Ireland: The Ring of Kerry

We spent an entire day making our way along the sites of The Ring of Kerry. The first stop was a sheep dog presentation. We watched a shepherd use his brilliant poochies to move and cut a clump of sheep up and down the mountainside. He spoke to them quietly and gently and they sprung to life or into statuesque stillness with complete obedience.

The shepherd also raises all kinds of exotic sheep. He told us all about them, and fielded some questions from the group. It was super drizzly and we were so glad the stop didn't get rained out.

Next we took a ferry across to Valentia Island. It was a car ferry, and the Gs thought it was amazing that we were driving our little tour bus on and off the boat. Valentia Island has a few claims to fame. It was a stop for the Cromwellian army as they came into town. Also, it was the site of the first transatlantic cable. We enjoyed some lunch, fresh from the sea, and then headed around the island to the Lighthouse of Valentia.

I found myself taking lots of pictures of all the green things that grow out of craggily rocks in this country. 

We loved the foggy and windy view from the lighthouse. 

There are remnants of the lighthouse's military past. Canons, a dungeon, and steps that were trod upon by the boots of Cromwell's army.

The kids each took a turn spelling their name in morse code.

The devastating effects of the potato famine are still visible throughout the parts of countryside we saw. There are dozens upon dozens of abandoned farm houses like this one. Through death and emigration, the great blight was responsible for cutting the population of the country down by 1/2 of its pre-famine size. Even all these years later, the population hasn't recovered. Cori and I would be more than happy to take up care of one of these residences!

We traveled up the hill from the lighthouse to a slate mine. The rock from this very cave was used to roof the House Of Lords in England, as well as all of the incredible buildings constructed in India during the time of the British occupation.

Even on the walls of a slate mine, this place grows green.

This is Mr. David Geany. He drove us up and down the southwestern quadrant of his country, put little girl games on his phone for Eden to play, and stayed in the bus with a sleeping Jeffery on more than a few occasions while we toured. He was a regular part of the family by week's end.

We came down from the slate mine and around the peninsula to Ballinskelligs. We from this little town, we could catch a glimpse of Skellig Michael - a rocky island that houses the ruins of an 8th century monastery. Ballinskelligs is also where Skelligs chocolate factory has set up shop. We were served a load of samples, and then bought some more for the road.

We continued through Waterford, favorite summer hide out of Charlie Chaplin, and began making our way back toward Killarney.

It was a long drive and David made some stops to let us stretch our legs.

And some of us were overachievers about the whole leg stretching thing. From our exercise perch on the hill, we caught a glimpse of our next stop: Staigue Fort. (The circular rock pile pictured below.)

I don't know exact statistics, but it seems like at least 90% of the roads we traveled were single lane. Having a driver on the right hand side makes it easier for vehicles to scoot by each other with millimeters to spare. Doing it here was no big deal. Doing in on a rocky cliffside was a bit more adventurous.

At the fort we engaged in some foot races, climbed the look outs, and stalked grazing sheep. It is amazing how something so ancient can still be quietly living amongst the trappings of our modern world.

The sky cleared up a little that evening for the rest of our drive.

Our final stop was just a couple miles from home back in Killarney National Park. We parked at a little turn off called Ladies' View. It is so named because before Queen Victoria's visit was cut short, her ladies in waiting were taken to enjoy the magnificent vista of the Black Valley -then part of the estate- from this very spot. This is the same wilderness we witnessed by horse and boat earlier in the week. It was breathtaking.

That night, back home at the priory, yours truly got to finish celebrating her birthday. Sara and Kevin had been in charge of food that day and baked me a cake. It was a pretty fabulous birthday!