Ireland, Christmas 1995.

The Western Coast of Ireland, County Clare.

Huge waves pound the forbidding cliffs.

The wind howls and screams!  It's very cool!

We visit a real castle with a drawbridge and everything.

The terrifying Cliffs of Moher tower 700 vertical feet above the raging Atlantic.

The wind from the sea is so strong that small waterfalls flowing off the cliffs actually blow UP into the air.

An eerie figure carved over a tomb inside the ruins of a Twelfth Century church.

Whose is the face carved into the column of the church? A wealthy member of the congregation?

This ornate Celtic cross comes from the monastery Clonmacnois, in central Ireland. During the Dark Ages, the monasteries of Ireland kept learning alive.

More Celtic Crosses at Clonmacnois

A distant view of the castle with the drawbridge. We were the only people exploring the castle that day.

The Dingle Peninsula, a magic fairyland. Rainbows were everywhere. Look at all the colors in the sky.

We hike to the edge of a cliff, at the bottom of which is a shipwreck. The people on the ship had to be rescued by climbers. Anselmo climbs over a stone fence.

Mary and Liz climb over the same stone fence. Please ignore stupid hat.

A view straight down the cliff to the rusted iron wrecked ship. The ship was so badly damaged that the owner didn't bother to salvage it.

You can hike down to the beaches and caves at the bottom of the cliff. 

Off the coast of the Dingle Peninsula are the weird vertical Skellig Islands. The largest of these, Skellig Michael, has a monastery that existed in the Fifth Century, A.D. The stone huts on the mainland were built for the use of pilgrims visiting the monastery. Not exactly luxury accommodations.

After a long day of standing on the edge of scary cliffs, a reassuring drink in an Irish pub. These pubs all served Guinness stout and one ale (I can't remember the name), as opposed to pubs in England which all had different local brews.

After the drama of Clare and Dingle, Dublin seems downright tame.