galmc2Report

We’ve now been in Ireland for 19 days and are headed to Dublin tomorrow to wrap up our time here (I’ll actually be back in September for the Irish Open Golf Championship as my last act before returning home). We’ve covered a lot of ground since we departed Cork with our swanky rental car!

First stop for us was Killarney. In between doing some of our usual wandering, we enjoyed the opportunity to meet our B&B hostess who was immensely kind, and a local couple whom we struck up a conversation at the local restaurant with on our second visit to the sample the insanely good chowder!

Killarney served as a starting point for the famous “Ring of Kerry.” We thought we’d get a head start by driving out to see the Gap of Dunloe. We parked and hiked up the local roadway, where we encountered a local rancher bringing his horses back from across a wide flowing river. After watching him coax his last horse back over, he advised us to continue up the road to the first bridge. He suggested not going any farther as the road had flooded and the view wouldn’t change.

Our last act in Killarney was on our departure day. We started off the “Ring of Kerry” by visiting Ross Castle.

Then we were onto the Ring. Our goal was to get to Portmagee so we would be ready for the Skelligs (but I’ve already told that tale).

Aside from being the closest port for the Skelligs, Portmagee also is home to the very impressive Kerry Cliffs! Our accommodation was almost right across the street from the entry to the Cliffs, and our hosts had included a day pass for us. It made for a long day, as we had to visit after our trip to the Skelligs, but hey, sometimes travel is a tough gig!

After Portmagee we had a big driving day to finish the Ring of Kerry (have I mentioned our cool BMW X1 rental?) and get to Dingle. And yes, I missed the opportunity to have a Pringle in Dingle.

Unfortunately Heather’s bee sting was still bothering her, so when we got to Dingle we had a morning exploration of this lovely town searching for a clinic. Thankfully she saw a doctor and got the “it’s ok, you just need to give it time, and take sleep inducing antihistamines.”

Dingle is also the place where we met John, the Dad of our host. John let us into the flat, and told us a lovely tale that went something like this:

There was a famous dolphin named Fungie who decided to “hang out” in Dingle for years. He became quite the tourist attraction! One day John was on his way somewhere when he saw a gent headed for the beach to see if he could see Fungie. John stopped to offer a ride, and the gent gratefully accepted. As they were driving the gent enquired about John’s health as he was a cardiologist. Fast forward and John has travelled to France to visit the cardiologist, who performed successful heart surgery. When John asked what he owes this man for saving his life, the response was that he owes nothing. The Doctor was grateful for the kindness that John had shown him, and this was his way of returning that gesture. Just wow….

Being in Dingle allowed us to do the iconic Slea Head Drive. It’s a drive around the local coastline that, like so much of this country, is simply magnificent. But….it’s a very narrow road and tourists are advised that if you do this, make sure you travel in a clockwise direction! As we found out, not everyone got that memo, but all was good.

After Dingle we headed north to Doolin, where we would spend a couple of days before catching a ferry to Inis Mor, which is one of the famed Aran Islands. Our home base was about a 10 minute drive from Doolin, with fantastic views in a very quiet locale. No walking to the pub from here!

The big draw though to come to this area of Ireland is to see and walk the famous Cliffs of Moher. We were a little slow in our morning so didn’t totally miss all the tourist buses, but Heather had learned of an alternative (and cheaper!) parking lot. The Cliffs themselves are free to see, it’s the parking that you need to pay for. We ended up having a good wander, and experienced both the clear view and the cloudy one (we had read of a recent visitor whom said they went but couldn’t see a thing as it was so foggy!)

One of the things we were looking forward to most was a side trip to Inis Mor, which is one of three Aran Islands (the famous place where sweaters and other woolly garments come from). To get there you need to take a 35 minute ferry from Doolin, so we again crossed our fingers for a (relatively) smooth sailing. We arrived on Inis Mor unscathed, and checked into the local hostel. Being in a hostel was very fun! We had a private room, but had easy access to the on-site pub, kitchen (where we could say hello to other travellers) and free laundry!

We spent the rest of our day taking a long walk to see the Black Fort. Inis Mor is so quaint (there’s that word again). It’s local population is about 760, and wandering through the town as we climbed to the fort was a lovely meander.

For our next day on the island, we decided to be brave and rent bikes. Real bikes this time, not those electric bikes. We had a tip to head out early during low tide to see the seals, then we continued to the tip of the island for a snack break. There we chatted with an Irish gent who, when we said we were from Vancouver, proudly told us he knew where that was as he’d spent time working in Kitimat, BC!

After snack time we headed back and took a right turn to go see Dun Aonghasa Fort. The highlight though was what came next. We made our way (following some useful tips from locals) to The Wormhole, which is a natural pool that is cliffside. It became famous as part of the Red Bull Cliff Diving series:

After our side trip over to Inis Mor, we headed north to the lovely seaside resort (that’s what it says on their signs) town of Bundoran. After seeing that it was Cheap Tuesday we headed for the cinema for MIDRPO (aka MI7) and then did a wander over to the local Rougey Cliff Walk. Yes, cliffs is a recurring theme of the Ireland part of our trip!

Heather gets full marks for our last activity in the area. She’s been great at connecting with other travellers for recommendations. Driving a bit further north to Slieve League and doing the hike there was highly recommended. We headed that way wondering if we would be soaked on our return, but the weather held and we had a great afternoon doing this hike.

Now it’s onto Dublin for our last stop in the Republic!