This was the day for me to meet a passel of sweet, amazing people. First we enjoyed a yummy Bfast & lovely conversation with Pat who embodied the warmth & charm that we've experienced over & over in Ireland. Then we headed on an N road & made our fastest time so far. We went through several villages with ruins, beautiful churches & even saw a bride and her wedding party at the entrance of one.
Charlie spied a bike store in a classic old Irish building. (Mark & Charlie can speak to that-all the bike stores are amazing in their on way) Outside, a customer was admiring the tandem bike, struck up a conversation & once again, like so many other folks have been, was only too glad to help. For you see, we were in the middle of the "June bank holiday weekend" (the Irish have bank holidays spaced similar to our Mon. off holiday weekends like Memorial Day) & therefore our attempt at finding a camping area or B&B had come to naught. Brendan offered his yard or home, even though he was getting ready for a Charity Cycle ride that evening that his own organization, which supports families of critically ill children, was sponsoring. He also told me about a pub near our destination & when we arrived, the waitress, with the help of a customer found us Grange Farm House B&B just up the road. The food was fabulous too. On the way, we passed The Great Stone Circle of Grange, an amazing circle of 113 large stones up against a circular berm dating back to thousands of years BC (supposedly the earliest discovered circle of stone). As we were leaving, I had heard the cattle lowing across the street & the farmer called me over. Tim was also the caretaker of the area and told us about a smaller stone circle & very large standing stone (used as a highway marker) in the next field. He, like so many folks we had met, had a child in the states in Albany NY. He had us sign his guest book & before we left gave me a postcard with his address with the request for an Albany GA postcard in return. A short way, but up a steep hill, we met Elizabeth at the B&B who offered us tea & we enjoyed yet another warm conversation with she and her husband. I think the days here just can't get any better, but each one has it's own delightful surprises. -Joyce
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After our 3 day break in Killarney, it was back to "work". We had done our 1st load of laundry the day before (lots of hand washing), so packed it all up & headed out past the mountains & forest we had ridden through the previous days. Traveled on an "N" road which is a highway with pull off lanes that are perfect for cyclists. Later it turned into 2 lanes up a long slow hill with a more narrow edge. We did find a few "L" roads that generally paralleled the highway, are smaller, less heavily traveled & wind through farmland & small villages. Some of these are designated as specific cycle routes too which of coarse we love . We arrived in Macroom, which despite having a castle, seemed much more of a work a day locale. The end of the day traffic was bumper to bumper & more harrowing than we'd experienced before. We were relieved to see a nice walking path over the river. We found Penns Pub which only had a few patrons. After a few minutes, we had a new bartender who was quite friendly & informative. We had found a B&B online (all the pubs have WiFi) & she approved of our choice. She commiserated with us about the traffic and discussed the local economy a bit. The pub used to have a restaurant & hostel but the area had fallen on harder times. I also figured out that it was Penns bar because William Penn's (Pennsylvania) brother was from there. We then headed to Fountain House B&B on a lovely lake, met Breda & her 3 youngest elementary age boys, Mark, Simon & David. She offered to do laundry & since we're apparently in an Irish heat wave (highs almost 70), that was much appreciated. She also had a 7 month old puppy, a white Golden Retriever who we all loved on.
(Joyce) 1st full day of our break time which translates to biking with no gear/packs. Fossa, is just outside the town of Killarney with great bike access to Killarney Ntnl Park. Late start, no breakfast, snacked. Started around Killarney on a red bike lane along the main road & in <1/2 mile, a bike /walking path which wound through woods, past a meadow where we saw horseback riders & a golf course (lg bright pink blooming rhododendron which reminded me the azaleas at National Hills for The Masters in Augusta). Past the golf course we went through more fern floored woods & meadows with clumps of yellow irises, which we had seen all over Ireland. We arrived at Ross Castle, another tower home from the 15th century. It had been set to fire by the locals when they thought Cromwell was about to attack from the water in the mid 1600's. The story goes that there had been a prophesy from the druids that the castle would only fall if besieged from the lake side. Apparently Cromwell learned of the prophecy & that's just what he did. Large boats had never come up through the lake before, so when the locals saw Cromwell barges, they gave no real fight but burned the place leaving nothing to be taken. All of the informational displays we've seen have been so well done. This one was no exception. There was a replica of the house with cut outs to show various features. There was also a side window with a 3D replica depicting methods used to construct the house. There was a cute primitive painting showing life back then and you were to find the items that were out of place like a flip top trash can & sun glasses and you could find the myriad of cats (thought of Aunt Polly). One of the displays showed a band of barefoot Irish mercenaries & next to that was my favorite, a portrait of an English official in full royal blue regalia complete with military helmet and an Irish lance from the thighs up, but bare pale legs complete with blue veins, barefoot. This was Sir Thomas Lee from the late 1500's & it was noted that the English officials were concerned "that the servants of the crown would 'lapse into barbarism by adopting Gaelic ways" The house had then had various owners over the years, was re-purposed with the addition of barracks at one point but with disuse, began to crumble. The area was almost developed by several Americans who probably would have torn the castle down and built homes around the lake (those Americans!); but an Irishman American bought it back. He made a deal with the government that if they fully restored the castle, he would give it to them along with surrounding lands for free. With this motivation, the castle was restored over a 20 year period to as close to the original as they were able to accomplish & using many of the same building techniques. Our tour guide was excellent & I assume she was one of the historians or curators for the museum. She explained the various defensive features of the castle including several small rooms near the entrance where up to 2 dozen men would sleep in readiness for an attack. Just above the front entrance was access to an opening called the murder hole where rocks, hot water, or oil could be thrown onto intruders. Mark's favorite feature was the spiral staircase always revolving clockwise allowing the right handed defenders from above to have the spatial advantage. She told about the living conditions, damp, crowded & cold, but those lucky enough to be inside were protected from attack. There were furnishings from the times including some 16th century tapestries in immaculate condition, the carved back chairs with arm rests for the head of the household and a 10th century chest from Irish oak that seemed to be a prized possession for the museum. Each level up was considered more protected, so the Lord of the castle slept in the 2nd to the top floor. There was a curtained bed for the Lord & Lady & up to a dozen children & even guests would have slept on the floor there. The top floor with a high ceiling was the meeting area/judgment hall (where the Lord would preside over disputes)/dining room. This area had a side room for cooking & a balcony for the musicians and barbs of the day to provide entertainment. Those in the balcony were hidden behind the balcony wall. They were considered lower on the totem pole than the servants but are highly appreciated today for having passed down & developed the history, poetry, plays, music of the day. They ate off pewter since it was less expensive than silver but unfortunately this resulted in lead poisoning. Near the end of the tour, our guide asked for "the question" which Mark correctly asked - "where was the toilet". We were wound through an area with metal grates where material would fall the 5 stories down & that was then managed by a "farmer" who generated compost. The servants slept near this area & one could only hope for olfactory fatigue. After our tour we then had a late lunch back in Killarney at Murphys pub, scored some groceries, snacked at the Hostel & enjoyed our shut eye. The day was partly cloudy, mostly sunny. -Joyce Biked into Dingle for provisions, enjoyed coffee & Bfast just outside a grocery which turned out to be a great place to see the ~200 racers come down the hill at 11:00 for the start of their race that day to Sneed. Back to the hostel to drop off food; then we got to do our 1st ride; with no packs. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As an overview, we took a partial southern loop out Dingle Peninsula, following the sea coast initially. We stopped at Paidi O Se's (a famous GAA footballer) for a pint near the beginning of the ride. Nice pub with great statue of the Gaelic football player (posing with statues) & a small church across the side street (a common layout in these small communities, sometimes with the addition of a gas station). We had already stopped at Penny's Pottery, another posing like statues (or wall tiles) opportunity (Thanks to BJ for that idea!) Penny had a lovely shop, lots of wall tiles & blue pottery pieces including cups - we found most everyone's name. There were also wooden toys for sale. As we walked through the small cafe in the back, there was a lovely wooden porch looking over the back yard. Several chickens came up to visit or perhaps just look for crumbs. We saw a work area off to the side & met the woodworker. Mark especially enjoyed his tiny shop & appreciated a spinning device for quickly sanding each small toy. After Paidi's pub we stopped at the Celtic & Prehistoric Museum. Apparently an American ex-pat had collected antiquities for years & built this small museum. He had items from all over the world including a woolly mammoth skull & a full bear skeleton. I especially enjoyed the Celtic artifact room with many bronze age artifacts. Next was Dunbeg Promitory Fort. There was a stone Restaurant /Visitors center across the street where we saw a cool video that depicted what life might have been like in the 800's & gave us a detailed tour though the ruins. The site juts out into the Atlantic with 3 cliff edges & would have thus been easier to defend. Sadly, it is being eroded & was particularly damaged in a 2014 storm. A short distance further was the Beehive huts. Each of the historic sites had entrances to collect a small fee, manned by locals with a thick Gaelic accent. We were in a part of Ireland where Gaelic is still the primary language for some. The Beehive huts had similar construction to the fort but all were round - flat stones stacked on stones with no mortar which is built in to a lesser diameter up to where 1 capstone is placed on the top, thus the old fashion beehive shape. Most were ruins but the construction, especially of the entrances was fascinating. One had been rebuilt with a top & some had underground tunnels to connect them together. From there we continued the route along the coast with great views of the cliffs & Sleahead Peninsula & the Blasket Islands coming closer into view. The Blaskets are famous because of a small group of people that lived there, very isolated until they were removed to the mainland in the 1950s. There have been several books written by or about the residents who had maintained much of the Gaelic language, traditions & customs. The ride had another sweet spot as we took a hairpin curve through shallow flowing water over a cobblestone section of road. We stopped at Sleahead which had a large guarded white tent at the entrance- Starwars location according to the locals but filming may have just finished up, so no star sightings. We also could see the beach far below & a few remaining sunbathers enjoying the end of the day. From there we cut back inland & the old folks did some bike pushing but Charlie said our total elevation was even more than the Conner pass day! (no gear & it was many ups & downs, so a different experience). At the bottom of the hill was Paidi's Pub again & a plan for our second pint, however the kids were hovered around the bicycle investigating a slow leak probably from glass. We were so excited about no gear, we didn't even have a pump. The locals were helpful. No pump that worked, but they suggested a garage a short distance away. This was another opportunity for a unique experience. We knocked at the house next to the garage but there was no answer. However a fellow came around the corner and looked a bit shagrinned at our request - " first day with no bike pump and we get a flat" Charlie explained with a big smile. He took us back to his shop which was a thrill for the guys and of course he had an air pump and quickly accomplished the job. He accepted some quarters with a big smile and surmised if the pub might take a few. We quickly headed back to town. Joyce, not peddling fast enough at 1 point, was chased in circles by Boris the young but large puppy who was playing with his two young masters in their yard. She was pretty much done for the day after that, but Charlie and Skye went into town to get food and we settled down for a second sleep at the Rainbow Hostel. -Joyce Saturday was Tarbert to Ballybunion - in a nut shell- wind head on, up & down hills, shorter but harder; Stayed with Noreen in Olde Attic B&B that night.
Bfast started with porridge with cinnamon and raisens, our 2nd Irish B-fast, very much like the 1st but we were introduced to "black pudding", a type of sausage that other of our hostesses typically serve to their Irish guests. Then packing out and sweet goodbyes & pics with Bernadette and Patrick in their backyard where laundry was hung to dry & a blanket of little daisy flowers covered the lawn which were mowed as we packed the bikes. As we headed out south from Tarbert, it started to rain hard but just for a minute. Charlie & Skye stopped just outside of town to speak to John, and we had our 1st long Irish conversation. With an easy Irish hospitality that we'd experienced repeatedly , he offered for us to stay on his land but that would have been a very short day! He was quite a historian and told us about the nearby Abbey & Carrigafoyle (Rock of the hole)Castle probably built in the 1400's and destroyed by th British in the 1580's. He was a descendant of the O'Conner 's who had made their fortune from control of a toll bridge past the castle over the river. During the discussion some talk of the Irish perspective of US folks were shared. We learned that the Irish inquire about your interests and not about your job in that short list of common "get to know you" questions. I saw a description of the Irish a few days later that seemed to describe John to a tee- "this Ireland that presents many faces, loving, teasing, inscrutable, wise..." We then went to the Abbey which is now a cemetery and the family names were very interesting. The castle in the distance seemed to be a tall blokish ruin and I wasn't expecting much. However, we had found a prize. There were the usual arches in the walls but most impressive was the intact stone arched ceiling which consisted of relatively thin stones laid together like pieces of paper. The ceiling was 5 stories up and a stone spiral staircase in the back corner accessed the remaining back section with the 6th story overlooking the countryside. Amazing! I noted no safety features on the climb up so just be careful. Several other folks were visiting too. We proceeded on & it was hilly which we expected and windy which I hadn't counted on. I guess the 1st 2 days had taken their toil as this was a short day but challenging. We arrived into Ballybunion and easily found The Olde Attic B&B on the main street, run by Noreen and her family. We had a great seafood dinner at the hotel restaurant next door. Enjoyed watching a 2 yr old and she enjoyed giving all of us a hi 5's (actually low sweet hand slaps) as she left. We were pretty much comatose after dinner and only Mark heard the 3am singing from the bar downstairs. Noreen was not impressed the next morning that those "hooligans" had taken her flowers out of their containers, but she had already fixed things back. -Joyce |