We planned to get on the road early so were about the first to be at breakfast and left the hotel just after 9AM. The sun was shining and the temperature was 18C. It stayed around that during the day, but we occasionally saw 21C.

Lynette had seen a sign to an old burial site and which was near the Sligo airport. As we reached 50kph, there was a Thump, Thump that appeared to be coming from the wheels and Lynette noticed that there was a breeze blowing on her from an unusual angle.

We never found the burial site and spent two hours chasing down the Hertz agent and getting the car checked out. The agent moonlighted from a photocopy and printing shop. She sent it to her garage for a check and as the car is full of computers, like most IT servicing, they could not find any fault. Maybe they did a Control, Alt, Delete manoeuver, and the fault magically disappeared. The agent took it for a burn out on the road and assured us that it was very quiet at speeds well over 100kph. Whatever was the cause of that Thump had disappeared. Only once during the day did it hiccup, like a miss, but diesels don't misfire. There still could be a computer fault.

It was well after 11:30AM before we left Sligo. Our first objective was Galway and the road was a National route. It's like the Auckland to Wellington SH1, but narrower. On the North of Galway, we stopped for an ice cream and pit stop at one of the busiest gas stations I have seen. I don't know what the attraction was, but people were teeming through that station.

My old Army mate, Bill, had given me two phone numbers for a friend of his in Galway. They had worked together in Singapore, when both were stationed there in the 1970's. Unfortunately I could not get through so left a voice message on the mobile number.

Lynette had studied her notes and realising that we have only six days left in Ireland, we pushed on to the Cliffs of Moher. On the way, we passed the Burrens. These are mountains of polished limestone. We don't have anything like them in NZ. We also stopped off at a small fishing village. The tide was out, so the boats were listing against the wharves or barely floating.

The roads tended to be narrow with room for two vehicles and a tissue between them. Signs to this tourist attraction were spasmodic. At a critical T junction, there was no indication as to which way we should go and we did an extra eight kilometres. Tractors were quite common. They never pull over, so a stream of cars toodle along at 40kph.

Eventually we found the Cliffs site and paid our four Euros each to enter. The cliffs are massive, over 700 feet high and are literally miles long. There is a cliff top path for several miles, but the standard route is about a mile north and south of the information centre.

After at least 90 minutes there, and more than a hundred photos, we headed south, ending up in the town of Ennis. We booked into a bed and breakfast and had a very pleasant dinner in the town. We were both pretty tired so had an early night.

The broadband speed was superb at 66Mbps.

On some days you may have to deal with the tides as well as skinny roads and stone walls on each side.

A robust little fishing boat

A typical Irish country road

This is known as the Chocolate Burren

 

The north of the Cliffs of Moher.  The needle is known as Sea Stack

Looking south at the Cliffs of Moher

This is the street in Ennis where we had dinner.