Its really late, I haven't been getting much sleep, and all this driving is really taking its toll. I've been developing a low grade sinus infection too with all this rain (poor me), so this is going to be kind of cursory. Hilarious and valuable life observations will kick back into high gear tomorrow. I hope everyone's checking out the numerous photos I've been taking by going over to my flickr account (linked on the right hand side of this blog).
This day was devoted to the "Ring of Kerry," which is basically a day long drive through the County Kerry central coast. It runs through numerous little towns and villages, mostly near the coast. It boasts an enormous number of unique historic sites, as well as some remarkable country scenery. This area, and others on the western coast, historically were sufficiently remote that they had little contact with others. The Gaelic language is still widely spoken and traditions have remained strong. There's even a Gaelic television and radio network servicing the west coast. I have to say, Gaelic isn't the most pleasant sounding language. It actually sounds like Klingon.
Unfortunately, temperamental weather, like women, followed me everywhere today. Hate to be a broken record, but the weather around here changes literally every half hour. The Ring is made up of narrow, winding two-lane roads, making it difficult to focus on the amazing scenery I kept passing. But despite these challenges, today's road trip was one of the best I've ever experienced. Here's some highlights (and low):
The Gap of Dunloe is a really scenic pass between some of the highest mountains in Ireland. "Jaunting cars," basically carts pulled by a horse, provide trips all the way into the Gap. I just drove in a little bit and took some photos before driving on.
Cahirseeven, relatively close to the coast, is a thriving, picturesque Irish town. Today, Wednesday, it was bustling with school kids getting out for lunch, tourists on the square, and locals going about their way. It featured a great example of immigrants assimilating into their new culture: "Colin Fong's Chinese Restaurant."
Driving through the first part of the ring, I passed through a number of tunnels cut through the rock. No wonder the roads are so narrow, at least in these instances.
At my hotel owner's recommendation, I got off the Ring and visited Portmagee and Valentia Island. Portmagee has a small fishing fleet and really resembles the village in Local Hero. I had a pretty good lunch there at a place called Mooring's, of grilled black sole (replete with all its bones), the "Holy Trinity" of Irish vegetables (potatoes, broccoli, and carrots), and some Irish breakfast tea for after. It began raining when I was sitting there for lunch, so the tea really hit the spot.
From Portmagee, I drove over to Valentia Island. Its home to several very small little villages (each of which has a pub of course). Fog and clouds had socked in the island, so it was difficult to see what I assumed was more really pretty country and bay views. Even that gave the island some charm though.
Leaving Valentia, the clouds started to clear (of course), and I saw the first of three rainbows that day. No sign of the leprechaun guarding his gold at the rainbow's end, however.
From there, still off the Ring proper, I drove to Ballinskilligs, where the only street signs are in Gaelic. Ballinskilligs is right on the coast and even has a public beach. It has some great views of the bay, which the clouds obscured today.
Leaving Ballinskilligs on the way to Derrynane, I saw another rainbow. Was it following me or was I chasing it? Derrynane is just a speck on the map, but I hoped to see Derrynane House. Several of the guides had built it up, but it kind of left me flat. I took one look (and a photo), and turned around without spending much time.
Heading back onto the Ring and back towards my hotel in Killarney, I went through Sneam, which is another quaint little town untouched by modern progress (i.e. there was no Target or McDonalids), but which seemingly manages to thrive. In all fairness, I have to concede that in some respects these towns can rely on tourism, whereas other towns back home don't have that built in advantage. Adding WalMarts and CVS Pharmacies on every block would tend to kill the cultural authenticity that makes these places so popular to visit and therefore kill the golden goose.
Well that was a mostly all day trip. That night, I had duck breast and "vegetables" at a local pub, then cashed it in for the night after writing yesterday's post. No run today.
Next-Ross Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, and hilarious hijinks.
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