Brandon O'Brien

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 @ 4:58 PM in 2013 Europe

It's only been 2 weeks into my journey but I feel like I'm learning a lot about the art of traveling lightly.

Things I've Learned:

• Bring a small flashlight or have a cellphone that can help light up dark hostel bedrooms. (Don't be the guy that turns the light on at 3am when everyone else is asleep)
• If you go grocery shopping in Ireland, make sure you have your bags. It's something I've been doing in the States for years, but here you must bring your own bags or else you get charged 20 cents per plastic bag you need.
• Make sure you have a pen close by. You always need to write something down or fill out paperwork when going through customs or crossing borders.
• When you're walking around a city and find a tourist information booth or a map of sights in the city, take a photo of it so you can refer to it later. It makes searching out sights much easier.
• The first Wednesday of every month in Ireland gets you free admission into all Heritage Ireland sights.
• I haven't used my Platypus drink tube in conjunction with my day pack and water bottle. I had good intentions to use it but it's just not as practical as I thought.

In addition to the above things I've learned I also have some more observations.

Random Observations

• Aero candy bars are pretty tasty (and I don't even eat candy hardly at all). I'm not sure if they're available in the States.
• For some reason women of all ages here seem to think dying their hair an almost neon red looks good.
• Not a single clock on any of the Bus Eireann buses has been even remotely correct.
• All of the hostels I've stayed at so far use powdered instant coffee.
• Bus Eireann lets you do amazing things on their website as far as finding schedules and booking tickets (you even save 5% if you book online). The downside is you still need to print the confirmation page and give it to the number. They have no clue how to handle looking at a phone screen to read the confirmation number and type it into their console.
• In Ireland, so far buses have been cheaper forms of travel than trains

Tags: tips, observations

Posted from: Ireland

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 @ 4:19 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 13

I woke up at 6:00 this morning in an effort to hike to the Cliffs of Moher so I could see them in the morning light and have breakfast with quite a view. Unfortunately the sun wasn't really playing nice and since there wasn't a cloud in the sky it was casting some pretty harsh shadows on the cliffs. The views were still incredible and there wasn't another soul out there. The freshness of the mornings always makes walking through nature so much nicer.

I made the 8km (plus a few extra) to the O'Brien's Tower - the highest point along the cliffs - and had the entire viewing spots and surrounding areas to myself. By now the sun had already been up for a few hours and the temperature and humidity was really starting to crank up. I stayed in the shade of the tower for a little while before starting my journey back.

On the way back I made sure to stop at some of the overviews and take in the views and sounds. I still had only seen 4 people in the 3 hours I'd been out hiking around so I could take my time watching the views without any interruptions. I made sure to take as many mental pictures as I could.

By the time it reached 10:00 it was getting to be uncomfortably hot. I was drenched in sweat and there isn't any shade on the exposed cliffs. I picked up my pace and by about 10:30 I finally started to see some more walkers making their way to the cliffs. I'm not quite sure any of them knew what kind of heat to expect but I'm glad I wasn't starting when they did.

I came back to the hotel where it was nice and cool and did a few hours of work and also made some changes to my blog (check out the Maps page. I added a new heatmap that shows where I've been staying each night). I also had a chance to do laundry for the first time! I was in desperate need of it and it felt great to have all of my clothes clean again.

Afterwards I changed and had the intentions of walking around a little bit but after about 10 minutes I decided I had enough of the sun and heat for the day and came back. I stopped in a local cheese/meat/wine/jam shop and sampled some of their treats and bought a bottle of cider that looked good. I'll crack it open tonight with dinner and see how it is.

I also bought my bus ticket to Galway so I'll be heading up there tomorrow. I'll stay there 3 nights then head to Dublin early Saturday morning so I can catch my flight to Edinburgh later in the day.

The Cliffs of Moher has been a great experience. Aside from the intense heat and sun, the views were amazing. I think I'd rather it be this way than cloudy and foggy though. It definitely let me see a lot more of the cliffs than most people get to experience in typical Irish weather.

Teaser photos:

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, doolin

Posted from: Ireland