On our return from County Kerry, we had another night in Dublin. Originally, it was supposed to be a quick stop on our way out of Ireland and on to Germany. Well, it turned into more than that.
Our neighbors in Dallas, ‘G’ and Renzo, told us they were going to be in Dublin while we were there, G’s from Dublin and her family still lives there. The only day we had available was Thursday as we passed through. I’m glad we made the connection, the evening was good craic as my friend Nigel taught me to say, a good time. In the picture are G, Ellen, Me, Susan, Renzo and Kevin. We’d met G’s younger sister Sarah, her husband Shane and their son Tom earlier.
These kind of meetings have changed my outlook on travel, my focus is now more on people and interactions. The places and things are still important but, what would they all be and mean without people?
We started the day by leaving the tourist frenzy of Dingle Town behind us as we headed towards Slea Head and a loop around the peninsula on what was another glorious day, the locals thought it was hot but, today is a little cooler but still mostly clear with some clouds and fog in the higher elevations.
Nigel and Bernie know the area well and we get the best tour in the world, one with very knowledgeable friends. The friends part is what makes it so much more rich.
On the way out of town, we did not stop at the Dingle Distillery but, Bernie and I have made a point of sampling the local Gin, Drink Local! There’s significant history in the area including the Ring Fort and the beehive huts. No one knows for sure how old they are but, there’s evidence of habitation going back 6000 years. Still, the draw is to the left, the ocean, coastline and islands.
The view out to Blasket Island, a now almost deserted island, is beautiful. The island was one of the last bastions of traditional Irish culture, which struggled as much as the residents of Blasket Island, until 1953 when the last of the residents were forced to evacuate due to near starvation. There’s an interesting stop at the Great Blasket Center which tells the story in a 15 minute video. The entry fee is 5 euro but it was free the day we visited (Wednesday).
We continued on and stopped in a small village for lunch, I should have written all the names down but, I didn’t. We walked out on part of the Dingle Trail which would be a great walking alternative to something like the Camino. It’s well marked and has many small villages offering inexpensive rooms. It takes 8-9 days to walk the entire route.
Flowers along the Irish Coast in County Kerry.
We finished up our drive around 1600 when Nigel dropped us off at our hotel, he would pick us up again around 1730 for dinner and music and drinks in Ballyferriter where they were staying.
Dinner was grand but afterwards, we went down to Kane’s Pub or Tigh Ui Chathain (no website although I believe they have a facebook page) which is pretty traditional. Nigel seemed to know most of the people there and after some drinks, we moved to the front room where Nigel and two brothers, Louis/Louie and Vincent joined him.
Nigel played the banjo, Louie the fiddle and Vincent played the most complex musical instrument I’ve ever seen, the Irish Pipes or Uilleann Pipes. Nigel said that they play very traditional Irish music which I wouldn’t know. What I do know is that it was beautiful music and the three of them seemed to enjoy playing it.
Vincent took time to explain his instrument, how it worked and how you can build it up from a basic pipe to the more complex pipe that he had. His brother Louie, build many parts of it including the bellows which provides the air to the pipe. The bellows themselves were a piece of art.
Our friend Bernie even danced for those there, the combination of the friendship (all around), the music and the dance in this small village made this 4th of July one of the best I can remember.
Around midnight, a taxi came to pick us up and deliver us to our hotel. Our friends stayed on a bit longer but they too retired. For me, truly a night to remember. Or, as they would say here, it was good craic!
Our day yesterday started off with a nice drive through the mountains south of Kilorglin which have the tallest peaks in all of Ireland. Nigel and Bernie know this area very well and have shared with us many things that we would not find in a travel guide book, sorry Rick Steves!
We drove around Lough Caragh and then along the south of Dingle Bay, If I come back, maybe better, when I come back, I need to grab my boots and pack and get N&B to show me some of the trails that they walk/climb, this is as beautiful as anyplace I’ve seen. Whether you want mountains, hills, valleys or the coastline, County Kerry has it all.
Dingle Town is pretty much a tourist town and,for good reason. There are tours to see Fungie (a dolphin watching tour), Bay tours and other excursions. We arrived around 1300 and the town was packed with tour buses, the upside is there gone by 1700.
Our lodgings are at the Dingle Harbour Lodge which is on the way out of town headed towards Slea Head and up above the bay. They’re a converted hostel which is morphing into a sort of hybrid hotel. Our room is nice, has a great view and is quiet. No A/C though and its been unusually hot, 31C/87F but, that’s the way it goes.
After doing a cursory look at the town, we met B&N for dinner at the Boat Yard restaurant, they have one steak on the menu and otherwise, it’s seafood only. It’s very good seafood though. Bernie and I had the Lemon Sole, Susan had a Fish Pie and Nigel had the lonely steak on he menu. All of it was quite good. The joy was, as I’ve said before, what’s makes a meal great is not the food, it’s the people around the table. This meal was great.
We finished up the night looking for a Bar with music, we found some music but, maybe not tonight. We ended up at Foxy’s John’s which is a hardware store by day…I’m not kidding.
Our day started like any other day except, today, I get to see Bernie and Nigel, my Camino friends and the last of them that I saw in Sanitago over a year ago. I had not realized how much I was looking forward to seeing them until the time approached.
As usual, Bernie sprung into the lobby of the hotel with a huge smile on her face which, put a huge smile on my face. It felt so good to see her and to give her a big bear hug. No time to chat, traffic in Dublin was hectic and Nigel was illegally parked outside.
Getting out of Dublin was slow but, we talked and Susan got acquainted with them both, I was just happy to see them and to spend the next couple days seeing Dingle and the West of Ireland with friends. Our destination for today is Kilorglin, a small town and our jumping off point for this tour.
Nigel had recommended the Bianconi, a small inn and, his recommendation was a good one. Very nice and inviting with a bar and restaurant on the first floor, we put them both to good use.
After dinner, we walked over to a small bar, J.D. Falvey’s which is about as quintessential Irish Pub as I can imagine. We sat and talked, locals came and went and I talked to a couple gentlemen at the bar, one asked me where I was from. When I said Dallas, he immediately said, “where John F Kennedy was killed”. There was no implication, just noting it. It was a good evening.
J. D. Falvey’s in Kilorglin
Nigel had sent me a link to a YouTube video that was created there, it’s a bit long and it can be hard to understand but you can clearly see the passion the man had for his departed friend. Mr. Brightside.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my reunion with my friends, I’ve noted in the past that they made their mark on me on the Camino and it’s clearly a lasting mark. I’ve said it before, I’m a lucky man and much more rich because of people like Nigel and Bernie.
Again, I woke up with the sun as Susan snoozed, I wish I could do that. Other than the first day in Iceland, I’ve not slept well as the sun comes up early and, without my eye mask, I seem to wake up with the sun.
Breakfast at the hotel and then off to Trinity College again to do a tour led by students. Our guide today was Eliza who had just graduated with a degree in drama, she used it well. One of the many things that we loved about Trinity College is that at graduation, they did not call you up alphabetically, they called the highest ranked student first and the lowest last…that’s harsh. My daughter would have loved it!
Apparently, there was a real pain in the ass professor there in the past and, apparently some of the students wanted to annoy him so they threw rocks at his window to which, he responded by shooting at them. Students being students, they returned with their pistols and returned fire. The Professor it seems, was shot and, died from his wounds. No one went to jail, he was that big a dick!
After a quick trip to retrieve our laundry, we visited Christ Church Cathedral, believed to be the oldest existing structure in Dublin and it dates back to Viking times. In itself, it’s a little dull. The crypt though, is pretty cool. With all the back and forth between Catholic and Anglicans (thank you Henry VIII) at some point, a Catholic power had over run Dublin and stated that Anglicans were nothing but Catholics without a Pope. To show his disrespect, he stabled his horses in Christ Church…take that Church of Ireland! What a waste of time.
Walked back through Temple Bar, had a pint of Guinness on the way over to Grafton Street, Susan needed some Retail Therapy although, I scored some new sunglasses. They have styles here that I can’t fine in the States.
Dinner was at Maddigan’s on Earl St., while it was traditional and there were a lot of locals, the food was, traditional Irish, not that good.
I heard from Nigel, looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.
