Day Four: Ring of Kerry, Dingle, and Gort

Day four was upon us. We awoke in our lovely little Bed and Breakfast, to a wonderful meal provided by our host Kathy (Bangers, Fried Eggs, Pudding, Beans, Toast, Coffee, Tea, and assorted cereals...yum). We ate up, cleaned up, packed up, and headed out the door to begin the day's adventure.  And it was to be the first real day of driving (7+ hours in the car).

Our first stop...well, multiple stops, was the Ring of Kerry. For those of you not familiar, it is a loop in Southern Ireland that showcases all the natural beauty that one would expect to see in Ireland. Lush, green forests, flowing waterfalls, lakes set against towering mountains, old castles and churches, sheer cliffs, farms with hundreds of sheep. The whole shebang. The best part about it though was being able to drive it at our own pace, without any worry about a tour group rushing us past certain stops or directing us somewhere we didn't have much interest. And to say it was beautiful would be the understatement of the year. It was beyond gorgeous. Vistas and views unlike anything I had ever seen. Truly awe inspiring. Dublin had impressed me and won me over. But this was what I had come to Ireland to see.

After putzing around on the Ring of Kerry for a bit, we finally decided to leave the route and head out onto one of Ireland's Western Peninsula's, towards the little sea town of Dingle. After talking to Paige at the start of the trip, we decided it seemed like a nice place to stop on our way to Galway/Gort. But before we got there, we needed to adventure out onto some very "local" roads. Here we met some tiny streets, very large mountains, cliffs, and high winds. I can't remember the name of it off the top of my head, but one of the passes we drove through was absolutely one of my favorite parts of the trip. I can't even really describe it, so I'll let the following pictures speak for themselves. But it was just unbelievable and I couldn't believe that I was actually driving through it. Sheer rock walls on my left and hundred foot cliffs to my right.

Once me made it to the other side of the mountains, the world just opened up to the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. We stopped a few times to soak in the views. Walking down to the beaches. Breathing in the salty air, feeling the sand whip against our skin from the gusting wind. Certainly nothing like here in America (and yes - I creeped on an old lady a little bit. But she was damn cute).

We eventually made it to Dingle and while we couldn't stay for too long, we had a blast. I loved everything about that little town. For anyone who has been to a little, quaint, New England fishing town like Portsmouth, imagine that times 1000x. Dingle felt so close to home for me. Yes - I understand that New England took almost all of its heritage from the UK (hence the name) but I didn't feel like a tourist there. I had always been raised near the water, so seeing the wharfs, hearing the seagulls, smelling the fish and salt in the air, it all felt natural and comforting. The town itself was picturesque. Nestled into a bay, surrounded by water and fishing vessels. To be honest it was perfect and I wish we had more time there to experience it to the fullest. But on to Gort we went, to check into our abode for the night and rest ourselves for the following day of Cliffs, Galway, and eventually Belfast.