Kenmare to Doolin (part 1)

One piece of advice I would give to anyone traveling is talk to the locals. They give such good information about the area and have recommendations of all kinds. For instance, we took the ferry across the River Shannon instead of driving around through Limericks because our guide on Muckross Lake suggested it. The travel time was probably the same (because of wait time), but it was so much more enjoyable.

The River Shannon

On the other side of the river we took a coastal route and stopped at Spanish Point.

This guy has job security- he is cleaning up all the kelp along the beach ;)

Look at the blue sky!!

All the black you see on these rocks are tiny little mussels

Back in the car, with our tummies rumbling, we saw a sign pointing up a little road to Barrtra Seafood Restaurant and decided to follow it. When we entered the restaurant, it seemed empty, so we called out and a man dressed like a chef came and showed us to our seat. We were the only ones in the place and got an awesome seat.  The man turned out to the chef and the waiter and busboy for the day. He said his mom usually helped out front, but she wasn't working that day.

We ordered our food and enjoyed the view. As Toby looked around, he noticed the chef run out the back door, it turns out he was getting dill from his garden to garish our dishes- very fresh ;) The food was great and I would recommend it to anyone who is close to Lahinch- just look for the sign :)

As we continued toward Doolin, we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher. The weather was beautiful, but crazy windy- I would not have wanted to be on the coast during a storm.

The Cliffs of Moher were awesome. After we walked around the official section, we went out on or own and were able to get as close to the cliffs age as we dared.

Hold on Toby!

If we kept walking, we would eventually make it our next destination.

Here we are on the cliffs edge.

It's a looooooooong way down!

These "fences" are all over the area created out of local rock.

If you go to Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher are a must! (just pray for good weather)

The Ring of Kerry

The next day we headed out to drive a scenic route around the Iveragh Peninsula called The Ring of Kerry. Unfortunately this was our rainy and foggy day in Ireland, but we made the best of it.

We started in Kenmare, went through Sneem and around the ring we went. We even did the red scenic route sticking out from the official Ring of Kerry. That turned out to be one of the coolest parts.

 

A random stop along the way.

sheep!

After driving through fog and not seeing much, we arrived in Waterville and were able to see again. We parked the car and walked along the town's beach.

Apparently Charlie Chaplin spent a lot of time here in Waterville. According to our guide from our boat ride on Muckross Lake, Chaplin was able to have some privacy in this small town. People thought he was a little off (he used a different word), but left him alone.

Back in the car again, we headed toward Ballinskelligs. We didn't really know where we were going, but saw a sign for a beach decided to investigate.

This was one of our favorite places. It was just us, a castle with unrestricted climbing and the water.

This overexposure is kind of cool- Toby walking off  across some shimmering water to a castle tower.

The fog covering the hills in the background is most likely what we drove through earlier in the day.

On top of the tower from the outside...

...and the inside

so far down...

After the stop at the beach, we continued on around this little ring. We passed by the Skellig Rocks which is home to a wide variety of birds and on the larger rock, there are remnants of a monastery. I would have loved to go but, when planning the trip, we didn't have time. (We wouldn't have been able to go anyway because of the weather.)

As we drove on we did see a Skellig we could get to: Skelligs Chocolate. 

In the middle of nowhere there was this chocolate factory.  You could watch them make their chocolate and they gave tons of free samples. 

Although we were hungary, we wanted something more than chocolate for lunch, so after tasting (and buying) some chocolate we continued down the road to Cahirsiveen at ate at Frank's Bar. It was tasty.

As we rounded the corner of the Ring of Kerry we explored the Gap of Dunloe and Muckross Abbey.

On the way back to our B&B we had some sheep crossing the road. There were more, but I didn't get my camera out it time. In addition to the sheep, you can see the sticker in our rental car reminding us to drive on the left side of the road.

That night we ate at a place called Davitt's and got to listen to some more music. This couple played a variety of instruments and also sang acapella. They admitted that they played more traditional songs than the younger kids played next door (at The Coachman's).

After dinner we went back to the B&B and prepared to say good-bye to Kenmare.