Mizen Head of County Cork, Ireland

Aside from a completely unexpected close-up encounter with a dolphin, our trip to Ireland was mostly a tour of the rocky cliffs on the southwest coast.  We had planned to do this drive without knowing that Ireland has started a major branding campaign for the area, known as the Wild Atlantic Way.  When we stopped to get lunch one day, one of the locals asked us if we were driving the Wild Atlantic Way.

Driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting on the wrong side of the car, and shifting gears with my left hand was easier than you might think.  But, I did get in the wrong side of the car at least twice, only to realize I had no steering wheel.  Second, trying to shift the gears with the left hand from the left side, while the orientation of the gears was as normal (1st was furthest and 5th closest) did not mesh well with my brain.  I ground the gears going from 2nd to 3rd a hundred times, often to the amusement of nearby pedestrians.

From the airport, we headed straight to an old abandoned cathedral known as Rock of Cashel. It was built in the 1200's, though some buildings on the site had been built even earlier.   Old stone Irish crosses covered in lichen stand in the graveyard on the site.

After visiting Rock of Cashel, we drove to the far southwest tip of Ireland, known as Mizen Head.  We were fortunate this was one of the few sunny days we had.  There'd been so little good weather this year that the sunny day resulted in a traffic jam.  Thousands of people had rushed to the beach and filled the parking lot.  In desperation, later arrivals started parking their cars on the edge of the little country road, effectively reducing it to only one lane.  The result was a huge head-on backup. We got to witness twenty cars all backing up at once for a quarter of a mile.

A little way past the beach, we were continuing on the tiny coastal road.  We couldn't resist getting out and exploring the grassy clifftops and soaking up some sunshine.  Everywhere we went, we saw these dense tufts of small purple and yellow flowers in the right foreground.  I think they're heather.   "Heathcliff "on the heather-covered heath above the cliffs."  Hmm, I wonder where Emily Brontë got her ideas for character names. You can see the heath in appropriately dreary weather in the next article.

The great thing about this area is that we were the only people there.  It's just a random spot on the coast.  

Once we made it to Mizen Head, we went for a long walk on the paths originally built for workers at the signal house and lighthouse.  Mizen Head is set up to receive visitors, but it's not crowded.  See lower left corner of map below.

A flock of crying seagulls swirled in the air in front of the mouth of this cave.  The seagulls provide a clue to the scale of the scene.

Looking down off a short bridge way at the top of the cliffs.

The incredible view that everyone comes for.

This is part 2 of a five-part series on our vacation in Ireland in summer 2015.

Chapter 1: an unexpected close-up visit with a dolphin.

Chapter 3: describes our hike around Lamb's Head, at the tip of the Beara Peninsula, in County Cork.

Chapter 4:  Connemara National Park, Cliffs of Moher, and Achill Island.

Chapter 5: I saved the best for last, the seaside cliffs and islands along Slea Head Drive.

[Note: If the photos are too big for your screen, you can click on one of them for a slide show view.]

Hopped on a stranger's sailboat to see the dolphin

The most exciting and unlikely thing that happened to us in Ireland was when a guy in a wet-suit by the  mouth of Dingle bay offered to take us out in his two-person sailboat to visit the dolphin he befriended over 20 years ago.  We had run into him as he was coming onshore near a small stone tower overlooking the mouth of the bay.  The reason we were there was because I wanted to get a closer look at a lonely stone tower standing in the middle of a cow pasture. To get as close as we could, we'd driven down a tiny gravel road between fields, to the edge of the water, where about four cars were parked.  While we walked to the tower, and along the shore, we'd seen a man out circling back and forth in his small sailboat.  That's why I asked him if he'd seen any dolphins out there.  He thought that was funny, because it turned out he's been regularly visiting the dolphin for over twenty years.

After chatting about the dolphin for 10 minutes, and seeing the dolphin pop up a few times, he asked if we wanted to go meet his friend.  Even after he mentioned we had to go one at a time, Jennifer didn't hesitate to jump in the boat, which was a bit of a surprise to me. The guy was really friendly and seemed like a nice guy, but Jennifer says serial killers usually are too.  :)   She had to go by herself, because his tiny sailboat only carries two people.

So, there was Jennifer, out on a two-person sailboat with a guy we'd met 15 minutes before, while I waited onshore with Aiden's big, shaggy dog.

Jennifer sliding in the center board as they got into deep enough water.

Aiden had a way of calling the dolphin, with a loud "eeweeeee", and banging on the side of his boat with a small aluminum pole.  Most of the time, the dolphin responded by coming to the surface and checking out the boat.

Then he would disappear and we'd be looking for him in all directions.  Aiden would circle the boat around the area, going back into the harbor, or out further into the bay.  We saw him here just a second ago...

Coming in for a closer look.

Showing off.  You can get a sense of the relative size of the dolphin and the boat. He was about as long as the boat, so he looks really huge up close.  

Splashdown...

He surfaced a couple of times near the mouth of the harbor.  You can see all the way across the bay to the next peninsula south.  

The way the wind was blowing, and with that sail, there were very few opportunities to get a photo where you can see both Jennifer and Aiden's faces.  Look at how low the edge of the boat is - it actually goes in the water when making a sharp turn like this.  

One theory is that he was released from an amusement park, but no one knows for sure.

The triumphant return to shallow waters, greeted by Aiden's shaggy dog.  Jennifer was beyond thrilled for a couple of days after.

This is the first in a series of articles on our trip to Ireland.  The next has photos from the spectacular seaside cliffs of Mizen Head.  Another describes our hike around Lamb's Head, at the tip of the Beara Peninsula, in County Cork.  Next is Connemara National Park, Cliffs of Moher, and Achill Island.  Finally, my favorite, the seaside cliffs and islands along Slea Head Drive.