After working hard in workshops for two days, part of "the American team" was ready for more exploration. So Tuesday saw us leave Kilmurry Village shortly after 9 a.m. This time we were in search of natural phenomena and decided to head south for Killarney National Park. So we headed out of Limerick via N22.

First we went through Adare. This is a wonderful village where many, many years ago, when Ireland was replacing old roofs with slate, a conscious decision was made to preserve the thatched roofs. As a result you can experience there a medieval-looking version of the modern strip mall: several stores and small restaurants housed in about 3 neighboring thatched buildings.

The 2-hour drive through the countryside took us past innumerable pastures. Stone fences mark most of their borders. There is no telling how old these fences are. They are built from local stone but not mortared, yet they have stood for a lot longer than any of us have been around. (Do you suppose that any of the software we worry about will stand as long?)

Eventually we came to Killarney. After going around one wrong loop a couple of times, we found the road out to the national park. We knew we were getting close when we came upon several "jaunting carts" — horse drawn open-air buggies. One of the drivers approached our car, stopped at a yield, and asked whether we’d be interested in a cart tour of the lake. (How on earth did he pick us out as tourists? Maybe it was the unusual maneuver we had made to get to that place in the circle that gave us away …) We declined and picked up the road to the park.

The lake there (Lough Leane) was lovely – we only wish we had had time to take the driver up on his offer. When we entered the national park, it made me think of the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington state in the U.S. The overhead canopy was rich and comforting. The dominance of ferns, rhododendrons, and evergreens made me feel as though I’d been transported to the home of my youth.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to thoroughly explore this, being due back in Limerick in the afternoon. Dave Wile wanted to go exploring as well and had heard some wonderful things about the Cliffs of Moher. Paul and I were game, so after picking him up the three of us headed northwest. Past Ennis we picked up the road to the Irish west coast and followed the signs to Lahinch. Once there we followed the signs to the cliffs.

After about 1.25 hours we found ourselves in the parking lot of the Information Centre at the cliffs. It was very windy, so we donned our extra gear and headed out to the walkway. Up to the right is something that resembles a watchtower, so we headed that way first. The wind blew strongly at times – so strong that it was nearly possible to just lean into it and let it hold you up. As we went, the view of the waves crashing on the rocks below was spectacular.

After touring that part, we walked up the "path" in the other direction. It was pretty clear that "the authorities" did not really want people to walk that way, although it was equally clear that many people had. (It led us to a moment of appreciation that there were still places in the world where it was deemed acceptable for an individual to decide to take a risk that could be fatal – this wouldn’t happen in the U.S.!)

After many silent moments of marvelling at how the cliffs had been eroded so beautifully by the crashing waters below, we headed back for Limerick. Dave wanted to see the area called The Burren, which is reputed to remind one of a moonscape. But we had obligations in Limerick and a 1.5-hour ride back. That exploration will have to wait for the next opportunity to break away.