Traveling Ireland: Catching Up Again June 1 and 2

Catching Up Again June 1 and 2

Yesterday morning we left Dingle and headed to Ballinskelligs on the coast. It just so happened that this is a Bank Holiday Weekend in Ireland and everyone was out having a good time, including us. There were also a lot of bicyclists and motorcyclists out for some special events. We were fine dealing with the extra events until we arrived on the outskirts of Killarney. We wanted to stop at the tourist office there but that was not to be. Saying there was a traffic jam is putting it mildly. It took us over half an hour to get through town and we could never get where we wanted to go. The streets were jam packed, and there was no a parking spot to be found. We decided to head out to Muckross House and on the way passed a huge motorcycle event near the INEC event center. And the Irish creative parking for cars was in full force. On grassy dividers, between light poles, on small inclines at the side of the road, everywhere there was even the implication that a car would fit.

I have always enjoyed the gardens at Muckross House and Park. Yesterday we didn't spend much time as we had lost so much in traffic but a small stop in a light drizzle didn't stop us. We also had some lunch in there cafe, and did a bit of gift purchasing in the gift shop. All in all a good time.

From there is was on to Ballinskelligs via Moll's Gap and over the hills to Sneem and Watertown. Then on the local road to Ballinskelligs. We did pass a lot a tour buses going the opposite way, and the clouds were coming in so views were very limited. Rita has a special castle ruin she likes to see, so we made a quick stop by there and continued on. Rita did find out that it was not really a castle, but a barracks built to keep the locals from poaching the deer.

We were actually happy to find our B&B easily and with the recommendation of our host, we headed to Cable O'Leary's for a drink and dinner. We would have stayed for music, but we were beat from the days drive.

So that was yesterday. On to today.

We were up early and after breakfast we headed to Portmagee. Rita was hoping to get a boat to Skellig Michael. She was having trouble confirming with the guy she had contacted and thought she might get a seat on a boat this morning. Once again we were foild by the fact it was a bank holiday and everyone decided to take boat rides to the Skelligs. Some were just cruises around the islands, and others were actually a 2 hour visit on the island. I know Rita was disappointed, but we opted for another boat ride instead and headed across the bridge to Valentia Island.

There is a “Skellig Ring” drive that takes you to the furtherest end of Valentia Island with marvelous views of the Skellig Islands. Of cours we traveled over some small mountains on the way to Portmagee with some great views already. But the sun was out, at least a bit, and the views here were also beautiful. So from one end of Valentia Island we left to drive to the other end to Kingstown. On the way we passed a farmer with a baby calf that was just 24 hours old. I thought he was actually pretty big. At Kingstown we caught the car ferry over to Cahirsaveen and checked out 2 round forts, and my favorite castle ruin Ballycarberry. Just something about the place makes me smile. Hopefully I'll be posting a picture of the castle and the inside of the one round forts at the end of this.

We then headed back through Portmagee as we needed to make a stop at Skellig Chocolates. We sampled at least 6 different flavors (they are very generous with their samples). The dark chocolate with hazelnut and whiskey truffle were my favorites. :) I did end up bringing home a small sample bag. They make these amazing shoe chocolates also.

After Skellig Chocolates we headed back to Ballinskelligs to check out an old castle tower on the beach near us and a priory ruin. The priory ruin was where the monks would go after their time on Skellig Michael.

After some dinner we headed back to the B&B for today and have been spending time repacking our suitcases which have become so disorganized we can hardly find anything. Also it was time to check and see if we would be able to fit any additional items we now have into them.

Tomorrow will be a long drive from Ballinskelligs to Kenmare, to Bantry, to Mizen Head, to Kinsale. I'm hoping we can work in a drink at a pub called The Spaniard when we get to Kinsale. :)

Hope to get something written tomorrow if it's not too late.