Cycling for Bubaque 2019-Ireland: Skellig Michael

June 27 - The boats coming from Portmagee sailing to the Skelligs set off early. It was about half an hour of cycling to Portmagee, so I was up early.

There are two Skelligs located close to each other. The white haze on Little Skellig are 70,000 Gannets (Gannets), the world's second-largest colony.

The monastery on Skellig Michael, whose first stones were laid or carved in the 6th century, is UNESCO world heritage site since 1996. In 2015, it featured the final scene of 'Star Wars - The Force Awakens' recorded, and since then tourists have been pouring in by the thousands during the high season, while there are only 180 visitors per day in 15 boats of 12 passengers each will be allowed onto the rock island. Therefore, it is necessary reserve a boat long in advance. Because of the law of supply and demand, prices go up sharply every year. On the cheaper boats no toilet on board, nor on island itself. I.e. you have to hold everything up for 6 hours. At bad weather one does not sail out because it would be too dangerous to dock.

In the 6th century the first monks sailed to Skellig Michael in very light 'curraghs', lightweight boats consisting of a wooden framework topped with skins that could easily be hoisted ashore. They probably brought tents with them to spend the night in. Their motivation for moving to that dangerous and inaccessible rock was probably the increasing luxury and corruption in domestic monastic orders. They must have been ernormously ascetic men to voluntarily settle on such a barren rock.

Via 600 quite slippery, in the rock carved steps climb to the 183-metre-high monastery. On all the years the site has been open to the public, things happened one fatality on the steps.

There was no source on the rock. The monks built a ingenious system to collect rainwater. Luckily for them, it rains regularly in Ireland. There lived permanently a dozen monks on the rock, in 6 cells of 2 people and one larger 'community cell'.

On a second rock peak is a hermitage which is not accessible to tourists. On the greener area to the left and right of the steps leading to it, the monks would have some sea-climate-resistant crops could have grown. Otherwise, there were only a few patches of greenery where some crops could be grown. As the monks cleared the rock to acquire stones to build the monastery, they created additional plateaus where crops could be grown.

For the rest, they lived off fishing and bird's eggs, which they often looted from birds' nests after breakneck tricks. Occasionally they would sail a curragh to the mainland to get a stock up on provisions.

In the 8th century Vikings the monastery, but they failed to kill off all the monks. The rock remained inhabited until +1200. The monks probably left their rock because of sharply deteriorating weather conditions during the 13th century.

The parrot divers (puffins) on Skellig Michael are popular photo models. They stay there from March to the end of July to nest. They make their nests under the green bottom vegetation and return to the same nest every year. This is why they are so used to photographing tourists.