The cliffs around the crashing sea, unsolved and endless, wait for me.

Trip date 3/27/10

After an early start, we headed off with a guide for a day through Galway and on to the cliffs. We briefly checked out the cathedral and the famous harbor swans, quite photogenic, and leisurely drove through the countryside. We made a few stops along the way including Dunguaire Castle, one of the most photographed castles in the world. After a few stops along the roadway to take in other sites, including a seemingly vast lunar landscape, we made it to the Cliffs of Moher. Instead of going to the normal tourist route, our guide had is park along the road just before the cliffs and walk through a local field. He was also a skydiver and we had been talking about BASE jumping the evening prior, and wouldn't you know it but just as we were walking by we saw someone leap from the cliff. We set up at a beautiful spot to take in the views and enjoy a few Polish beers while I played around with my panoramic robot. It was slightly hazy, so the pano didn't come out as clear as I would have liked in the distance, but the overall effect is still there. It was a great way to relax for the day and we got to see quite a few astounding views and take in some neat experiences.

Cliffs of Moher Gigapan; http://gigapan.org/gigapans/49339/

If I have seen farther than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants. - Issac Newton

Trip Date 3/26/10

After a nice bread and breakfast stay-over, the first stop of the day was famous Giant's Causeway. I had seen these kind of formations previously when I was in California visiting Devil's Postpile National Monument many years ago. We arrived early enough to avoid the mass of tourists since the bus was not yet operating. It was a decent downhill hike from the visitor center to the basalt formations, but with the bright sun and cool crisp air, it was quite enjoyable. It was fun to walk among the hexagon columns and take in the view. Just a day or so prior to my departure for this trip I got a photographic robot designed for use in taking very detailed panoramic photos. The Gigapan Epic Pro robot was designed to allow a professional level DSLR with long lens be used to take numerous overlapping pictures to be later stitched together using processing software. I would go on to make several gigapixel sized panoramic pictures on this trip (http://gigapan.org/gigapans/most_popular/?q=mblitch), however this would be my first attempt.

Here is the panoramic, pannable, picture of Giant's Causeway; http://gigapan.org/gigapans/49111/

A mans home may seem to be his castle on the outside; inside, it is more often his nursery.

After leaving the swinging bridge, the next stop was Dunluce Castle. This was to be my first honest to goodness castle experience, and it is a doozie. This nearly epitomizes the idea of an old European castle used in the feudal age. It was well situated on the cliffs and even had a somewhat secret way into a sea cave directly underneath by which emergency escapes might be made if necessary. After parking we first walked down the road, hopped a fence, and trudged across a field to set up the camera system so I could get in another detailed panoramic shot. The wind was pretty strong, so the quality of the pano isn't as good as I had hoped, but it still it gives as decent a representation of the awesome view. After taking the automated shots we heading into the castle and explored for a while before having a nice lunch at the local cozy eatery and then heading off to meet with some friends of my travel partner, Alina.

Dunluce Castle Gigapan; http://gigapan.org/gigapans/52178/