Last weekend, I did quite a bit of adventuring!
The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland’s most beautiful natural wonders. I decided to take a Paddywagon Tour – one of the most popular tourist companies in Ireland. I was lucky not to be the only young woman on the tour – a lovely girl from Virginia was on the tour with her mother. She was in Ireland touring medical schools, and we had a lot in common. We both are sciencey gals with a broad spectrum of other interests – including music! She was a violinist and clarinet player. We talked for most of day! On the way to the cliffs, we briefly stopped in Limerick, and then at a great little spot in the Burren. While most people admired the great scenery, I immediately headed out the the edge of the sea, and looked at the various ways the sea has eroded the limestone base. It was truly beautiful.
Cool, huh?
We then went to the cliffs. As a geologist, they are wonderful, because they consist of several different layers – a limestone, the Namurian shales, and throughout the formations, trace fossils cover the layers. I loved hiking around, seeing the history of our Earth in front of me. My new friend an I went out to the unprotected edges of Cliffs – peering over the edge of the 215m high cliffs down to a rocky sea took my breath away!
From the safe part, behind the wall.
The sign we blatently ingnored
I'm out of focus. For the Cliffs sake. 
Looking down
We got back to Cork, and I spent some time skyping some buddies. I went to bed early, as I knew I was getting up early to go out with the Mountaineering Club.
Before I begin my tirade about bogs, I should explain things. I have a relatively new found love for being outdoors and hiking. When I was growing up, I fought tooth and nail whenever my dad dragged me out hiking. I hated it. Last summer however, I became completely in love with walking around in Mother Nature. When I found out about the Mountaineering Club, it sounded perfect. However, I didn’t take into consideration Ireland’s climate. I am used to hiking in dry climates. While there might be some mud, for the most part, the trails I have been on have been clear, dry, and rocky.
The hike on Sunday began by taking a paved road to a trail. The first 20 minutes or so were fine – exactly what I was used to. And then…. we went off trail. STRAIGHT up the mountain. In a BOG. Luacra (an Irish brown grass that is prickly and long) was the ground covering – and when I mean cover, I mean cover. The random four foot deep holes in the bog were completely hidden. I didn’t know where to step! In addition, everything was soaked and slippery. The Irish students accustomed to this type of ground were practically running of the mountain, while I was struggling just figuring out where to step! I ran out of breath trying just to walk (by running out of breath, I mean I felt like I was dying), and had to stop once or twice. Ugh . At some points, the sticky bog mud was unavoidable, and by the end of the hike, I was pretty brown. That pretty sums up my day. Despite my rough time however, the views were absolutely phenomenal. Totally worth it.
STRAIGHT up.
From near the top of the mountain.
Please ignore the hair.
Class this week was pretty standard. Okay, not so standard. I missed a geophysics lecture for my exam (which was alright), and the practical for my intro class was super simple. I was frustrated because it was time consuming (think lots of rock drawings) and I wasn’t challenged at all. However, the lab leader Ed (also my Geohazards lecturer) is a total high class hippy, and we just chatted about random stuff for most of the two hours. My class on Friday was canceled – This was quite fortunate, because my good friend Julie and her roommate Cassie came down from Galway to see me (and Cork). So instead of going to class, we went to Blarney!
I went there in the first few weeks I was in Ireland, but it was a lot of fun to go with other people.
For example, they can take pictures of me in a tree.
Blarney in Autumn Glory
Friends can take pictures of you kissing the Blarney Stone!
No, I'm not that tall - I was propped on the walls.
On Saturday, we explored parts of Cork – UCC, St. Finbarre’s, and the Old Cork Gaol (jail).
Inside the Gaol - the dude at the top of the stairs is a "Warden"
We had a lovely time, if I do say so myself! On Friday night, we had a bit of a girls night, complete with Cosmo and gossip. Tons of fun. I’m very glad they came.
Sunday I stayed in for most of the day, doing some reading, attempting to put up pictures online (hence the delay in posting – I wrote most of this by 4 pm on Sunday), reading, and grocery shopping. Today I had classes – nothing big there!
Off to do more reading for class!
Emma
