Dingle Dangle

Day 24

The group had to be up early and leave the Randy Leprechaun at 9:30 am. I did manage to squeeze in a few pictures of sheep before it was time to go.

We were headed to the Dingle Peninsula, one of the most beautiful areas of Ireland. Even having been there now I am at a lack for words to describe the whole thing. The water, the cliffs, the beaches, it was just all so stunning. Dave (Aussie we met last night), Deborah, Catherine and I took turns taking pictures of one another as we walked along the path. We took walking pictures, jumping pictures, and just plan portrait like pictures. At one of the stops we took turns rubbing our butts on an ancient fertility stone.

Anther stop was at the 800 year old Kilmalkedor Church. This used to be a big pilgrimage stop. There were ancient stones with unknown writing and Celtic crosses dating back hundreds of years.

About 2 years ago bones began washing up on the nearby beach. No one could figure out where they were coming from. Then it was discovered that the British massacred a group of Spanish navel officers that had survived a shipwreck. The bodies were buried in shallow graves and recent soil erosion had disturbed them.

After the Dingle Peninsula we had some time to spend in Dingle the town. About 25 years ago a dolphin swam into the harbor and he hasn't left. His name is Fungi, after the fungus that grew in the beard of the old man who first befriended him. I didn't get to see Fungi, but the four of us did have some good lunches and great Baily's flavored ice cream. We had some time to walk around and I spotted a bar that is also a hardware store that Rick Steves put on his show. There was a shop with a naked mermaid on the sign called Simple Pleasures, dirty. We also checked out the quaint harbor.

After some more out the window pictures we arrived in Kilarny. The big thing to do here is check out the adjacent national park. We had a few choices with our tour. I could go straight to the hostel, take a horse and carriage ride, or go horseback riding.

My horse was Dingle and he had his own pace. He walked slower and ran slower than all of the other horses. I was constantly falling behind. I felt bad kicking him, but the guide kept telling me to do it harder and harder, eventually I thought that I had it all worked out with him. Then we came to the puddles. He could be walking or running but when he saw a puddle he would stop short. Everyone thought that it was me, but it wasn't, I swear. It was the horse. I kept trying to make him go, I kicked and I asked nicely and I pleaded. He would only tentatively walk through the puddles and then run again. Still, Dingle was a good horse and riding through the part was magical.

After freshening up Deborah and I wandered around the cute little town that was Dingle. We took pictures of cute streets and monuments. We didn't have much time though as we were meant the meet the group, gappies and all, for dinner and Irish music. Dinner was good, and the music was fun, however the bar was very hot. We also had to wake up even earlier than the day before and I didn't want to miss out on the next day so I left early.

When I got into the room another girl, I never got her name, told me that we were in the same room with two people who met on the tour and had been sleeping together in the rooms. How incredibly rude. I stuck in my ear plugs and crossed my fingers that there would be no dirty interruptions during the night.