The skellig visit, finally

>So, I finally got out to see Skellig Michael, which is a) a UNESCO world heritage site, and b) somewhere I've wanted to see for years. There's a little bit of a rigmarole involved, but it's worth it. We were staying at The Moorings B&B in Portmagee, and when I booked the room I asked if they could arrange a boat trip, which they happily did (and at short notice too, it was a Friday booking!)

I highly recommend pre-booking either through your B&B if you're staying in Portmagee or there are contact details available. Around 6/7 boats go out from Portmagee, weather permitting from April to October I think. Only 12 are allowed on each boat, so numbers can be tight - some people who turned up at the quay on the morning were turned away so be prepared! It's €45 per head, but for the couple of hours or so it's really not that dear - 1 hour out, 3 hours on the rock and an hour back. Also, the nice people at the Moorings provided us with a packed lunch (sandwich, yogurt, fruit and juice) which was good - whatever preparation you make bring some food, there's no shop on the rock, and you'll be out there till after lunchtime - and the steps and sea air will do wonders for a landlubber's appetite.

This is the little skellig, just next to Skellig Michael. Lots of Gannets. Smelly Gannets. Beautiful, graceful gannets, that can skim the surface of the waves for upwards of 100m without taking a beat. Still though, it is a crowded rock. Apparently somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 birds call this place home, and they form nice neat lines along the ledges!

Jump-off point onto Skellig Michael, not the best picture.

This is one of the beehive huts. Up to 12/14 monks might have lived here at any one time, between 800AD and 1400AD. A transient population, changing from time to time as monks came for a stint then left, they got some supplies from the mainland, but were quite self sufficient as far as vegetables and drinking water were concerned (they had 2 cisterns on the rock!). There are a number of these corbelled huts, built of dry stone hewn off the Skellig itself. 2 larger ones served as a church and a community living hut, with the other smaller ones used as dormitories. I know it was a nice calm day when we were there, but they've built it in the lee of the rock, so it's very well sheltered from the prevailing southwesterlies.

This picture gives you an idea of the scale of the settlement, you can see the 6 beehive huts in the left and the background, with the big one on the left being the town hall. There's a more rectangular building on the right of the picture, which was built later as a church.

It's important to point out that I haven't posted any pictures of puffins or steps yet. The puffins are funny looking birds, much smaller than I expected, though larger than a garden bird, but with beautiful coloured bills. They also make a funny coughing noise, so I suspect they're smokers. There are approximately 660 unevenly spaced and unevenly surfaced steps leading from the Atlantic Ocean to the hermitage, which are not easy to conquer.

Finished typing now for the night, maybe more soon!