Squinting into the wind and rain, we marched from a desolate parking lot on the southwest tip of Ireland down a slippery path. I turned a corner and the mean-looking surf was still a long walk away.

The nickname "Emerald Isle" doesn't begin to express the utter, soul-striking majesty of Ireland's natural beauty. From the uniquely crafted peaks, valleys, and bogs of Connemara National Park in ...