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

Back to Crosshaven

After being in Kinsale for a week, we decided that if we were going to leave Terrapin for a few days to tour Ireland by land, it would probably be more protected from weather at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, instead of in Kinsale.  So we sailed the 18 quick miles back to Cork.  This time, the weather was beautiful and it felt great knowing where to go, how the marina works and the best pint at Cronin's.  As we sailed into the harbor, we recognized the large black sails on the other side of Cobh and we had heard Alex Thompson Racing was in town...so we slowly meandered through the harbor to get a closer look.  These boats are uniquely designed and can sail around the world in 75 days...very different from our 16 ton cruising machine but so cool to see on the water.

When we arrived at the RCYC, our plan was to take a bus the next day into Cork City, rent a car at the airport, drive to the chandlery to order a new wind instrument and then leave for a land tour the next morning.  With a few hiccups, our plan went pretty well and we were ready to explore.

Charles Fort as we left the Kinsale Harbor

The sun breaking through the clouds as the sailboats move east through the Celtic Sea along the southern coast of Ireland

Happy to be sailing again

Members Only - or Visiting Members - at the RCYC

Watching Hugo Boss on a calm day in Cork

Terrapin vs Hugo Boss

Great spot in Crosshaven

Pick a car, any car

More About The Lusitania

Our bike ride in Kinsale started at Old Head Signal Tower, which happens to be just 20 miles north of where the Lusitania sank.  The tribute to the wreck and the story of the Lusitania was sobering and we were glad that we were able to visit.

A couple things to remember about the significance of this wreck is 1)  It is the reason the US left the Isolationism philosophy and joined the allied forces in WWI and 2) It is still being disputed if the US was in fact smuggling weapons to Great Britain aboard passenger ships as the Germans have claimed was their reasoning for torpedoing the cruise liner.

The wreck of the Lusitania marked by the green circle.  Old Head Signal Tower is due north and the piece of land that juts out (to the left of the word 'Kinsale' on the chart)

Bike Ride and Brews

During our week in Kinsale, we thought we would exercise our legs a bit and since we hadn't ridden a bicycle since we lived in Utah, we decided to rent a few bikes and then reward ourselves with a brewery tour at Black's of Kinsale.

We took a bus from city centre of Kinsale to Old Head Signal Tower to meet Ruth, the owner of Wild Atlantic Sports.  We were also joined by Alison from Indianapolis who was in Ireland for work but decided to spend a day having fun riding bikes.  We rode along the beaches on the coast, through the forest, up hills, down hills and stopping at small town cafes for an Americano.  It was a great morning and we finished it by riding the bikes back to Kinsale.  Ruth was nice enough to let us take the bikes and she picked them up from the yacht club later that night.  A fantastic morning and a fun way to explore the coast.

After we returned to Kinsale, we dropped off the bikes at the marina and headed out to find Blacks of Kinsale brewery.  We took a wrong turn and walked up the biggest hill we've seen in Ireland, only to realize we'd gone the wrong way.  After straightening out, we walked in the brewery at 2:58 for a 3pm tour, hoping there would be room for us.  As it turns out, it was Baxter, Molly, a french couple and one of the five employees at Blacks.  We had grandiose ideas of how this beer was brewed when in fact, it is pretty simple with a small number of people putting forth a big effort to make the beer successful.  If you ever have a chance to order a "KPA" (Kinsale Pale Ale), it is their flagship ale and pretty tasty.  A nice reward for a long bike ride and the top off of a great day.

The first beach on the ride

Don't see this view very often when we're living aboard

Forest selfie

This wall (notice the spikes sticking out) was a boundary of an estate.  The spikes would keep the deer in/out depending on which side the spikes lied.

Great day riding bikes.

Thank you Ruth!  Glad you could join us Alison!

Tour at Black's of Kinsale Brewery...he started the tour by saying "Right - let's go have a quick look at some tanks and then come back in and drink some pints"

Stage 2 Tanks

Black's of Kinsale also has a still - the gin is pretty tasty as well.

How the process works and the different herbs and spices used to flavor the distilling process.

The finished product (on right).