Tuesday
April 5th - Dingle Pennisula, Killarney, Blarney, Cork
to Kinsale
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We
had heard a lot about the Ring of Kerry
but had also heard it was pretty touristy and that Dingle was smaller
and just
as pretty and less busy. So far on the
trip we hadn’t hit any tourist hotspots (had hardly seen ANYONE,
actually). Dingle is
much smaller than Galway and we were along the coast right away. We stopped once near Slea Head and Joe
climbed some rocks and then stopped again at Slea Head. Video: Dingle Cliffs |
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We had an enjoyable
Breakfast and enjoyed talking to a family from Washington state. There
is
a
cross and
monument here. Look at the roads going both directions from that
cross. Very cool but scary to drive on! We stopped by the side of
a road to get some pictures of the sheep (sadly no black ones here
though). Not sure if these were neglected
sheepies, but at our arrival, they rushed the gate and bleated
non-stop. Check out the video. |
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Having left all of the sheepies in their pasture, we next went to a beach that had caught Joe’s eye as he was navigating. The beach was long in both width and distance to the water. Seemed it would be great in nicer weather. Very nice rolling surf. We headed to the Gallaru
Oratory, a REALLY old church
– kind of the same stone structure vintage as the stone forts, but this
thing
was listed as “waterproof after a thousand years”!!
The way it worked was that they had tilted the stones of
the structure so the water ran down the outside. Video: Smerwick Beach |
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We had to go back through
Dingle to go to the Conor Pass where both sides of the
Dingle Peninsula could be seen - weather
permitting, of course. But the weather didn't
permit! The
pass
was
at
about
1300 feet elevation and we hit the clouds at about 300
feet. When we stopped in the scenic view parking lot, the
wind was blowing the rain sideways and rocking the car.
Joe went for a walk to do a bit of
investigating and we got pretty worried when we couldn't see him for a
long time. The narrow roads had us worried and
he said it was a bit longer coming back up than going down had been. Joe
liked the sign he saw on our way up to Conor Pass that said “ATTENTION
- TURN BACK NOW” – probably intended for trucks and such, but it had
added an ominous
sense that the wind, rain, and tight turns didn’t alleviate. We
have
included a picture that Bill got from Google maps that shows what we
would have scene if we weren't thick in the clouds. You can see
it
next to the picture that we took. Video: Conor Pass |
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And then we had to go back through Dingle AGAIN and on through Killarney to Kinsale for the night. We
stopped at another beach, this time in Inch. This
is
a
sand bar that goes into the bay for 3 miles. It
was
really
neat and we saw people driving
onto the beach, so we did also. After
several miles, Bill got worried about tides and the sand started
feeling a bit squishy
under the tires, so we turned and zipped back to the paved parking lot. Joe wanted to stretch his legs and
play in the sand dunes, so he headed off. After
a
bit,
Bill followed and although he could see him
at the tops of
dunes from time to time, Joe was really booking. We stopped in Killarney
for
another meal of Irish stew at a diner. Patti
Sue
saw
and
photographed
the Killarney Cathedral as Joe and Bill looked for
a place to
eat. We did some shipping the Dunne
store (a big department store we saw in a few of the
towns). The
charger Bill had brought with him had gone sputter-pop in the Petra
House in Galway when he first plugged it in. So we bought him a
new
phone charger. |
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We were trying to get the
the Blarney Castle before it closed at 6:30. Originally
kissing
the
Blarney
stone
was a "must do" for Joe wehn planning the
trip. But from what we read in guide books, it is
over-touristy. We got to Blarney Castle
just after closing so took pictures of us "kissing the Blarney stone" -
from a distance. From there we drove south
to Kinsale. |
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Kinsale
has narrow streets and is tucked between the bluffs and the bay. It is a very neat little water-front town with
a
huge history. We checked into the Olde
Bakery
B&B and then headed out again. Before we had left, Bill had learned from a co-worker (actually, the head of the business group) that his Aunt and Uncle run a pub in Kinsale called The Dock. So, we headed over and had a pint and had a great visit with Nora & Bobby. They were wonderfully pleasant to us and made a very fun evening. Nora told the story about when their daughter went to the larger nearby city for her driver’s test the tester said, “Oh, you’re from Kinsale? Then you have to know how to drive since it is so hard to drive on any street there.” Nora promised us the roads were wider from here on our trip. |
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