After spending a few days in Cork, we climbed in our miniature Toyota Yaris and headed West! Jeff has now mastered driving on the left side of the road, and shifting with his left hand.
Jeff and I have spent the past few weeks living and/or working around other people. We decided that we wanted to see the rest of Ireland, and figured it would be a nice break to spend some time together, just the two of us. Also, with the money we saved by working on the farm (free room and board), we feel like we can afford to spend a little more this week.
Day 1
We left Cork City and drove to Kenmare. Arrived in Kenmare in the evening, just as it started to rain. We stayed 1 night at a B&B just outside of town.
Day 2
Drove the Ring of Kerry backwards to avoid tour buses. Weather was great for most of the day and we didn’t hit too many tourists! We stopped in Portmcgee to try to get a boat out to the Skellig Islands. The Islands are extremely remote and used to be inhabited by monks. Unfortunately, the seas were too rough for a boat ride, so this is definitely on our to-do list when we come back to Ireland!
Skellig Islands in the distance- we plan to come back and see them by boat someday!
Since we were out that way, we drove the Skellig Ring (another peninsula and island off of the Ring of Kerry). We completed the Ring and arrived in Killarney around 3 pm without much traffic, if you don’t count the sheep and cow that caused minor roadblocks on separate occasions. We walked around town and grabbed a bite to eat before settling in our hostel for the night.
Day 3
We had a typical Irish summer day. Rainy and misty all day, even though you can see blue sky, with cooler temperatures. It didn’t stop us! We hiked in Killarney National Park. I am so glad we decided to take an extra day in Killarney to explore the park. Ireland has been really pretty up to this point, but we’ve seen a lot of coastal vistas in the past 2 months. Maybe we’ve become desensitized. However, we were blown away by the National Park. Of course our pictures don’t do it justice, but even in the misty rain we began to realize that faeries and leprechauns really can live here.
Of course we worked up an incredible thirst while walking, so we popped into Killarney Brewing Company (they like to call themselves KBC, but honestly!!!!!) for a tour and tasting. The craft brew scene is pretty non-existent in Ireland, so it was interesting to check out.
PS It’s 10pm at night in Killarney and we are staying in a private room, shared bath, at a youth hostel. There is a group of teenage girls here in the common room (teenage girls = not much sleep). They have all sat down for tea and biscuits (Cookies. Although, biscuits do sound healthier…) before bed. I haven’t quite figured out the Irish teatime- it seems to be whenever you want sit and eat cookies (biscuits). For me it’s teatime, all the time.
-Cara
Irish traffic jam