The View From the Queen Maeve'd Grave

In the parking lot at the base of the mountain, Judy and I asked a woman who had just descended, how long of a climb it was... she said, 30 minutes to the top, if we were in great shape and a bit longer, if we were not. Well.... it took us about 45 minutes but we stopped numerous times to catch our breath and take in the spectacular views. You could see 5 counties from the mountain. The mountain you see in the distance is called Ben Bulben. It figures in an ancient tale. My sister is not the athletic type so for her to climb this mountain with me is a testament to her love for me, her sister. (She reminded me on the way up that this was the second mountain she had climbed with me on our trip to look at "a pile of rocks".) We made up and down with out any missteps. We were glad we went. The view from the Queen's cairn was amazing. On the way up, we met a couple and the husband was a geologist. As we walked, he showed us all kinds of fossil formations in the rock. Millions of years ago Ireland was covered by a sub-tropic ocean.