Today I realized that every time I think the roads here can’t get more treacherous, I am wrong. I’m not sure if I’ve seen a guard rail since I got here, and today I found some places that could certainly benefit from guardrails in addition to about five more feet of width, so that both cars could you know, fit.
Today’s plan was sketchy at best and I ended up about 45 km west of where I originally thought I would go. After putting about for much of the morning, and not actually stopping at anything, I finally stopped at a pottery studio just to stretch my legs and have a break. The lady who ran the place suggested I go on to Killarney. It was an incredible drive, and my first into the mountainous region of Ireland. I ended up in Killarney National Park for most of the afternoon. I saw Ross castle, and took an overpriced tour of the inside which is situated on the shores of Loch Leane. I then continued on to Muckross House which I didn’t tour due to my disappointment in the previous tour. I moved on to the Muckross Abbey, which was deserted and beautiful. There was a huge tree growing in the middle of it, and you could see the Loch from where it sat.
The guy at the tourist information place suggested I should go to Ladies View, which he said was a short trip and would give a great view of the water and the mountains in general. What he didn’t tell me is that due to the twists and turns and overall quality of the road, I would be white knuckled and in need of a stiff drink by the time I got up there. It also took twice as long as he said it would. The view wasn’t worth it because it was fogged over and rainy.
By then it was 4:00. I was supposed to be back to Ballincollig by 5:00 to pick up Alan, and I decided to continue on the road as suggested by the tourist info place. The road did get better, but not much until I got through the next town. I didn’t arrive back to Alan’s office until about 5:45, and I was greeted by a slightly concerned husband, who was worried I’d fallen down some cliffs or something similar. We went out for dinner in the town and then came back here.
Tomorrow I’m going south. I don’t really know what’s down there but I guess I will find out. We’re still working on our weekend plans. We’ve almost completely scrapped the idea of going to Stonehenge. Most of the people I’ve talked to who have seen it were disappointed that they couldn’t get onto the site, and it is a very long drive. We’re looking at the possibility of going into the central part of the country on an overnight excursion.
Your pictures are fabulous – it is as green as I had envisioned
Branson is good too…. but not so good as Ireland
Mom
There are apparently a whole bunch of other stone circles around that are just as impressive, but that you can actually go and see. You can always try to find one of those. :)