is that after reading the information on the sign you can actually push the small metal gate open and go inside. There isn't much left inside but you can see that it was 3 floors, and as soon as you enter, if you walk down a narrow hallway to the left you will see the stone steps in front of you which at some point in time lead to the 2nd and 3rd floors. You cannot climb these stairs. According the to sign it is believed that a few wooden steps connected the stone stairs to the ground floor.
History of the Tower House
Kian outside the Tower House
Mommy and Hannah investigating the metal gate
Inside the Tower House
Stone stairs leading up
Clare Island gave Hannah, our little rock lover, a heart-shaped rock
Old sign
After browsing the tower house, we decided to walk the "Green Route" loop before taking a break for lunch and then heading to the light house. This is an easy terrain with good views of the ocean as well as the mainland and Croagh Patrick.
Our little photographers had a great time walking and photographing various sites and things they found interesting.
Kian and his camera
Hannah taking a picture of daddy while daddy takes a picture of Hannah
On our walk, aside from gorgeous scenery we saw lots of sheep (of course), cows, and a friendly donkey. He came right up to us and did not mind being petted. Donkey's have the sweetest eyes.
Kian and the sweet donkey
As we were getting ready to find a place for our mini picnic lunch, the sky was getting covered in dark clouds and it started to rain. We picked up the pace and tried to find a sanctuary from the downpour! Thankfully, we came upon an adorable and cosy coffee shop in just minutes. If you go to Clare Island one day, you must visit Anna's coffee shop. The atmosphere is very relaxed and Michelle and Anna (sister-in-laws) are remarkably friendly and welcoming. They have a book case full of books, from travel books to children books and everything in between. They even have a few jigsaw puzzles that kept our kids entertained before the food arrived.
The food and bread are also very delicious. I am actually sad we did not have the time to try the pastries as they looked very good on other people's plates, but the skies were turning blue and we didn't want to push our luck.
A series of colorful signs at various intersections help guide travelers to the coffee shop
Menu
Cute jigsaw puzzle kept the kids busy while they waited for lunch
A little tea to warm up the wet hikers
Vegetable soup and home-made bread
After lunch, the rain passed and sunshine returned. Lots of sunshine, enough to make us sweat on our hike up to the light house!
We barely saw anyone on the road up to the light house
The walk from the coffee shop to the light house is about 1.5 miles and there are some steep hills but nothing too difficult. The kids both walked the entire way up and were carried down most of the way back down.
Kian and Hannah at the 1 km mark. Although I think this sign is not very accurate. The walk felt much longer than 1 km.
Kian and Daddy. If you look closely behind them you can see the top of the light house. We were getting close!
We saw lots and lots and lots of sheep on our way up. They were completely unfazed by us going by.
A sheep posed for our picture without being disturbed
We arrived at the light house and I was a bit disappointed that we could not go inside. Apparently the light house is now a bed and breakfast and it costs quite a few pretty pennies to be able to stay there. Bummer. I would have love to go in the light house and check out the views!
Light house at Clare Island
I did not pout for too long though because the views right outside of the light house are incredibly stunning.
Kian and Hannah on the hills/cliffs by the Clare Island light house
View of the cliffs and the Atlantic Ocean
The kids had lots of fun being silly and we were able to sneak a few quick snaps.
Silly kids at Clare Island
The weather remained incredibly cooperative on our hike back down. We planned to take the 4.45pm ferry back to Roonagh Pier. We saw the skies starting to turn gray again, so we kept a quick pace, and as soon as we arrived at the unmanned information center it started to pour! A few very soaked people rolled in after us to wait for the ferry's departure time.
By the time we had to get back on the ferry (within 15-20 mins) the rain was gone and sun was shining on the ocean.
After arriving home I made a quick dinner, marinated sautéed chicken breasts on top of spinach with a side of sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers. The kids had a little bit of pasta with their chicken and ate most of their veggies raw. Once again the little hikers cleared off their plates.
Sautéed Chicken atop Sautéed Spinach with a side of mushrooms and bell peppers
Fresh eggs from the chickens on the farm! mmm! That's how we started our morning. A delicious omelet with tomatoes and scallions and just a bit of white cheddar cheese.
Delicious Omelet made with fresh eggs
Since our hosts are away this week (they live in the house adjacent to our little cottage), their neighbors stop by at different times during the day to feed the sheep and the chickens. They are all very friendly, especially the lady, Geraldine, who comes to feed the chickens. After we had finished breakfast she came and knocked on the door and asked if the kids would like to help feed the chickens. We put on our shoes and ran out to feed the chickens and get the eggs :)
Little farmers at work feeding the chickens and roosters
Farmer Kian and his eggs
Since it was raining, we lounged around the house and played. We headed to the Ocean Lodge, a nice restaurant/hotel very close to our cottage with incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean, for lunch. The restaurant was not very crowded which allowed us to hang around, and as the kids played a game of pool I was able to take advantage of the Wi-Fi and catch up with our blog postings.
Goat Cheese Salad
BBQ Chicken Wings
I forgot to mention before that milk and cheese in Ireland are absolutely delicious. The goat cheese on the salad tasted so fresh. If you are ever in Ireland, even if you are staying at a hotel you should definitely get some milk from a grocery store or at the restaurant. So good! Trust me, you won't be sorry!
Once we got back home it stopped raining and we decided to hike to the top of Killadoon Hill. This Hill is about 267m at it's highest point and it is practically across the street from where we are staying. There are no real paths to follow so you have to go through the grass and up the rocks and sometimes use your hands. Also you need to be on the look out for deer and sheep poop!
Hiking up with Hannah repeating over and over, "I can do it"
Half way there!
The views from the top are well worth the hike.
Hiking Partners
The view from the top of Killadoon Hill
We hiked back down the hill a lot easier than I thought we would and we even carried a tired Hannah most of the way.
We saw a cool frog on our way up, but it was too quick to hop away. We also saw a few neat cactus flowers randomly spread out on the hill.
Cactus Plant on the Hill
Hiking makes hungry children and hungry children are the best eaters. Both plates were cleared of all food within minutes :)
Hopefully our soggy sneakers will dry by the morning for another day of adventure.
Our family of four is chased summer around the world. Now we are a family of 5, back in the US, and planning our next great adventure.
