Cork and Kerry

Since leaving Spain, we had been planning for a land-cation in Ireland.  We had studied books, websites and asked every Irish person we met about the best places to see around the country - Where were they from? What was their favorite city? What should we not miss?  I compiled a list and then had to sort out how to get there - What roads we would take, Where would we stay (with a dog), What pubs are the best and then try to keep it all within a reasonable timeframe.  We also had to keep in mind that Ireland has been around for more than 2,000 years and we cannot possibly see every.single.castle or visit every.single.museum, We had to keep the list to A, B, and Cs.  A=Must see, B=If we're going past, great, if not, research on wikipedia, C=Skippable.

With my plans ready and map in hand, we set out. The car was a right-hand drive and we were to drive on the left side of the road.  Most two-lane roads are very narrow and speed limits are inappropriate for the curves, surface, etc...as in we couldn't keep up with the speed limit.  

We started the trip with lunch at a pub in a small town that was barely on the map.  When I asked if we could sit at a table with our dog, the reply was "A'cars ye can!"  This trip was going to be fun! 

We explored West Cork including the Dromberg Stone Circles and Kenmare.  The first AirBnB turned out to be awesome - not knowing what to expect, we were very pleasantly surprised.  Fiona, our host, had coffee and snacks for us and treats for Kala.  With a private entrance and all the amenities including wifi, we were pretty happy.  

The next day, we drove around the Ring of Kerry on the Iveragh Peninsula and headed out to the Dingle Peninsula that afternoon where we camped for the night.  The towns along the west coast of Ireland are strong in their heritage and speak a thick Irish.  When we checked into the campground, the woman was saying something softly in Irish as she gave me my change and I said "Oh, I can't count in Irish" - her reply "Well I can't count in English".  Right, very well then.

We woke up to a crisp cloudy morning with the promise of a downpour that afternoon so we decided to head back to Crosshaven and check on Terrapin.  Ireland's high humidity and cool temps forced us to buy a dehumidifier before we left on the road trip so our indoor cushions would not be soaking wet, yes, it was that damp inside the boat. So we had left the dehumidifier running, draining into the bilge, while we were gone for two days and wanted to check on it and make sure all was good.

We arrived back at the RCYC and Terrapin was happy and dry.  We did laundry, checked email and researched our next Irish adventure.

The rental car lot...very different than the marina

The tour around southwest Ireland.  The yellow is our route, the circles are where we stopped.

Lunch at a random pub in Belgooley who let us sit with Kala "A'carse ye cen".

Better decide quickly

Common view along any Irish road

They are real and they work

Dromberg Stone Circle

Dromberg Stove

If it was the Winter Solstice, the light would be shining on Kala and I

Just another Irish road

Blue skies and happy smiles

This is a two-lane road, through a tunnel, with a car coming in the opposite direction

County Kerry

The first AirBnB room in Ireland for us...Fiona couldn't have been nicer - even left treats for Kala

Pure bliss

Perfect day near Kenmare

Keeping an eye on Baxter even if there are mirror-reflections on the water

Which way is up?

Going for a hike off the highway

Top o' the hike

Camping out on the Dingle peninsula near the Gallarus Oratory

Sunrise on the Dingle peninsula

Happy Dog

Road back to Cork

St Brendan the Navigator was born in this town, Clonfert, in 484

Clonfert Cathedral