Our fourth day in Ireland was a bit rocky for three reasons:
- We visited the Cliffs of Moher (Unforgettable!)
- We trekked 80 feet below ground into Doolin Cave (Fun!)
- I felt nauseous almost the entire day (Awful.)
Let’s start with the fun stuff!
Ryan and I got moving rather early on Monday morning because we knew we had a lot of driving ahead of us if we wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin Cave before making the final push to Galway where we planned to spend the night.
When we began to piece together our trip to Ireland, the most popular thing people said to us was, “You must visit the Cliffs of Moher!”
And now I can see why!
They were, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous displays of nature I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
After a three-plus hour drive from the Dingle Peninsula, Ryan and I parked our car at the visitor’s center and spent about 20 minutes inside walking around reading the various plaques before making the brief walk out to the cliffs.
It was absolutely freezing as the icy-cold wind whipped at our faces, but once we were able to see over the edge, we were blown away by the majestic views and forgot about the cold.
I only wish my pictures could begin to do it justice. It really is one of those breathtaking sights you must see in person. Incredible!
If if weren’t for the frigid weather (and my nausea), Ryan and I agreed that we could’ve easily spent hours hiking along the cliffs but after about 45 minutes, the wind made me feel like my quads and face were turning to ice. It was intense! I’m just glad that it wasn’t foggy and that we were able to take in the gorgeous views. (I only wish we could’ve seen the puffins that apparently nest on the cliffs later in the year. How cool would that be!?)
After our time at the Cliffs of Moher, we drove for less than 10 minutes before we reached the tiny town of Doolin.
Ryan and I weren’t done with adventure for the day just yet and had plans to pop into Doolin Cave to see the third largest stalactite in the world.
We’re serious spelunkers, after all!
Truth be told, once we lined up with our small group to enter the cave, I had second thoughts and had to have a pep talk with the guide before I felt comfortable with the idea of walking down into the cave to see the stalactite. I explained my issues with claustrophobia to him and he assured me I’d always be able to quickly backtrack and find my way out if I ever felt panicked.
The only time I felt uneasy was right after we descended the seven flights of stairs and entered the tunnel leading to the stalactite. I made sure I was at the very back of the line just in case I needed to make a beeline for the exit, but everything was well lit and once we made our way out to the center of the cave, it was quite spacious.
The stalactite was HUGE and the pictures fail to capture its true size.
It is 23 feet long and still dripping!
Does anyone else remember learning mnemonic devices in grade school pertaining to stalactites and stalagmites? I still remember learning that the word stalactite contains the letter “c” so it grows from the ceiling while the word stalagmite contains the letter “g” and grows from the ground and several members of our tour remembered learning the exact same thing. Mnemonic devices work, I’m tellin’ ya!
Once we were done exploring Doolin Cave, we planned to see The Burren, but my nausea fully kicked in and I ended up buckling up my seatbelt in the backseat of our car and curling up to try to sleep as Ryan drove us to Galway. I felt awful for being such a cruddy travel buddy but I just couldn’t shake the nausea I was feeling for most of the day. I joked that it was all the germs from kissing the Blarney Stone that did me in!
I’ll see ya in a bit with a recap of our time in Galway!
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I always get nausea when I’m jet lagged – feels like I’m far out to sea and the whole world is tilting around. Not a fun feeling when you’re meant to be having an adventure! Hope it calms down for your Julie 🙂
Those cliffs look amazing but you guys both look very freezing cold!
We’ve got caves here in Australia with stalactites they are awesome to see 🙂
These cliffs are really glorious. I think you really motivated me to go to Ireland, but in Summer! The nausea probably has something to do with changes in your nutrition, or even water, or curvy Irish roads. 🙂 A cup of a Mint tea can calm iritated belly pretty well
i think a lot of it was the curvy roads. i tend to get car sick as it is!
Your trip looks great! The boys in school always said stalactites had the word tit in them and are therefore hanging down. Oh…. And sorry I wrote that word on your blog 😉
I know what you mean – pictures just can’t do things justice! I’m glad you got to see some amazing things despite the cold and your poor stomach!
Ugh sorry you weren’t feeling well. 🙁 It’s miserable to be sick when you’re traveling!
Oh no! I hope your nausea didn’t last too long — it’s the worst to have stomach troubles while traveling!
Those views look incredible! Sorry you didn’t feel well, hope it resolved quickly!!
Beautiful pictures!
Ah I would love to see that in real life!!! I hope you are feeling better!
Ahh beautiful!!
beautiful pictures! One (non medicinal) way I treat nausea (I get carsick/feel nauseous all the time) is to wear sea bands. They look kind of funny, but they work wonders! They put pressure inside your wrists and it helps keep it under control. Just a thought for if/when you get nausea. I hear they work for morning sickness too! Hope you are feeling better!
Ireland is on my list of places I will go to one day! It looks beautiful!
Bummer about not feeling well! But what a great day of sight seeing regardless. I think I’d have to be at the back of the line as well..I do NOT like tight spaces. It’s one reason I often avoid elevators…
The cliffs of insanity!!! Sweet that you got to see them in person.
Oh man I’m so sorry you didn’t feel well! But I’m so glad you got to see such beautiful views! I went spelunking with my geology class, it was so much fun!
I always heard that stalactites had to hold on “tight” or they would fall from the ceiling. Hope your feeling better now. Once again, beautiful! I must get to Ireland!
I’ve never heard of that, but I like it!!
I was taught stalactites hang like a pair of tights when you hang them to dry, and stalagmites are on the ground like mites. Now that I think about it, using the image of bugs crawling is kind of gross!
Bummer that you weren’t feeling 100%… That happens to me when I’m jet lagging. Always puts a nice damper on a trip:( The pictures from the cliffs are amazing, though!
So ill be the first to predict….preggers!!!!!
YES! I was like “why has no one suggested that yet?” how exciting if it turns out to be true!
I thought so too! 😉
no, no… unless it happened on this trip! ha! 🙂
That’s probably for the best. Do you think Sadie would get jealous?!
LOL! That’s what I was thinking too! Especially since she dropped the “baby” word in a post leading up to their trip!
That’s the first thing I thought too.
First time I went to Ireland I got mono.
Second time I got pregnant.
Both times I was car-sick as hell from the roads.
“unless it happened on this trip” must mean yall are trying?!
thats so exciting! best of luck!
not trying yet. 🙂
Ill second the preggo comment!
Sorry to hear you weren’t feeling well! Way to go for still exploring & making the best of your vaca!
Wow! You guys are seeing so much in such a short time. The pictures are beautiful I can’t even imagine how beautiful it must be in person.
I don’t know about you but the caves always made me feel like I was in Lord of the Rings with Gollum! haha
Cliffs of Moher are amazing! I learned that stalactites had to “hang on tight” to the ceiling, and stalagmites “stood up tall and mighty” from the ground! I never forget either! glad you had a fun trip!
That’s exactly how I learned it too! Glad I’m not the only one!:)
That was the first thing I thought! =] You should keep some dramamine on hand! I always get really car sick and that has been a life saver! Make sure to use the non-drowsy though, or it will seriously knock you out!
Those views are gorgeous!! And that first pic of you two bundled up is too cute! Can’t wait to hear about the rest of the trip 🙂
Ha ha, I had to read the comments to see if someone had said the nausea meant pregnancy. Either way, I hope you feel better!
I never knew there were so many different mnemonic devices for stalactites. I was taught that a stalactite had to hold on “tight” to the ceiling, and a stalagmite “might” reach the ceiling if it grows tall enough from the floor! My husband climbed a 40-ft stalagmite in a cave in Thailand, and I was so scared he would fall, but it was an amazing experience. Nature is so cool!
I’m sorry you felt so icky! Hopefully tomorrow is a better day 🙂
Where did you get your fur-hooded coat? It’s sooooo cute!
The Cliffs of Moher and Doolin cave were my favorite stops when we were in Ireland. We also had a blustery day but wow the views from the Cliffs were amazing. My other favorite was our hike in the National Park you went too the other day, we found the old monastery and had so much fun exploring it. Hope you enjoyed Galway and visited the Claddagh shop.
I was thinking the same thing as Lauren!!
Cliffs of Moher are probably # 1 on my list of things to see! We’ve been cave exploring in Belize, and they taught us the same thing to remember which is which. It was one of the best adventure trips ever!
It must be COOOOLLLD there! You look so cute with your furry hood, though! 🙂
What a gorgeous place! Seriously though, that’s so pretty! Sorry you weren’t feeling well!
Breathtaking pictures! I would be ALL about the cave!!
You are brave. I would be totally scared to get in those caves!
Hope you feel better, Julie! Sorry to hear you were so nauseous during your trip – worst feeling being sick while traveling. Try to get your hands on some ginger (the real stuff), and baring that, ginger ale (they’re both antiemetic (prevents nausea)). Thanks for all the great updates.
I know what you mean about pictures not doing things justice – I was on the top of the tallest mountain in Arizona and the pics don’t do it justice – it just looks flat, the rocks look tiny, there is no senses of scale in the photos. I had to tell people, “I know that looks just like a little rock, but it’s actually two houses tall!”
Hope you feel better soon!
I love the pictures, it looks beautiful! Sorry you are not feeling well, theres nothing worse than feeling nauseous. I think it’s funny most people go to the beach this time of year, all your clothes make it look like your in the artic!
Hope it wasn’t some bad oysters that made you sick! Loving your Irish travels. I live in Galway so I can’t wait to see where you went!
A trip to Ireland is definitely on my bucket list! It looks like you guys are having a great time. And I am super claustrophobic too! I am 100% positive I would not have been able to survive the caves!!!
Yay! Can’t wait to see how you enjoyed Galway! Hope the nausea is well and truly gone now!
Wow! That is beautiful! I’m extremely claustrophobic as well! Couldn’t get through an MRI once. I hope you start to feel better!!
Amanda
Such gorgeous views! I would love to see those Cliffs one day!
I was taught a different mnemonic by a cave tour guide in Missouri: stalactites hold “tight” to the ceiling and stalagmites “might” grow up to reach the ceiling one day. I like your saying too though!
Hi Julie – at school we were taught that “tights fall down” so stalactites must be the ones that point down. I have never forgotten that. Karen
You poor thing! I hate when I get sick on vacation. I hope you are feeling better. 🙂
The cliffs look so beautiful! And I love your jacket! Too bad you weren’t feeling super great, but I hope you feel better for the rest of the trip!
Wow those really are beautiful…If they look that gorgeous in pictures, I know that they have to be that much more gorgeous in person. Hope you’re feeling better 🙂
Stalactites hang TIGHT to the ceiling and stalagmites you MIGHT trip on.
i’m new to this blog but can’t help thinking the nausea could be caused by a baby on board perhaps. haha
Your parka is so cute! Where did you get it??