The Ring of Kerry

I popped awake about 7am, so excited about my tour today! I got ready, curled my hair and found out my hotel serves early breakfast! I came down and ordered a mini Rose breakfast and coffee. Everything came so quickly this morning!!! That worked out well cause I had to be on the road shortly.

The tour sign for my bus was posted outside a house. There was no one here, so I drove into town and asked the tourist office about it. Sure enough that was the correct place, but I was early. I asked them where I could get cash for the rest of my trip and they pointed me towards a bank ATM a block away. Sure enough, I was actually able to grab cash!

On the same street, I found a coffee shop. It was so full of character! I ordered a hazelnut cappuccino. As I made my way back to the car there was a jewelry store. I purchased a necklace for a present and I clover ring for myself.

I finally headed back to my tour spot. They arrange parking in the back and side of the house!  A nice older gentleman checked me in. He said he wished he was driving today. When I asked him why, he said so he could spend all day with me. Aww, I already felt welcome. I met my driver who also was very nice. He asked where I was from and explained he had vacationed in California for about 6 weeks.

Dave drove us into town to another tour bus that was full.  Our new drivers name was Michael.  I sat next to another man who is traveling by himself. His friends cancelled last minute and he decided to continue on. He comes to Ireland often.

Our first stop was the Red Fox Inn and the Kerry Bog Museum. Since I already had coffee, I decided to do the museum. While looking at an Irish wolfhound puppy, I met a lovely couple of ladies. They explained that the wet looking wood was called turf and that’s what they remembered burning when they lived in Ireland as children. It is harvested from bogs using special tools.

One of our bus stops was watching Tess, a 7 year old border collie, herding sheep at Kells Sheep Farm. They use mainly four commands: left, right, away and stand. These commands can be verbal or a whistle. The sheep have tags in their ears for identification, but also marks painted on their backs so they can easily tell whose sheep is who’s when sheep are gathering with other owner’s sheep. The herd dogs can hear the whistle from a mile away which is good when they are herding way up on the hillsides.

We passed some bogs and our driver explained that is where the “Bog bodies” were found. They were so well preserved that they could still get fingerprints from the bodies. They also found a historic document there and were able to recover about 50% of the document.

We drove past 4 upright stones that marked graves back from the 7th century.

We stopped for lunch at Scarriff Inn. I couldn’t choose, so I had both the shepards pie and a small lamb stew. They were both very good. I added a side salad too, so my body could have some greens to help it function optimally. The view out the window was just stunning! I was sat next to a lovely young lady who is also traveling alone. She’s been traveling since February!

In Sneem, there’s a lovely shop called Quill’s that has a good selection of wool products. I purchased myself a lovely jacket.

We took photos at Lady’s View, which is a view of the three Killarney Lakes. It’s called Lady’s View because that’s where Queen Victoria would have stood when she came to visit in 1861.

Outside an old hunting lodge there was a deer! Probably a red deer. As we continued in Killarney National Park we saw about five herds! It was amazing and unexpected.

I had realized I left my jacket on the bus after meandering through town for a bit. It was easy to get it back though! It went very smoothly and everyone was so helpful!

I turned into a Circle K for a bathroom break and some snacks at Newcastle West.  When I came out, there was a garda, (cop) pulled into the station. I approached him and asked if it was true they didn’t carry guns. He explained the only thing he carries on him that might be a weapon is a pen. I was shocked, as most Americans would be. I just wanted to ask a simple question and not take up too much of his time. However, he seemed quite happy to have a great conversation with me.

I checked into my next hotel, the Inn at Dromoland. Everyone was very nice!  When I asked where to eat, they booked me a reservation for the restaurant at the hotel. One of the workers rushed out to the car when I was getting my suitcase out and trekked it all the way to my room for me.

I ate dinner at the Shannigan’s Gastro Pub. I ordered hot wings to start and then a rib eye steak for my entree based on my waiter’s opinion. They definitely hit the spot.