I know that i haven't posted anything in a while and am WAYYYY behind on posting blogs but I hope to somehow catch up the next couple of nights. I have finished my time in Galway, which was life changing, and now touring through Italy, but that is for another day. Here is my quick day trip around the Ring of Dingle! Since I did the Ring of Kerry beforehand it was a little less impressive for me but nonetheless quite beautiful. I just wanted to share just a few of my favorite pictures...
Surfing in Ireland, who would have thought!
The film "Ryan's Daughter" was filmed here
"Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." - Sean O'Casey
A few weeks ago I did another solo mini trip around the Ring of Kerry. It has by far been one of my favorite experiences, mainly because I think I was waiting for so long to see THIS Ireland. You really got all of the beauty, magnificence and grandeur that is Ireland and I have been recommending this experience to everyone. In this instance picture would do much more than words so I hope to divulge on my experience through a pictorial narrative...hehe...let's see how it works out...
Our tour started in Killarney and the cathedral, St. Mary's Church, is the tallest building in the county of Kerry! It's a beautiful cathedral built in the 1800s.
Much of Kerry is covered in bog land or "peet". Basically it is decomposing land which they dig up, dry and use to burn in fire places. It is the cheapest form of fuel in Ireland and is still popular today.
In the town of Killorglin, nicknamed "Puck", each year they have a festival call "Puck Fair" and name a wild goat the king of the town, hoist him up on a stage in the middle of town and party for three days straight. After that goat has fulfilled his royal duties, they tag him, never to be king again and release the goat back into the wild wondering what the heck just happened. I plan on making it to this festival someday.
We visited the Bog Village and it was a very interesting place. The original houses remain and each house was fitted to each individual person and their occupation.
Each house also had these creepy wax figures with glass eyes...
Inside the house, this was actually the second biggest...the biggest being the blacksmith's house.
Piles of Peet...
Bog Ponies! They were so curious...they always remained together and always stood in order from biggest to smallest. The reason the bog village had these smaller ponies were because back in the day Catholics were not allowed to have full size horses and if they had a full sized horse that cost more than five pounds they were required to sell it. Therefore with these smaller ponies they could still get work done and not have to sell them off.
This was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. This man is an honest to goodness sheep herdsman and he demonstrated how he commands the dogs to herd the sheep. There are some videos below.
Each dog has a different command and he likes to have up to five dogs. It's amazing how the dogs recognize their own special commands and only responds to their own special whistle.
He set up the dogs to pose for us...cutest old man ever.
Charlie Chaplin lived in Waterville, Ireland in Kerry County after he was accused of being a communist in the United States and this is his monument. There is a Charlie Chaplin Film Festival in Waterville that occurs every year and some of his children & grand children still own property there.
It is said that the tradition of painting the houses different vibrant colors came from the town of Sneem. The women painted their houses these unique colors so their husbands could recognize their own house from anothers when they were coming home drunk from the bar. Smart women.
This mountain is called the "Purple Mountain" due to the hue of mountain because of the vegetation that grows there.
The weekend we were in Killarney/Kerry it was the Ring of Kerry Bike-a-thon (approx. 100 Miles) and there were thousands of bikers raising money for charity. Even the Prime Minister of Ireland was participating in this event and this was the last stop before the end.
This spot is called the "Ladies View". It is named after the Ladies in Waiting of Queen Victoria because when the Queen was visiting, the ladies in waiting were suppose to prep the area for the arrival of the queen but when they got there, they were so enamored with the view that they forgot and were not prepared when the queen arrived. In memory of the "Ladies" and not the queen, the spot was named "Ladies View".
This is the other side of the Ladies View with the Gap of Dunloe.
Under this cross, the former owner of Muckross Estate is buried standing up. Why? because he loved the estate so much he wanted to always be watching over it and at his funeral party, he would be the last man standing. Clever.
And so ended my tour of the Ring of Kerry. I had such a wonderful experience doing this tour and learned more information that deepened my understanding of Ireland and made me fall in love with the country that much more.
"If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things." - Henry Miller
