Ring of Kerry Day 1

We started our day with scrumptious breakfast in our atmospheric B&B and then went to the nearby Rock of Cashel which is really ruins of some monastery with a cathedral and cemetery located on top of the hill, or rock. We had a very interesting guided tour and walked around the large site. We then embarked on the drive of the Ring of Kerry which is a famous circular drive around coastal county Kerry in south of Ireland. You drive on beautiful country roads and stop by some marked “goodies”, like castles, abbeys, or forts, most remote and ruined to some degree. It also goes through beautiful villages. It was raining and windy which apparently is a semi permanent state of things here, but we braved the drizzle and went to see a stunning ruined abbey, with multiple floors and with an old tree growing in the courtyard. It was very mystical, especially since because of the weather we had the abbey to ourselves. We then stopped to see a small and beautiful waterfall but had to run back to the car because we were eaten alive by the swarms of tiny no see ums. We then stopped at the town of Kenmare and saw a 3000 year old stone circle which was probably used for some pagan rituals. Amazingly, next to the stones there is a “fairy tree” which has written wishes tied to it and we spend some poignant time, reading the wishes. Most of them were really “I wish for health and happiness for my family” with the touching ones from kids who wished good grades, career, happiness for their parents, or some eclectic wishes like, “I wish I was a dolphin”. It was so humbling to see that people all really wish the same things. Finally, our last stop for the day was a remote stone fort which was used for protection - thousands years old.Read more