Ireland day 5

We head out via the Old Head of Kinsale, a bit of land sticking out into the Ocean with a lighthouse and some beautiful views. From there a brief stop in the little town of Rosscarbery where Sam may have some ancestral roots. Nearby is the well preserved stone circle of Drombeg with some more amazing views. From there we go in to Baltimore for lunch. Turns out Baltimore has a history of piracy so we have to stop in the little piracy museum located in a restored castle. Continuing north along coast we pass Bantry Bay with more lovely views before arriving at our B&B on the north coast of the Beara peninsula. Views from the B&B are simply stunning and we do a picnic dinner on the front patio. Amazing star viewing here at night as well.

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/karl.musser/media_set?set=a.10155486571217247.534887246&type=3

Ireland day 6

Probably our only really awful weather day, heavy rain and wind almost the whole day as remnants from Irma have chased us across the Ocean. We still do our planned drive around the end of the Beara Peninsula, a failed attempt at finding the Derreenataggart stone circle, and only very brief stops at the overlooks. We spend more time inside at a copper mining museum in Allihies where we learn that a quarter of this peninsula's population all left and went to Butte, Montana. After that it's back past our B&B and attempt to visit the Hag of Beara but are driven back by the wind, we do find the adjacent Kilcatherine church and wander about there for a bit. Defeated by weather we cut the sightseeing short and do a run up to Kenmare which is the nearest real town for food and a bit of shopping.

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Ireland day 7

Thankfully the weather has cleared up, we're going to find some stone circles. First up is Cashelkeelty, which takes a bit of a hike to get to, first through a bit of primordial feeling forest which I imagine is what much of Ireland used to be like (it wasn't always lots of wide open spaces, it got that way by a systematic deforestation effort by the English, the bastards), and the a bit along the Beara Way, a long distance trail around the entire peninsula. The way is rather muddy from yesterday's rains, the fields are not nearly as solid as one would like - it's sort of like walking on a sponge. We do make to the circle though, not all that much left to it, but a beautiful site. After that a drive up Healy Pass in the center of the peninsula for more stunning views and a stop for a picnic lunch.

For the afternoon we head to Uragh which has a somewhat harrowing drive to get to, but a much shorter walk. It is very cool, a tiny little circle, just 5 stones placed close together, mostly intact - and again in a stunning setting. We do have to share it with some other folks doing their communing with the spirits thing, and I do think this is the one that we feel the most spiritual mojo at. One the way back we stop at a little ruined church and cemetery, these seem to be everywhere over here, and then at a dockside pub in the middle of nowhere that was recommended by some fellow tourists and have some amazingly fresh mussels. Back to the B&B, late dinner in the nearby town of Eyeries.

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Ireland day 8

One more circle on our way out, Ardgroom, which we skipped yesterday because there aren't any signs for it, but our host knew where it was and draws us a map, which we never would've found it otherwise - and it's a very nice circle, in better shape than Cashelkeelty and similarly beautiful views - also more walking on sponge, my shoes are soaked afterwards. From there we leave Beara and head towards Killarney with a drive through the National Park. This is also the closest we get to the Ring of Kerry, which we're skipping, but we can see the mountains. We stop for a short hike to Torc waterfall which was quite impressive, and then continue on to the town of Killarney for lunch and an obligatory stop at their Hobbit-themed pub. From there on to our next B&B in Dingle. A couple of photo stops along the way at Inch Beach and Minard Castle. Dinner is some most excellent seafood at the Marina Inn. Dingle is known for its traditional live music scene and it does not disappoint. It's a frickin' Monday night and you can just walk down the street hearing the music coming out of the pubs, every one of them full. We stop in the Courthouse pub and claim a spot at the bar for lovely evening of excellent music (including being amused at the drunk Ravens fan, you can take a guy out of Baltimore . . .).

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/karl.musser/media_set?set=a.10155487038762247.534887246&type=3

Ireland day 9

Dingle is also known for its friendly resident dolphin, this morning we do a short hike around the edge of the bay to see if Fungie will oblige us, and are pleased to report that he did! After waving to the dolphin we head out on the Slea Head Drive around the end of the peninsula. We stop to take a look at an iron age fort and there should be views of Skellig Michael (aka Luke Skywalker's island), but alas it is too foggy for that. We do get some nice views of the Blasket Islands and stop at the visitor center for them. Now uninhabited they were of interest to anthropoligists as they were home to one of the last purely Irish speaking populations - and they encouraged the islanders to write about themselves before they had to abandon the islands. Also viewable in this area are traces from the great famine, abandoned houses and fields. Continuing on the drive we also visit several early church sites: Reask, the Gallarus Oratory, and Kilmalkedar. Having completed the loop quicker than planned we stop in Dingle's aquarium, which is much larger than it appears from the outside. We enjoy watching the penguins and otters especially. Dinner is at the South Pole Inn, founded by Antarctic explorer Tom Crean, who was a certified BAMF. The evening is more traditional music, this time at An Droichead Beag. We didn't like the bar quite as much as the Courthouse, but the music was excellent and we were in a better spot for hearing them. I should be able to add some clips later.

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/karl.musser/media_set?set=a.10155487235887247.534887246&type=3

Ireland day 10

A foggy, rainy day - we had planned on going over the Conor Pass, but decide not to on account of the weather figuring it'll just be fogged in anyway. Today is mostly a driving day, we do our mid-day break in Limerick visiting St. John's Castle. The visitor center is way more extensive than we were expected, but then this castle has seen more action than most going through 2 sieges in the English civil war and 2 in the Williamite war, and there is also a neat section on the archeology done there including the uncovering of Viking ruins under the castle. And across the bridge from the castle is a cafe with excellent hot chocolate, perfect for a cold and rainy day.

From there we continue on towards our next B&B, stopping in Kilfenora for a visitor center for the Burren area which we'll see more of tomorrow. Also here is Kilfenora Cathedral with the remains of several high crosses to take a look at. From there Google manages to take us on the narrowest road possible to get to our B&B, fortunately no one else is crazy enough to be on this road so we don't have to do any passing. More fantastic views from the B&B which is right on the coast with the Aran islands across the bay from us. Dinner is a walk down to the local pub for some very tasty food.

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/karl.musser/media_set?set=a.10155487717147247.534887246&type=3