From massive cliffs, miles of ancient limestone beaches to portal tombs and disappearing lakes, welcome to Ireland’s Neolithic west coast–bombarding all senses and redefining all preconceived notions of what it means to be “wild”.

Where do I begin? Let’s start with the drive into County Clare. It all seemed tame enough–maybe a bit unusual to see every home along every road with a cow or two reclining on the front doorstep–but nothing prepared me for the white-knuckle drive along the steep coastline with barely a pile of rocks separating what appeared to be an inch between the tire and the ocean below. Those piles of rocks, by the way, were placed by hand individually thousands of years ago intended as fencing.The same fence-building tradition continues to this day.

Adding to the tension are the roads themselves–barely the width of one lane here, yet expected to accommodate traffic in either direction–be it a bus, car or perambulating livestock–the latter permitted to roam free which would explain why they look so pleased. It’s one big free-for-all with no rules and no cares.

Which brings me to the Cliffs of Moher, located in the spectacularly rugged and ecologically unique Burren region of Ireland. Like a subliminal siren song, one is drawn to scale the cliffs in all conditions, despite all warnings, when a fall into the ocean is but a wind gust away. I snapped this photo during my climb of the couple ahead of me.

There was no use fighting the compulsion to keep going.

And so began the  journey from Stone Age to 2015 without having to leave County Clare, taking me through days of torrential rain and flooded areas that I had mistaken for lakes and rivers…to the discovery of Poulnabrone–a portal tomb from the Neolithic period where 14 human  remains were found recently……to grave stones from the 11th century …and eventually to my final destination–the Matchmaking Bar in the little rural village of Lisdoonvarna, where the living converge to find their mate, sealing in perpetuity the cycle from birth to death, which has managed to leave its indelible mark on this region for millions of years.