Doire Liath Bantry

... which was quickly on my jeans, with my lack of balance- complete with fertility stone on the top - don't worry, i didn't even touch it!

We drove past the sleeping Giant, an island that, well, looks like someone lying down and it's kinda big! Then to the Kilmalkeder church, a ruined abbey, with celtic crosses and more Non stones that predate the written word like we found in Wales! We also saw a grave with a can of Guiness ...

Well needless to say today began with a headache, after finding the craic in Galway. Armed with lots of water and my first coffee in 5 days!, we set off.

Before long we were travelling through the Buren - a wild desolate area, made of limestone with spectacular views. We visited a beautiful desolate abbey, then started making like the goats that inhabit the area and climbed some hills with spectacular views of the coastline. Michael ...

... to see how we react to situations. and if any of you know how many bathroom breaks Nic and I take on roadtrips, you'll know when I say that I have seen more bathrooms in this country than Irish pubs. And they are all grosssss gas station bathrooms...giving us all great thigh workouts!! And it is sooooo hard to find a good cup of coffee here. Honestly, its all instant coffee and super strong. There isnt Time Hortons or Starbucks on every corner.

... our driver and Jesse our horse. She was a local lass hadn't been outside of Ireland and had been doing this job for about 15 years, we talked a bit about Australia and said she should come out and visit us!

I thought the roads to Killarney were rough but these were very tight and thin to start off with.. with the locals speeding around behind you I was forever pulling over to let them go past. Anyone that ...

... those of the boys who had died the year before in a tragic car accident. We said a few words for all our close relatives especially John.

On the way back to the ferry we checked out the old family homestead. Sadly it has gone further downhill and is in need of a lot of care and attention – cows (and a few bulls) graze the paddocks and outbuildings now, turning what was once a family house and ...

... Mom started taking photos of the people with the donkeys because she didn't realized they were trying to get money for photos of them. I let her know and then we high-tailed it outta there. All of the trinkets were junk too.
The first planned place we wanted to stop was the thatched roof houses. We saw a place that looked like it may have been it, but that place looked like a tourist trap so we decided not to stop. Turns ...

... not a major tourist attraction. We parked in a little gravel parking lot and hike a short way to the Stone Circle. It seemed to be on someone's property and there was a nice view of the ocean from the circle. Even though we didn't experience any supernatural activity, the Dromberg Stone Circle was still a pretty cool landmark to see.
We were next off to Mizen Head Cliffs. I had originally waffled on whether or not to stop here ...

... things to do or people to party with there. After that, we'll see. One thing's for sure, I'll be ecstatic to travel to some place with proper summer weather. So far the islands I've spent my time on seem to have two seasons: Wet and warm(ish), and wet and cold, with the sun making a cameo appearance every few days or so. I give serious credit to the people who have lived in this part of the world over the centuries. It's awfully grey.

I don't have pictures for this leg of the trip yet, but since my connection is sporadic at best, I figured I'd post an update just the same. I've been in Ireland now for a little over a week. Dublin is as Dublin was the last time I was here. My hostel was amusing, if only because it was supposed to be a dry hostel (as in no alcohol, but really you have to love the Irish sense of humor -- dry anything in a country that gets more rain than most other places) and ...

... My ears were on fire by the time I got down off the cliff, it was either the cold gale force wind or someone had a lot to say about me! Onwards to the north is a great winding drive along the coast and into the Burren, an area of barren stone landscape. Try to picture an entire region of stone paving, broken only by hills of more stone. There are some caves to visit as well (Aillwee) but they are a bit melodramatic, sequenced light ...