The Ring of Kerry

Another yummy breakfast that consisted of Christine's (proprietor) pancakes that were more like crepes. So tasty. Another something I could get used to...breakfast served to me as I sat down at the   table!  We loaded up and motored on down the narrow curved roads that make up the Ring of Kerry.

The Ring of Kerry is the vernacular tourist title for the Grand Atlantic Coast Tour of County Kerry's central peninsula of Iveragh. For those of you impressed with my verbiage...hold the praise as I copied that verbatim from our guide map!! HA!

We started here in Killarney with our first stop at Kell's bay. You'll see a pic of Peggy and I looking "adorable" in the water! We thought it was lovely. Little did we know what was waiting ahead. We drove through the little hamlet of Cahersiveen stopping off for a Coke.

Next stop, Portmagee where we were WOWED by the Skellig Cliffs...every bit as dramatic as the Cliffs of Moher. Exquisite scenery at every turn. We hiked up a short ways to get a better view of this dramatic view of the sheer cliff coast line that drops into the Atlantic. In the distance we could see the Skellig Islands. The largest one is Skellig Michael that we were hoping to see by boat but all tours were booked with the weather being so warm and the waters so calm.  Skellig Michael was a monastic settlement that was inhabited my monks from the 6th to the12th century. The island is completely isolated and quite inhospitable but stark in its beauty. Leaving such beauty was not easy but we forged ahead on a VERY narrow, steep road that took as past some of the most gorgeous scenery any of us had ever seen. Bear in mind, we have the dramatic ocean views to our right and a patchwork of green rolling pastureland to our right. We looked up at one point to find sheep so far up the hill that Roy said if one slipped, he wouldn't stop till he reached the road!!

We were rewarded with the Skellig Chocolate Factory...OMG!! We were the only people in there and the tasting samples were flowing freely. After spending way too much for chocolate, Eileen (older lady with a great Irish lilt to her voice) proceeded to explain a whole lot about making novelty chocolate items like a full size soccer ball filled with mouthwatering flavored insides and a high heel shoe made of 71% pure chocolate.. Our eyes were sugar glazed by the time we departed!

Our next stop was Waterville. A charming village right on the water. For you golfers, you know the area for the Waterville Golf Links. Anyway, we had to have fresh seafood so we had a bite of lunch at The Smuggler's Inn. When I asked our wait person if the lobster was fresh, she looked out to sea to point out the boat!! It was indeed fresh as were Peggy's oysters, Mike's Hake ( white salmon) and Roy's crab legs. The day was exquisite not only for the sheer beauty we experienced but also by the fact that there were very few people at every stop. It was a wonderful surprise. Peggy and I strolled at the water's edge after lunch (the boys went to check out the golf course)and commented on how few people there were at the beach. 

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better we experienced the "Amen" to our day when we crested a hill and found our next location which is just minutes from Killarney in the National Forest...an area called The Ladies View. I will try to make it the last picture so you'll see why. 

As I said yesterday, I am running out of creative adjectives to describe what we are seeing...like Cecilee Echols told me, you can't begin to imagine the myriad of greens you'll see. She is so right. I find myself thanking God for His artistry. For me, each panoramic vista is another of His many gifts to us. We are blessed.  I am pleasantly tired but have to say....This was quite the day!

The "Amen"