Getting bogged down

The typical tour of the Emerald Isle goes around the coast. We started at Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and went south, then along the southern coast, then up the eastern coast. Last evening we arrived at Londonderry in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. We had rain most of the day.

We have seen many bogs as we have made the half circle around the island. The peatland or bog covers about 15% of the landscape of Ireland. There are raised bogs in the midlands of the country.

The peat is said to have been formed over a period of about 10,000 years. The natural growth of the centuries lies trapped in the earth. The photo below shows an area where turf cutters have taken out some of the peat.

A bog showing that turf has been cut. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The peat is cut into small "logs" about the size of those logs folks back in the USA buy to put on their fire. The peat burns and smells like wood. It is natural decayed matter.

Peat cut into small "logs" to be burned. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

During certain periods when much more peat was being taken from the bog, small ponies were used to pull the carts. These ponies almost became extinct, but a gentleman on the Ring of Kerry has tried to preserve them from extinction. The two you see below are at the Kerry Bog Village. The ponies are called Kerry Bog ponies.

Kerry Bog Ponies at the Kerry Bog Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

If I may leave a little message for today, don't get bogged down in the things of this life. You may get stuck there for a long time.

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher rise about 650 feet above the Atlantic Ocean on the Western coast of Ireland. We arrived in the early afternoon and the light was against us, but the view was still spectacular. The wind along this coast can be terribly strong. Even so, not far away there is a world class links golf course. Our guide said the wind on the course can easily reach 80 miles an hour.

Cliffs of Moher on the Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

As I walked up the hill to O'Brien's Tower once or twice I felt like our USA weather persons out in a hurricane. This tower was built as a viewing point for Victorian tourists.

O'Brien's Tower at the Cliffs of Moher. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Today we visited the region of Connemara in County Galway.

Everyone in our group is doing well.