As advised by many a travel guide and website we got up early to beat the tour bus crowd and followed the sign to RING OF KERRY.
In the morning the fog covered the green hills...
...but as it lifted we could see that this would be a very special day.
I don't know how we got so lucky to have planned the absolute perfect day to drive the Ring of Kerry. We were told that if it was raining we should postpone the drive, but our schedule only allowed for this one opportunity. As it turned out the day was beyond our expectations.
We pulled off the road at every chance we got to look at the beautiful "vistas" and take pictures. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
We pulled off into a parking lot to take pictures of the Ring of Kerry sign and also the vibrant blue hydrangea that we saw all around Ireland.
After we got back on the road we started seeing signs for "the best views of Kerry," so we diverted off The Ring of Kerry to the farther out Skellig Ring Drive. We pulled up to a little house and a man came out asking us for four euro apiece to see the "best views." We'd already come this far so we went for it. We walked about a quarter of a mile up a path and we were starting to fear we'd been hoodwinked by this rinky-dink operation...
...Then we came to the top of the hill an looked out onto the ocean. We saw it would be the best eight euro we would spend all trip.
The site had some other treats for us as well. The view from the top of the cliff was lovely.
We were able to walk right up to a beautiful horse. All that separated us was the thin wire you can see in the picture. I don't know whether or not it was a Connemara Pony, but she (or he) was gorgeous.
We also saw these model beehive huts. Similar huts are found on Skellig Michael, which we were not able to travel to (see below). While they don't know the exact date of these huts they think possibly 12th century.
And this plastic puffin sighting was my only one of the entire trip. Not puffin season.
Then, came out closest near death experience of the trip. When we stopped I noticed how the road ahead of us took a sharp incline into a large mountain and I figured after we saw the views we would turn around and head back where we came from. Our next stop was "Skellig Chocolates," so I asked the man working at the cafe which way to go. He said to continue on the road about one kilometer. I asked him in a very nervous voice, "The road is okay?" and he assured me, "Yes, yes. It's fine."
Well, needless to say it was not fine. We drove up the steep incline and then started up the mountain - yes, mountain. The road started off paved, but eventually turned to gravel. Let me tell you when you are driving a Nissan Micra up a gravel road on a mountain there is a sinking feeling that eventually you will start sliding back down the mountain. Finally and only by flooring the gas petal we made it to the crest. Our troubles were not over. Heading down the mountain there was the same sinking feeling we would slide down the mountain and our brakes would be useless. Eventually, we were back on a paved road and leveled off.
Zach remained calm the entire time, but later admitted that he thought we were goners. I don't even want to think about what would've happened if we encountered another car, needed to stop and start again on the gravel. Actually, I know what would've happened. Two Americans, among sheep, would be pushing their small rental car up the side of a mountain.
The beauty of these experiences is that immediately after they are over there is always something amazing and beautiful that makes it all worth it. We made it to the coastline and the Skelligs came into view.
In the next three pictures you can see the Little Skellig and the clouds slowly dissipating to reveal the base of Skellig Michael the larger of the two islands.
The clouds never completely lifted, but you can see most of it in this picture. When we return to Ireland I would love to take a boat out to Skellig Michael during puffin season.
On the edge of County Kerry surrounded by fields on one side and the ocean on the other is a small chocolate factory.
A quaint operation.
We went up to the counter for tasting and she let us try so many different flavors. We kept thinking the tasting was over and she would lay out another piece.
We selected our favorites and bought some Vanilla Ganache truffles.
Then it was time to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate made from actual Skelligs chocolate.
Then we found our way back out onto the ring.
It was lunchtime so we stopped in the next town, Sneem. This town is famous because it was where Charlie Chaplin spent his vacations. I took a snapshot of other tourists posing by the statue as we drove by. We had a quick lunch and did a little shopping for Kerry related souvenirs.
Then it was back to the drive and I will let the pictures speak for themselves again.
We made our way past Kenmare to the final stretch through Killarney National Park.
Notice the butterfly...
We pulled off the road to see Ladies View. It was quite a sight. By this time the ring was slightly crowded so please ignore the man in my picture.
Our last stop was Torc Waterfall in the National Park. It was just as it'd been in pictures.
As we were leaving the park I took one last picture of the sun through the trees.
After the The Ring of Kerry we went out in Killarney. We stopped into Corkery's for a pint and some conversation with a race horse gambler. Then, we had dinner at The Danny Mann, which was a bit of a mistake. It was very touristy with long tables enough for a tour bus. The food and music was descent, but not nearly good enough to cap off such an amazing day.
"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises." - Pedro Calderon de la Barca
