Where the Grass is Greener: Day 3

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher were more breathtaking than I ever expected. From the overpriced parking lot to the tourist center built into the top of the cliffs, I had no premonition of the beauty we were about to experience. Once we walked up to the fence made of large stone slabs, I wanted to cross those man-made limits just to get closer. They are truly majestic. Layers of stone from every age of humanity stacked and stacked atop a crisp blue sea. White stone, gray stone, brown stone all building a more majestic castle than any I have ever seen. Tufts of sweeping green grass added to the spectacular sight and birds circled the unreachable cliffs. The sheer verticality of these cliffs meant that birds were the only ones who had the freedom to inhabit them. It must be an aviary heaven, free from clumsy-pawed predators. There are albatrosses there, and puffins and seals and countless other creatures.

We abandoned the marked path for a less official one and only found deeper beauties. The way the cliffs curved it’s as if someone took a great big ice cream scoop and scooped these stones out, only leaving white, frothy ribbons from breaking waves. The grass was so dense and soft it could have been a beautiful monster’s coat of fur. We perched in a cozy opening of the cliffs and dangled our feet over the edge. The thrills were the bright and scintillating kind. The danger was so drenched by the beauty of it all, it hardly felt like danger at all. Peril might as well have been a sparkly purple dress to slip in and twirl in. We could not take our eyes off the view before us. We sat, his arms around me, feeling the extremities of what it is to be young and alive... More >>