An Ireland & Scotland Journey

By: Samie

Travel Dates: May 25th & 26th
Country: Ireland

First things first: craic.

If you’ve never been to Ireland, you may be looking at the title of this post and wondering what exactly we came for. Craic is pronounced like crack, but before you worry about what kind of vacation we had, it has a much different meaning in Ireland!

It’s a wonderfully useful word meaning fun, good times, entertainment, or just generally having a great time with good people. You might hear someone ask, “What’s the craic?” They’re essentially saying, “What’s happening?” or “How’s it going?” Or someone might tell you, “The craic was mighty!” meaning the good times were plentiful.

So when we say We Came for the Craic, we mean it quite literally. We came for the adventure, the laughter, the stories, the beautiful places, and, hopefully, a whole lot of good craic along the way!

Day 1

(Leaving the USA, Arriving in Ireland, Saltee Islands)

I’m going to be counting May 25th & 26th as one day because it was the 25th when we left the USA but the 26th when we landed in Ireland. So for us, it was pretty much just one big day. And when I say big, I mean it!

For the first time since traveling together, our best flight to our destination was actually out of the Aberdeen airport! We would have free parking and wouldn’t have to worry about the driving time to get to the airport, which was a true luxury.

With limited security times due to it’s small size, we made sure to get to the airport early. Our flight wasn’t until 2:50pm, but we arrived around 12:50 and did some sitting and waiting around.

When the TSA agents came and opened everything up, getting through was a pretty quick and easy process. We did learn that smaller airports are more thorough with checking passengers though. Our plane was small but full. Our flight would take us to Minneapolis, where we would then switch planes to one that would take us directly to Dublin.

The first flight was only about an hour, so it was a very quick and simple flight. We arrived in Minneapolis at around 4:00pm, and then our next flight to Dublin was at 6:25pm, so we fortunately didn’t have a lot of waiting around or time to fill. We made our way over to our gate and were seated and waiting to board at around 5:15.

This plane was much larger. It had three aisles, a set of 2, a set of 4, and then another set of 2. We sat on the left of the plane, so we had the whole row to ourselves as a group of 2. Our flight was also going to be much longer, and we were set to land in Dublin at 7:55am. With the time change, it ends up being about a 7 and a half hour flight.

I ended up falling asleep almost immediately and missed dinner services. The first few hours of the flight were actually pretty quick and manageable for both Luke and I. However, the last few hours were quite a struggle for me. Even with my long compression socks, my legs and knee joint were aching. Even though this plane was definitely bigger than our first one, I still didn’t get the leg room to stretch out, and my body was hurting. However, I survived and pushed through, and it would all be worth it in the end.

Before even landing, a glance out the plain gave us a stunning view of how lush and green everything was! Despite not really getting a good night’s rest, we hit the ground running.

We started by making our way over to where we would be picking up our rental car. Yes, we would be driving a rental car in Ireland…meaning the car was opposite of what we are used to and that we would be driving on the opposite side of the road. However, having our own vehicle seemed like the most logical way to drive around the country and see and do all the things we wanted to.

The man that greeted us with his Irish accent was very welcoming and nice and helped us get started on the right foot. We had opted for the smallest rental car because we’d learned that Irish roads were known for being narrow, and the idea of trying to navigate them in a large vehicle was not something that interested us. The nice rental car concierge asked if we were sure that was the car we wanted and that for a certain amount more (it was a good chunk of change), we could upgrade to a slightly larger size. We said we were fine with the one we had picked.

We made our way into the garage to get our vehicle. We saw why he had tried to upgrade us. The small option was, in fact, very small. Our vehicle friend for the next few days was a Kia Picanto, and if that name doesn’t give away how small our car was, nothing will. It had a front seat, a tight backseat, and an event more compact “boot,” or trunk. Fortunately, it was just the two of us with our backpacks and carry-ons, so it was going to suit us just fine. And not to spoil anything, but we ended up becoming quite fond of our little car.

The first, and really only, thing we had on our agenda for the day was getting down to Kilmore Quay to take a tour out too the Saltee Islands to see the puffins. From Dublin to Kilmore Quay, it is about a 2 and a half hour drive down south, along the Irish Sea. We got to ease into driving on the opposite side of the road with the large, multiple-lane roads leading out of Dublin. Unlike our first trip abroad, we had decided to purchase phone plans since we would be navigating on our own as opposed to tours.

It was actually a smooth trip, and we were able to find and arrive at our destination quite easily. The hardest part was finding parking because it was a small, quaint little area, but we made it work.

We had no idea how long it would take to get out of Dublin and if we would face any issues along the way, so we had booked our island tour for 1:00pm, giving us a nice window to get there. Because it ended up being smooth sailing, we arrived at Kilmore Quay at around 11:30, so we had some time to fill before our scheduled tour.

Since it was technically a new day, we decided we’d find a spot to eat brunch. We found a place called Cocoa’s that was open, so we swung in. Many of the businesses hadn’t opened yet, so Cocoa’s was one of the few, and it was hopping! It wasn’t like we had anything better to do, so we hopped in line and waited to place our order. Once ordering, we did manage to snag and inside table, even if the space was a little tight.

From the menu, Luke ordered a Breakfast Bage, a toasted bagel with sausage, bacon, fried egg, and pudding. I ordered a Brunch Bagel, a toasted bagel with bacon, avocado, and cream cheese. Then there were a few specials posted on signs that we had to try. We got a crab roll to share, and I also got a Golden Smoothie, which had pineapple, mango, banana, and pineapple juice.

As we were waiting for our food, a staff member approached us and said they were actually out of bagels, so we said having it on toast would be fine. We got to leisurely enjoy our meal and put some extra fuel into our bodies, without rushing to get to our tour.

We finished eating and still had some time, so we ended up walking around the pier and taking in the views. It was a working pier, and it definitely smelled like it was well-used. The strong smell of sea contents and it’s wildlife could definitely be overpowering at times.

As 1:00 drew near, we made our way to the meeting point for our tour. In order to get to the island, we would obviously have to take a ferry. It turned out there were multiple ferries getting people out there, so they would check your name on their list, count how many people could fit on one, and send us out in groups.

Even with the fairly small ferry, it still couldn’t take us close enough to the shore of the island to step off. Once getting within a certain distance, an even smaller dinghy that only fit 6 people would come get us and pull up as close to the shore as they could manage. When booking our tour, it was made clear that the dinghy still might not be able to pull all the way up to shore and that we might get our feet wet, so we were expecting this and were prepared. What we were not prepared for was how bad the seaweed that was washed up on the shore smelled.

Once our feet were on solid ground, we used our stinky waterproof shoes to climb a set of stairs that brought us up to the main stretch of island. A guide there had everyone gather around so that she could go over a few expectations and a rundown of the island and about how long it takes to walk all the way around it. Then, we were on our own to explore!

The first milestone we came across on our self-guided tour of the island was an area called The Throne. It is called this for a good reason. There is a stone throne monument built by Michael Neale, who bought the islands in 1943 and declared himself Prince Michael the First. Michael had made a promise to his mother at age 10 that he would one day own the Saltee Islands and become their prince. When he bought the islands, he shipped the throne in July 1956 for his formal coronation and dedicated it as a memorial to his mother. The chair features a coat of arms and a carved rule stating that future heirs and successors can only claim the title of Prince by sitting in the chair fully dressed in the islands’ robes and crown while taking an oath of succession. The island is now managed by his descendants as the private sanctuary and popular bird-watching destination that it is. So, of course, I had to take a seat in it.

In front of the throne, there’s a large, open grassy area that some people might sit, relax, or enjoy a picnic at. We, however, didn’t come for a picnic. We came for puffins. So we pushed on and began walking on the path that would take us around the island, an expected 1 hour walk, at least.

As soon as we set foot on the walking path, signs were posted about the puffins nesting. Puffins, despite being birds that can fly, are actually ground nesters and will dig burrows. When the guide was giving us the low-down, she stressed the importance of staying on the marked path so as not to accidently trample any of these burrows. It was an easy rule, yet a rule many people still seemed to struggle to follow.

The views were immediately amazing! There was the sweeping expanse of lush green grass and plants up on top of the island, jagged rocky outcroppings sloping down the sides of the island, and of course the dazzling blanket of stunning blue sea all around.

We began seeing birds in the water or far cliff rocks, but it was hard to tell what they were. It did seem they weren’t the puffins we were looking for, but one of the other featured bird species of the island. Many visitors must have been avid bird-watching enthusiasts and had brought large cameras that were posted up on tripods, snapping photos of the birds littering the rocks and sea on this side of the island. We stopped for a little bit to take it in, but again, we were really here for the puffins, so we continued our trek.

After about 10 minutes, we had our first puffin spotting! It was pretty far from us, close the edge of the island before it dipped down toward the sea, but I wasn’t any less excited! While being alert, the puffin was busy working on its burrow, so in between it scanning the area, we would see clouds of dirt come flying out. I would’ve been content to stand and watch this puffin all day, but we still had a whole island to see.

Shortly after continuing on, we spotted another, closer, puffin scuttling down a hill. And yes, it was every bit as adorable as you would expect it to be! We stopped and watched in this spot for about 10 minutes while a few different puffins popped up and hopped around. I was in absolute heaven! Again, we hadn’t even made it halfway around the island, so even though I was perfectly content here, we had much more to see.

In order to get to the next section of the island, we had to ascend a steep hill. This would’ve been a challenging feat on it’s own, but there were a couple of factors that made it extra difficult. First, I was extremely out of shape. I had meant to get into the habit of walking before our trip to prepare, and with the busy end of the school year, it just never quite happened. Second, Ireland is known for it’s mild and rainy climate. In late May, the expected weather is partly cloudy, a drier month but still often visited by passing showers, and temperatures that average around 59 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. When we arrived, Ireland was in the middle of a record heat wave that shattered the previous temperature record set in 1997. We were facing temperatures of about 90 degrees, but dressed for temperatures almost 30 degrees cooler.

We had to stop several times on the way up to try and catch our breath. Fortunately, stopping allowed us to take in the views from the island’s top. Even with the exertion and sun beating down, it was amazing.

As we approached the bend that would take us to the second half and opposite side of the island, we saw another expansive sorority of birds. They completely blanketed the southern side of the island. However, we didn’t stop to observe like the other visitors, many again with large cameras. They weren’t puffins. They weren’t what we were here for.

Just past the bend was the second meadow/resting area on the island. After our mini hike and scorching heat, we needed a little rest. We walked to a spot closer to the edge of the meadow and near the sea and plopped down on our backs. Luke had an undershirt on under his T-shirt, whereas I didn’t have anything on under my quarter zip sweatshirt because it was a very lightweight athletic quarter zip, so Luke popped his shirt off, and we laid it over our faces to keep the sun at bay while we relaxed and recovered.

Fortunately, what goes up, must come down. The stretch on the second half of the island we face after taking the curve around was all downhill, a much appreciated reprieve. I don’t know if it was the strenuous hill that slowed or deterred many of the visitors, but whereas the east side of the island was filled with tourists, there was next to no one on the west side path, another much appreciated reprieve.

As we began our decent, we passed an adorable little family of what I would’ve called seagulls, but I’m sure they had a more specific name. We were able to identify the mother by the huddle of chicks surrounding her. The father was standing right next to them and overseeing everyone. However, they were on a small ledge of hill and rocks almost immediately next to the walking path, so as we came closer, he waddled out onto one of the rocks and watched us closely as we passed by, making sure we maintained our distance from his precious family.

As we continued, we already began seeing little specks of black backs, white bellies, and bright orange beaks. Puffins! It started with just a couple here and there, most, like the puffins on the opposite side of the island, popping in and out of their burrows on the very edge of the grassy part of the island but outlooking the sea or flying around between the water and rocks of the land. With where the walking path was located, the edge of the island was actually much closer to us on this side though, so even the puffins that were about as close to the edge as they could be, were still two to three times closer than the puffins we’d seen already.

If you haven’t guessed it already, this is where we ended up spending most of our time. I couldn’t stop taking pictures and videos. I would’ve been satisfied if this was the last puffin sighting of the day because we were already wayyyy closer than our last puffin tour in Iceland. But things were about to get even better!

We continued down the path and came across an entire puffin colony, some even waddling up near the walking path. I got my leg exercise for the day with the amount of squats I ended up doing to take pictures and videos and enjoy the view from near-puffin height level. You don’t realize how teeny tiny these little birds are until you get up close. An Atlantic Puffin is only about a foot tall, at most! This means that even squatting down as low as I could, I was still towering over these adorable little water birds.

I was smiling from ear to ear, and it was hard to imagine this trip getting any better, and we hadn’t even completed day one yet! While pushing ourselves to our bodies limits between the high temperatures, physical exertion, and fatigue, it was a well worth-while adventure that we were glad we squeezed into our first day.

After spending a good half hour enjoying sitting amongst the puffins and filling my camera roll with puffins, our bodies and the sun moving into it’s highest and hottest position, were telling us it was time to move on.

We continued walking the path that would take us back to the starting point on the island. It took us through a growth of tall wildflowers that made it feel like we were walking through a fairy tale! The only thing that took us out of this illusion was a seagull that was taunting us. It would fly around, land behind us, and laugh at us. Then when we turned, it would fly up and around our heads again, then land and start laughing when we turned back and continued walking. It was a very rude little seagull.

We got back to the spot where we would once again board the dinghy that would take us to the small ferries that would take us back to shore. Unfortunately, our scheduled pickup time wasn’t until 4:00, and it was only about 3:15. There weren’t really any places to sit in the shade and wait, so I ended up finding a clean enough patch of sandy dirt to crouch in. We definitely weren’t the only ones, and other visitors were gathered and continued to as we waited. We were ready to wait around a while, when we saw boats take shape on the horizon. The dinghies were driving around out further in the water by the island, but they weren’t going to come and get us until there was a ferry to take us to.

As the ferries got closer, a large chunk of the group we had been waiting around with made their way down the stone stairs to stand on the seaweed-y beach to wait. We weren’t in any particular rush because this was our one big event for the day, and we also didn’t have any interest to extend the amount of time we’d have to spend on the squishy, smelly beach. Plus, we counted how many people had headed down, and we wouldn’t fit in the first couple of dinghies anyway.

So we waited for the dinghies to make their way to shore and load up and carry out the first few groups before descending down to the beach ourselves. We weren’t assertive or pushy about getting on a dinghy right away, but other people sure were. Because of this, there was only one spot left on the next dinghy, and no one was a group of one. Luke decided to go ahead and hop on instead of everyone staring awkwardly at each other, and we got split up. The young man driving the dinghy said to wait until he came back, and he would make sure he got me on the same ferry as my husband.

So I stood off to the side as the next dinghy pulled up because this one would be loading the people onto a different ferry. However, the well-meaning boy made an error in judgement because after depositing his first group, including Luke, onto the awaiting boat, he realized that they were already the second group to board the boat, which meant it was full. Not only would Luke and I be taking separate dinghies, but we would be getting completely different ferry rides back to shore.

When the dinghy with the same young man came back for me, he apologized profusely, but I told him it was totally fine, which it was. We would end up at the same destination whether we road on the same boat or not. We aren’t the kind. We are both naturally independent people and don’t need to be connected at the hip. He had know way of knowing this, and he was very genuine and apologetic, which was considerate.

I watched Luke’s boat take off as I boarded and found a spot to sit on the ferry I was on. However, the young man commanding the boats and dinghies were seemingly college students that worked here as a summer job. This meant they were young and possessed a strong competitive spirit. Our driver began to make it into a race, and we had soon snuck right up on the boat Luke was seated on.

As our boats fought for the lead, we made faces, waved, and snapped photos of each other from across the way. Not to brag, but my boat ended up pulling ahead and pulling up to the dock first. When Luke’s ferry docked just minutes after us and he stepped up onto the pier, I asked him what took him so long.

Despite it only being about 4:30 in our current time zone, we were famished. We could’ve gone ahead and driven the 2 and a half hours to our Airbnb in Cork, but we noticed the Little Saltee Restaurant had opened up since we departed land, so we decided we would eat before making our last leg of the day’s journey. We would need the energy!

Just like when we visited Iceland, we knew that an island would know how to make quality fish and chips, so we knew that would be the choice for our main dish. They had Beer Battered Hake for their fish. For chips, we decided to spice things up just a little bit and ordered the Curry + Chip. We had seen the portion sizes and decided we would be fine to share. If we were hungry, we could always get snacks from a petrol station later.

It was absolutely delicious and really hit the spot! We needed some fuel after our time in the sun and amount of walking and hiking. Plus, it was nice to just sit in a space that wasn’t being touched by the boiling sun for a while!

Just after 5:00pm, we walked back to our little rental car and began the journey to where we would be relaxing and recovering for the evening before another full day tomorrow. The drive, although relatively short, was a tough one. We were exhausted and officially running on empty. Just keeping our eyes open was a chore, let alone minding the speed limits and Irish roads.

After some slight confusion finding our Airbnb, we pulled up to the guest house we would be staying in and followed the host instructions to get in. Upon entering, we were hit with a wave of heat, that, despite the host’s best efforts, hadn’t been thwarted during the scorching day.

Because Ireland isn’t used to intense heat, central air conditioning is not a thing. Even with the closed blinds and curtains, there was very little air circulation, and it was almost unbearably stuffy.

We started by taking cold showers and leaving the door open to try and let any air coming off the cold water circumvent the space. We put on the coolest clothes we had and were able to find a comfortable temperature. We were too tired to want to watch TV or attempt to do any exploring of Cork, and we were in a nice, quiet neighborhood, so it seemed like a sign to call it a night so that we could be well-rested for the day ahead. We turned in a little after 9:30 and had a much deserved sleep.

Make sure to stay tuned for our next post, where we visit Blarney Castle and take alpacas for a walk!