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Second Day (Ring of Kerry)
Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Dingle Peninsula
July 14th 2006 by Zigeuner
King Puck
As we approached the town of Killorglin James pointed out this statue dedicated to a famous local goat. It seems back in the days of English occupation an English army was attempting to sneak up on t... [more]
After breakfast while we waited for everyone to meet before boarding the bus, Gail had to listen to the usual first day complaints: "My room was too hot", "My TV only picked-up one station", "It was noisy in the hallway". Blah-blah-blah. The same story every trip. However today I heard a new one. "I broke my toilet". It seems one of the folks in our group had a little problem getting out of the shower. She lost her balance or slipped than careened into the toilet and busted the sucker. She sported a rather nasty bruise on her arm. Of course
There they are again
We just couldn't seem to get away from the watchful presence of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks. The morning fog hadn't yet burned off when we stopped for a photo op.
From the minute we boarded the bus our guide James was offering Gail numerous suggestions for sidetrips or detours. Normally, as soon as an EF tour guide starts offering to go out of their way it's time to start saying "No thanks". They usually try to nickle and dime you to death with the charges for these side excursions. Not only did Gail want to avoid any additional charges but she really didn't know what was worth going out of our way to see. This would be James' modus operandi for the next two weeks. I thought it was great and really enjoyed the places he took us to, but Gail kept worrying that sooner or later James would be asking us to pay up for the extras. It never happened and we ended up seeing things most EF tour groups never get to see.
With as small a group as we had (18 people) we didn't spend a lot of time waiting for late arrivals or having arguments about what to do or where to go. On this morning we left our
Kerry Bog Village
Just as we had done on our last trip to Ireland, the first extended stop of the day was at the Kerry Bog village. Unlike our previous visit this time we weren't visiting in the middle of monsoon seas... [more]
Ring of Kerry map
Interior of a farmer's home
As I said, the farmers of Kerry lived a subsistence level existence and this home demonstrates just how little they possessed. Even now the room smelled smoking and felt damp despite the sunny weathe... [more]
Walking down Main Street
This is about the entire extent of the bog village. Even though there were only 5 or 6 buildings this was a typical little community of the area. Note the thatched roofs.
That's some thatch (say that three times)
A close-up view of the roof thatch. I was surprised how tightly packed and how sturdy these roofs were. James told us that they usually last 5-10 years and cost more than regular roofing material.
Irish coffee
Once we toured the little village and perused the souvenir store, we had a few minutes to relax in the adjacent Irish bar. The lure for the tourists was an offer of Irish coffee for only 4 Euro. I h... [more]
Dingle Bay
After we left the Bog Village our bus driver (Patrick) took us due West. Before long we were running alongside Dingle Bay. On this particular beautiful day I expected to see the waters dotted with s... [more]
Looking back
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the stiff breeze off the bay felt wonderful on this rather warm Irish morning.
Sheep-herding dog demonstration
A little farther up the road we stopped at a tiny farm where this gentleman puts on a highly entertaining demonstartion of his dogs' shephereding skills. The last time we visited Ireland we also went... [more]
Dogs at work
At this point in the show these dogs had just rounded up this group of sheep that had been grazing up on the hills behind the shepherd. We could barely see the dogs and sheep they were so far off in ... [more]
One more look at Dingle Bay
We didn't have time to get bored sitting on the bus. James had Patrick continuously pulling over so we could snap photos. At this scenic spot there was not only another pretty view of the bay but al... [more]
Lunch break
Since it was approaching noon we were all getting a bit peckish. James suggested this place which sported a brand new thatched roof. I never learned the name of the place and maybe that's good. It ... [more]
Irish home
As we drove longer around the Ring I was very surprised by how many new and rather spacious homes were being built throughout Ireland. With the recent bonanza of wealth coming into Ireland thanks to ... [more]
Charlie Chaplin in Waterville
This statue is dedicated to one-time resident and frequent visitor, Charlie Chaplin who greatly enjoyed this tiny seaside town.
The beach in Waterville
The Europeans seem to make do with some pretty dismal looking beaches. This is about as inhospitable as a place can be but there were plenty of people sitting around sunning themselves and frolicking... [more]
Postcard picture-perfect Ireland
This will forever be the image in mjy head when I think about the country of Ireland.
Circular stone fort
As we neared the Western extremity of today's jaunt the road began to climb up some gentle hills. As we twisted up the road James had Patrick stop again so that we could get a nice view of this old s... [more]
Does it get any prettier than this?
Another stop we made was on top of a high hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
One more seaside shot
I could've spent hours up here just enjoying this view. Maybe a nice picnic lunch, a couple of beers, letting the dogs run around... In fact, a lot of tourists seemed to have that exact thought in min... [more]
A pretty isolated homestead
Double click this picture to expand the size - then you'll see the lonely little cottage sitting in the middle of this expanse of green. I can imagine the poor farmer or shepherd living here back in ... [more]
The long and winding road
We continued our way along the rather deserted coastline. As the ring took us back toward the East, we followed the River Kenmare. In this section the road was extremely narrow and continually curve... [more]
Sneem
We made a couple of short stops to take more photos of the ocean and beaches, but before too long I got bored with the sameness of the scenery. Eventually we reached the charming little town of Sneem... [more]
Heading back to Killarney
After leaving Sneem the landscape changed to a lusher green with many more trees and less pastures full of rocks. We started to climb up through the mountains (hills) where we saw some pretty lakes l... [more]
Ladies' View
I like the way James does his tours. Once again, he kept suggesting places to stop and so far everyone had been interesting. It also broke up the monotony of sitting on the bus all day. This time w... [more]
Back in Killarney
As we drew closer to Killarney we passed through dense forests set amidst the deep valleys of the National Park. Inviting mountain streams bubbled alongside the road and I could almost imagine the le... [more]
Ireland's Flag
Map of Ireland
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