Wednesday, June 15 - Off the Beaten Path

We started our day with a full Irish breakfast prepared by our B&B host and raconteur extraordinaire, John Boyle. The full Irish breakfast was a sight to behold – particularly for someone like me who routinely skips breakfast altogether. The breakfast included farm fresh eggs, bacon (actually smoked and thinly sliced ham – delicious!), something that looked and tasted a lot liked baked beans, tomato, sausage links, and two puddings. I asked John what puddings were and he said “Give ‘em a try, Mary – they’ll put hair on your chest.” I later found out that puddings are made with some kind of animal blood mixed in with other ingredients. I’m glad I gave it a try, but it wasn’t something I’ll look forward to eating again! The breakfast came with tea and the delicious brown bread we’ve been served time and again at Irish restaurants. I’m going to see if I can get a recipe for the bread before we leave for home. It’s a favorite!

Before we left, John mapped out a route for us along the Dingle peninsula. He knew all the great spots to stop along the way – many off the main road.

                          

Our first stop was down a narrow, winding road to a beach looking out to the Margharee Islands – called the Seven Hogs by the locals. The beach was wonderful! The tide was out and lots of seashells, kelp, and beautiful rocks were easy to spot.

                          

A little further down the coast we took another narrow one lane road to Brandon Point – the westernmost point in Europe. The view was breathtaking.

We hiked (puff-puff!) to the top of a peak and took in the view. It was so quiet, but for the sounds of the birds and ocean. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Both Meghan and I agreed we could spend hours there just taking it all in.

We headed back to the main road and traveled ever upward as we went through the Connor Pass through the Slieve Mountains. The views were spectacular – we pulled over a few times to take it all in.

It was like nothing I have seen before. We followed the road into the town of Dingle – totally charming - and we had lunch, did a little shopping, and walked the town. As with other Irish towns we’ve seen, the shops and storefronts are brightly colored and everything is kept very neat and clean. After lunch we headed out along Dingle Bay – beautiful views – to Inch Beach. This beach has been in quite a few films, including “Ryan’s Daughter”, “Far and Away”, and a few others. It was easy to see why – it is a beautiful place.

 There were a number of surfers on the beach – and a few swimmers – but I imagine the water was pretty chilly. On the way back to the car I saw the following verse written on the side of a building – it seemed to express Inch Beach the best.

Next we took the main road north to Kerry, and then Limerick. We ended our day in Galway at the Victoria Hotel on Queen Street. Tomorrow our plan is to explore Galway, Connemara then head north to Westport on Clew Bay.

Along the way today we have seen many old, crumbling, abandoned stone cottages that look to be over 150 years old. We imagine many of those date back to the time of the Famine. As we stood on Brandon Point today and looked out across the Atlantic, we imagined how hard it must have been for those who boarded ships to America – knowing once they left Ireland they would most likely never see their homeland or families again.