As we were leaving our bed and breakfast, we were told that it was the first day trips were going out to the island in over two weeks because the weather had been so bad. Sandra and I felt very lucky that we had timed it just right. (Note: you can double click on all the photos below to see them really large.)
As there are no facilities on Skellig Michael, we picked up lunch in town and also visited Ireland's top toilet before we left. Surprisingly, it was not that exciting.
We had to wait sometime before we left. I think they were waiting for more people to show up so they could fill the boat. As it was not the tourist season, there were very few people around. Here is our boat at the harbor.
We finally left with about 9 other people on our boat. Here we are heading out of the harbor area.
Here is a building overlooking the harbor.
As we traveled the 9 miles out into the ocean, the Skelligs began to appear. There is little Skellig on the the left and near the front of the boat is Skellig Michael. It took about an hour to get there.
Here I am enjoying the ride.
A photo of little Skellig as we drove by.
As we approached Skellig Michael, it was really shocking how steep it was.
As we got closer, everyone on the boat was thinking "shit, I have to climb to the top of that thing!"
Skellig Michael was founded in the 7th century by Christian monks. For 600 years, monks lived on the island experiencing very harsh conditions and apparently, being attacked by Vikings. They established a monastery at the top of the island which is now a world heritage site. There is very little written about this monastery in the Ireland church records, but this little group of monks (they believe around 12 people) lived off the water and traded with the nearby coastal towns for survival.
Here is Sandra right after we landed with little Skellig in the background.
After we landed, we followed a wide walkway that was paved up the side of the island. In modern times, the island had a lighthouse and a family use to live on the island year round.
Here is a photo of our boat waiting for our return.
You can see the stone walkway that we had been walking up.
Finally, we came to the stairs that lead up to the monastery.
I thought this sign nearby was funny. Really, what is the point?
The crazy thing about these stairs is that they were created by the monks in the 7th century without any cement or mortar. They are perfectly wedged together and move when you walk on them which is kinda scary. Here is a close up shot, where you can see all the stones piled on top of each other to create the steps.
As we began to climb, I had to stop every few feet to take in the breathtaking views. It was amazing.
Here is Sandra on her way up. They say there are over 700 steps.
Neat rock formations on the way up.
Me catching my breath. It was rather exhausting to get to the top.
Can it get any steeper?!
The great think about the hike was the lack of people. Sandra and I were the fastest in our group since we were also the youngest so I was able to get lots of photos with no people in the shot.
When you think you are almost to the top, you come to this area which has another set of steep stairs.
Finally, when you reach the top, you come into the monastery. Look at the killer view.
The monks erected what they call beehives to live in. They are also just stacked stones on top of each other.
Here is a photo of inside one of the beehives. It was amazing to think that people once climbed to the top of this island without stairs and built homes. Such determination.
A photo from inside the monastery.
There were a number of monks buried there as well. You can see the small headstones in the foreground.
Their daily view.
Me at the top.
Looking over the edge of the monastery, you can see the terraces where they believe they planted their vegetables.
Also to one side, you found another set of stairs leading to the ocean. Apparently, the monks built stairs leading down to the water on different sides of the island. There is also a tiny boat below.
We could not eat in the monastery so we started to head back down to picnic along the way.
Here I am heading down.
You can see how steep it is. A few tourist have died falling off a step.
Heading down.
One last look at the climb.
We headed down the island to catch our boat back to Ireland.
After we boarded our boat, we took a ride around the island.
It was an amazing day and one of the neatest things I have ever done.