Day 9...how did it go so quickly???

---

Wow! None of us can believe that the tour is almost over! It has gone way too fast but we have had a load of laughs and even more brews! Southwick's, Guiness, of course, Murphy's, Harp's and good old Irish coffee. We fear that starting the day w/ a cup of that could be a bad thing!!!

Today started with a with a leisurely jaunting car ride through the Killarney National Park to Ross Castle for views of Lough Leane, the largest of Killarney's famous lakes. Then on to the Ring of Kerry drive where every bend in 100 miles of road reveals breathtaking views of mountains and Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, shortly after the ride began, it also began to, well, what we have begun to call "liquid sun".

After returning to the hotel, we then boarded the coach for a tour of the Skelligs. The Skellig islands are world-famous, each in its own right: Skellig Michael is known throughout the world of archaeology as the site of a well-preserved monastic outpost of the Early Christian period - now designated a World Heritage Site. Although we were not able to actually visit the monastery, we did view a film of its magnificence and browsed the museum.

Later we visited the sheep farm of herder Brendan Ferris. He gave a most fascinating demonstration of how sheep dogs are used to bring in the sheep on real farms. Responding to Brendan's whistled commands, the dogs guide the sheep downwards. Miraculously, by the end of the demonstration all the sheep are calmly gathered in a pen beside you. The dogs are the real stars of the show. They obviously love their work and listen in to Brendan, panting happily after another successful demonstration. We were all mesmerized by the expertise of this sheep herder who clearly loves his life, sheep and dogs.

We also stopped at the Red Fox Inn. Here you can capture a taste of life in Ireland at the turn of the century in the Kerry Bog Village Museum, you can see the almost extinct Bog Pony and imagine how daily life passed. And the bar there is famous for.................guess what??? Its Irish Coffee for which we have learned to like very much!

Then it was back to the hotel where we went out and had dinner at MacSweeney's Pub along with a few brews and then on to do a very little shopping and then at last to meet up for one last Irish Coffee for the night!

---

Comments

[Margie]

Dogs and Irish Coffee
The sheep herding sounds like a fun experience... and I can't imagine why it would be a bad thing to start the day with Irish Coffee! I'm so glad you guys are having a great trip. Thanks for doing the blog. It's the next best thing! Can't wait to hear more about it on Sat.!