A Long and Winding Road

 

Friday brought us another easy day of activities, as we left the hotel about 10:00 a.m. and headed almost due west for one of the three peninsulas jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean on the far west side of Ireland - Dingle.  An initial stop at the "family friendly" Moriarty's store on the way was a treat because we were greeted with a young man carrying very hot Irish coffees for those who wanted to partake at 10:30 a.m., and it was excellent.  Nothing like buttering up the Americans to spend those dollars and, of course, money changed hands for a few trinkets including a beautiful Irish Christmas ornament for a tree (a custom of ours when we journey pretty much anywhere!).

On we went for the drive of about 45 miles to Dingle.  There were times when we were on very high cliffs overlooking the ocean and looking straight down to the water many, many feet below.   There were other times when we were on roads so narrow that either the bus or oncoming car had to stop and back up to a place like a driveway at a house in order to allow one to pass before the other could move!  

One thing we saw a lot of was sheep, pretty much on any possible plot of land whether flat or on cliffs.  Raised primarily for their meat, the wool is certainly plentiful and, as a result, not a real cash crop for the farmers.   But, sheep are everywhere in this part of Ireland.

Another very interesting thing we saw were "Beehive Houses" which were occupied by Druids as far back as 2000 BC!   The land was mountainous with the high cliffs I mentioned - one wonders what in the world they would do to survive.  Tom remarked that the area was very forbidding in the winter months and there were very few houses in this part of the trip.  Some nearby islands had inhabitants on them dating back centuries, as well, until the Irish government finally said "no more" in the 1960s and moved them all off and back to the mainland.   Even on a day like today which was cool (probably about 50 degrees F) and windy, you could get a sense that, although beautiful and magnificent, this was not a place one would have an easy time in living.

Initially we went through Dingle and on to Slea (pronounced Slay) Head, a promontory in the westernmost part of the Dingle Peninsula, located in the barony of Corca Dhuibhne in southwest County Kerry, Ireland.  About halfway around, we were at the westernmost point in all Europe - Slea Head itself - which was marked by a beautiful marble crucifixion scene. 

Our driver, Tom, remarked that most who take this route do so in a clockwise manner because of the narrow roads and most (but not all) did.  That made for some interesting perspectives as we were occasionally right on the very edge of some massive cliffs - not good for this American who, admittedly, isn't great with heights.  But, again like yesterday, I survived.   And around the circular roadway we went, back to Dingle for lunch.

John Benny's was the pub we had lunch in and it was fairly typical great food and wonderful service from the Irish who are always eager to please.   Cheryl had her first fish and chips of the trip and I had "fish pie" which was a delicious casserole of fresh caught fish baked in a broth, covered with something like pie crust.  Aaron, Melissa, Chloe, Ray, and Mary Lee also joined us and their food looked every bit as inviting.

From there, it was back on the bus where Jeff and Leigh joined us, carrying a sack of Irish cheeses from a local shop.  It felt like it had a brick in it; that is about how much it weighed.  I'm guessing they're planning on taking some of it home and they felt great when Tom, the driver, remarked he had never visited that shop but had heard a lot of great things about it.

A bouncy ride back to our hotel in Killarney over about a 90 minute period.  I was feeling tired so I took about an hour nap and am down in the lobby (where the Internet connection actually works) to compose this missive about our adventures today.   Tomorrow (Saturday) is our last day in Ireland and there's a full day planned including Limerick, the magnificent Cliffs of Moher, and some other sites I'm sure will be equally memorable. 

I do want to say that this is really one beautiful country.   Everything is incredibly green which Tom, our driver, attributes to the underlying and plentiful limestone (which acts as fertilizer) mixed with abundant rain.   The people are lovely and incredibly eager to please.  The fact that they speak English (or something close to it that one can decipher readily enough) is an added plus.  This is certainly a trip we'll remember for a long, long time.