There was so much to do in Ireland that it's difficult to even outline this blog. Much less write it all out. Wow. What an amazingly beautiful place Southwest Ireland is. The country is just beautiful, and there are definitely more than 40 shades of green! From the air, it looks like someone took all sorts of patches of green fabric and sewed them all together with a dark green thread to make a huge quilt. I think you would have had to have seen something amazing not to be taken aback by the scenery.
These first pictures were taken outside of my hotel room. My room was on the street side of the building on the eastern side of the town of Killarney. Today was the annual Ring of Kerry bike ride. The bike ride (which had over 100 participants) went along the scenic road that winds through the beautiful County Kerry countryside (Over 100km long). It takes you along the edges of mountains and over beautiful bays and lakes.
After watching the bikers for a little while I went to meet up with the group for my tour of the Ring of Kerry. The tour guide was a native of County Kerry and was very entertaining. As he led us on the tour he told us antecdotes and folklore stories. It is my perception that the Irish are great story tellers. In London, my tours have been historical and matter of fact, but the stories shared by the Irish tour guide gave the place an even more enchanting feeling. This first set of photos is of the Dingle Bay and Dingle Peninsula. The views of Dingle from the altitude on the side of the mountain were increadible. In addition you could also see the Blasket Islands. I tried to take as many pictures of this are as possible. Still I don't think they really give you the full perspective of how magical this place is.
The next stop on our tour was the Red Fox Inn and the Kerry Bog Village. This area was very cute. There was a small museum which cost €4 to enter. Basically it consisisted of 4 buildings that were representative of the types of homes that the turf harvesters and those supporting that community would have lived in. In Ireland, turf is harvested from the bogs and used as fuel for fires. The area is so rich in vegitation that it just builds up and the harvesters cut into the countryside and dig it out and then dry it out (taking months to do so) and then burn it for fuel. This was very demanding work and with the low cost of natural gas the industry is slowly disappearing however at one time it was a major industry in the County Kerry region. The pub was a cute little place with a relatively over priced gift shop. There are pictures from inside the little houses and of some of the animals. I was amused that they kept 2 Irish wolfhounds in a pin like horses or something. The poor dogs were so tired they just laid there and slept while all the tourist stared at them, just like in a zoo.
Our next stop was Waterville. A town that was innundated with cyclists enjoying lunches and Guiness. Because of the large number of people in that city didn't stay in Waterville we just kept moving along the peninsula.
The next stop on our tour was lunch at a cafe on the side of the road in Catherdaniel. The views here were also astounding. This is also the place where the beach is. I had an excellend Sheppards Pie and Apple Pie for lunch. The only thing bad about it was the price €17.50 (they take full advantage of the captive audience and this is the signle most expensive meal I have had since I came here).
Our next stop was the town of Sneem. Sneem is a town similar to Killarney, lots of little touristy shops and taverns. The best thing about Sneem was the "Moving Water". The river there was beautiful!
The last stop on our tour was Ladies View. This was another phenominal view. It is a view of the lower lakes of County Kerry. The area got its name because Queen Victoria sent her lady in waiting up to check it out to see if it was a view worth seeing prior to taking the trip up the mountain side herself. The Lady in Waiting's reply was that it was definitely a suitable view for any lady.
Other random photos along the way:
There were many other interesting trips and anticdotes that I heard along the way. It was an outstanding trip. I would recommned it to anyone who finds time in Ireland. I took a tour with Dero's Tours. It was €25 for the 6 hour ride. Definitly worth the money!
There was one last surprise for me on my way to the airport this morning:
I watched this rainbow as it started until it became full. And if you look closely you can see that it is actually a double. No doubt this is not an uncommon sight here in Ireland and just another example of the luck of the Irish.
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