Kenmare to Killarney - Another Walk Done!

Monday, 8/22/11, Kenmare to Killarney.  We arose bright and early for our hike through Killarney National Park.  Dennis the taxi driver didn’t take us as far as we wanted but it was a lovely day for walking and there was a minimum of sucking muck and rocks.  The park is beautiful. 

Along the way, we passed a sheep standing up on a rock, bleating his fool head off.  I think he was lost and calling his herd.  “Where are you?”  It still haunts me.

We arrived at the pick-up spot where Dux the cab driver after a bit picked us up to transport us to the Mystic Rose Guest House.  That was a different kind of place, I tell you, as was Kaynes, where we had dinner. 

Back home to get ready for traveling to Iceland on the morrow.  Another walk done!  

Sneem to Kenmare - If you leave me by myself for long, I WILL spend money.

On Sunday, the taxi driver and I dropped Kathie and Kathleen off at Blackwater Bridge, along with Mary and Bree who had also played hooky from the trail the day before.  I got dropped off with the bags at Neidin House in Kenmare.

I walked to town to check out the place, bought some dental floss, an Irish language book, and an unframed JoAnne Yelen gicleé.  (The limited edition at the link is similar to mine but not nearly as beautiful!)  JoAnne was a hoot – she called her sister-in-law Pam about my foot.  She said her brother is also an artist but he prefers kayaking.  Obviously a very talented family.

I dropped my stuff off back at the B&B and then headed for lunch at Bread Crumb Café.  The food was so-so but I had a fun conversation with a 12 year old boy from Salamanca.  He spoke English quite well (he said he had learned at his “academy”) and wants to visit San Francisco and New York.  Cuteness.

I went back to the room to wait for Kathie and Kathleen but they didn’t get back until after 5 p.m. because they apparently got lost trying to find the place.  Kathie said that along the way she had met a John McGrath twin and would’ve had dinner with him if he’d asked.  No wonder they got lost.

Instead, we had dinner at Foley’s Bar, where Kathie and Kathleen had beef and Guinness pie and I had a roast veggie goat cheese tart with a gin and tonic.  Yum!  After dinner, we walked out to see the stone circle and then back home to prepare for our last day.  I would be hiking.  YAY!

Caherdaniel to Sneem - How Not to Lose Weight on a "Walk"

Saturday, 8/20/2011, was supposed to be a hike from Derrynane to Sneem.  Kathie was up in the night with an infected blister on her big toe.  When she said she couldn’t walk the trail that morning, you could have knocked me over with a feather.  Rather than Kathleen walk by herself, we all three caught a ride with Patrick to Sneem.  We stopped along the way to see Staigue Fort, a defensive ringfort thought to have been built by some local lord or king back in the 4th century AD.  Below, Kathleen and I inside Staigue Fort.

In Sneem, we walked from our B&B, the Coomasig View, downtown, past a family of white sheep with one black sheep.  I guess there’s one in every family.

In a lovely little yarn store, I bought some wool yarn.  We visited a graveyard, where an English Lady Albina Broderick was buried.  She had moved to Ireland and started a hospital and school, and she wore raggedy clothes.  That’s all I know about her.  Here’s a plaque that tells her story.

Charleston isn’t the only town with a Rainbow Row, I guess.

Kathleen did a four hour hike by herself while Kathie and I had carrot and parsnip soup with salad at the Village Kitchen, followed by ice cream – Bailey’s Cream for Kathie and rum with raisin for me.  You just can’t find that kind of stuff around Charleston.

At the “chemist”, we bought some foot pad stuff and then walked home.  Along the way, we passed this house that we thought was pretty nifty.

Kathie soaked her feet while I wrote notes and napped.  Then we went out for dinner at Sacré Coeur Restaurant.  We would NOT be losing weight on this trip, no sirree, Bob.

Waterville to Caherdaniel - Not Walking but Not Idle, Either...

So on Friday, 8/19/11, I caught a ride with our hostess’s husband to our next night’s lodging.  Along the way, my very pleasant driver and I chatted quite a bit.  He asked what we think of Obama in the U.S.  It’s always interesting to hear an outsider’s point of view on the US.

At the family-friendly Derrynane Hotel in Caherdaniel, I settled in and then tried to walk over to the village but went the wrong way.  I turned around to go the right way, but it was raining and the wind was blowing so hard that I gave up and went in to do laundry instead.  Get this – there’s no fee to use the laundry and the hotel even provides detergent!  The downside was the washer takes an hour and a half to do a load.  Still, you wouldn’t find that in the States.

I had some French onion soup for lunch in the window-walled lunch room/bar.  I even had a scone so I could linger a bit and enjoy my view of the ocean and outdoor pool.  When I couldn’t justify dillydallying any further, I checked out the sauna and steam room for use later, then went outside to try walking to the village again.  I hadn’t left the drive before meeting Kathleen and Kathie arriving from their day’s walk.  They looked like drowned rats.

While they settled, I finished up laundry.  Outside, the day turned sunny and beautiful.  We went outside to take some pics of the rocks and surf.  Joan, see that heart-shaped rock formation in the pic below?  I took that photo just for you!

Our dinner in the hotel’s dining room consisted of some very nice salmon and profiteroles.  Yum!  Of course, that all had to be followed by some basking in the sauna – or was that before dinner?  Or did we do it at all?  That’s the trouble with waiting two years to write up a vacation.