Ring of Kerry

Captain's log, star date 6.30.2012. Ring of Kerry.

Our first full day in Ireland started off rainy and drizzly, but we were lucky enough to have a covered carriage on our buggy ride through the streets and parks of Killarney. Our driver's name was Mike and our horse's name was Delilah. Such a good horsey.

We wound our way through the streets to Killarney National Park, which includes several lakes (teaming with salmon), two different types of deer (the red deer and the sika deer), and several castles.

We saw a couple of the deer, any number of birds (which I could not identify) and one very nice castle, called Ross Castle. It is on the shores of Lough Leane and was one of the castles ravaged by Oliver Cromwell during his rampage against the Catholics. Cromwell, I learned, is not very highly viewed by the Irish.

There is a legend about this castle that I found fascinating. It seems that it was owned back in the day by a guy named O'Donoghue. He is said to have been sucked out of one of the windows at the top of the castle, along with his horse, his table and his library. He disappeared into the lake and is now said to have a very elaborate palace at the bottom where he watches the castle on the shore.

After the buggy ride, which is actually called a jaunty car tour, we got on the bus and started on our drive around the Ring of Kerry. The Ring is a large loop around the western shores of Ireland and has some absolutely beautiful vistas along the rocky shoreline. First, though, we stopped off at a reproduction of a bog village. The bogs are like swamps where they harvest peat. This peat is decayed vegetation and is used as fuel for burning. The picture to the left is an example of one of their homes. Nice horse in the foreground.

Once we got going around the Ring of Kerry, we stopped at a small "farm", I guess you'd call it, for a demonstration on sheep and the dogs the shepherds use to make them go where they want. This demonstration was absolutely fascinating. The shepherd, using only words or a whistle, could make the dogs run way up the hill, guide the sheep to the right or to the left, and then safely guide them all the way down the hill. There are no bears, wolves or coyotes in the country, so the shepherds can leave their sheep out all night without fear of them getting eaten. It was so fascinating that Jacob said he wanted to move back to Ireland and become a shepherd.

After driving through some very nice little towns (Waterville had a nice little statue of Charlie Chaplin, at the left), stopping for lunch (shepherd's pie, yummmm), and watching Jacob sleep on the bus (zzzzzzzzzzzz), we finally came to the Atlantic coast. It's just like it looks in all of the calendars and photos you've seen your whole life. Rocky, forbidding, desolate and beautiful. Below are a few pictures. The two on the left were taken just up the hill from Waterville (where Chaplin used to rent a cottage when he wasn't making fun of Hitler). The one on the right was taken looking down the mountains back toward Killarney. Gorgeous spot. While we were here I kept thinking the words, "Release the Kracken!" Don't know why. Maybe it was because it was so stinking cold and rainy. Can you tell by the pix?

Then it was back on the bus (Geez! Do we ever get off of this thing?), down the

mountains along the twistiest (is that a word?) road I think I've ever been on, and back to good old Killarney and my dinky little room. No, really. I loved it. Just small...and noisy.

Dinner that night was roast beast with who pudding (we really had potatoes and veggies, but who pudding sounded better). Jacob no likey, so he didn't eat very much. His roommates all decided that they didn't like it much, either, so they all ordered a pizza from a local establishment. I think it was called Four-Star. Where did that last star go? We never did find it. His buddies ate all of it, though, so Jacob got nearly nill. I walked him down to Four-Star and bought him his own.

His growing teenage stomach was still growling, so we walked around and tried to find somewhere else to fill it up. That's when we found the King. They even had the crowns. I don't think we got one of those, but we did get the 9-piece chicken nugget meal with chips. At first I ordered it with fries, but the gal behind the counter looked at me like I had horns. It was then that I remembered my Irish manners and ordered chips instead. "Oh, right," she exclaimed. How callous of me. Me and my grotesque American ways. I should have remembered where we were.

That night was a better night than the first because my roommate wasn't quite as tired (a little quieter) and Jacob and I didn't get back until about 11 o'clock, AND IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUT!! You can't tell by this picture very well, but it was light out. I guess when you get that far north you're going to get that. It was light at 5am, too.

Anyway, I took Jacob up to his room and taped him in. What? Taped him in? Yup. His captors, as he called them, taped every kid's door so they'd know whether or not they'd been out of the room during the night. They were not allowed to come out until they got another knock on the door in the morning. Good idea, I think. Maybe I'll try that at home, too!

Part III - Blimey, It's the Blarney!