Cliff Notes

Before we get to virtually visit what is likely the most beautiful place I've ever had the good fortune to experience, there's always time for CHOCOLATE! 

A quick stop at the Skellig Chocolate factory - sadly, no chocolate rivers to be found - yielded more chocolate than you'd expect to eat in one stop.  Samples galore await you at their counter, and then of course, there's the bags and bags of nearby shards of multiple flavors of chocolate to purchase and keep you stocked up for a good long while.  Or at least until the end of the day.  Highest props to their engaging and friendly staff, who provided lots of laughs for this wandering foursome.

With an ample amount of chocolate under our belts, we set off for the Kerry Cliffs.

I know it's a cliche, but photos cannot sufficiently do justice to a seascape that literally takes your breath away. And that has nothing to do with the unceasing winds that buffet you from atop the cliff promontories.

Prior to this visit, for most of my life, I confidently ranked Yosemite National Park in California as the most beautiful place I'd ever set foot in during my travels.

It's time to amend my rankings.

Fret not, Yosemite, you still hold the U.S. #1 seed, but these Ireland cliffs have just scaled to the top of the global leaderboard.

The Kerry Cliffs (Aillte Chiarraí) in Portmagee rise about 1,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean, and were supposedly formed in a desert environment about, oh, 400 million years ago!  Not quite sure how that data point, but who am I to dispute it?

The sights from this showcase in the Skellig Ring just ooze inspiration, romance, and awe.

And they're pretty good at inciting smiles all around to boot.

The Kerry Cliffs rise about 300 feet higher than the Cliffs of Moher (see previous blog entry), and are a bit less touristy, potentially because they're off the beaten path and the Ring of Kerry proper.

If only there was some way to have carved out a running path somewhere along the walls of these cliffs - now THAT would have been an epic run for the ages!

Jack is eyeballing the Skellig and Puffin Islands from high upon her perch

Shockingly, there was virtually ZERO crowd at this site.  Probably not more than a dozen other explorers when we hit the site mid-day.

I hear the views at sunset are unparalleled, and I can just imagine their grandeur

Comparing the first pic of this blog entry to the last, it looks like both chocolate and cliff formations are pretty darn soul-satisfying.

In the end, though, while the chocolate was delicious, I'd have to give the nod to the cliff experience.

The Fellowship of the Ring

I've written before about core memories, and the events that stay with a person for the rest of their life.  A song, a picture, a piece of food, or just a recall to an unforgettable moment can be triggers or pieces of a puzzle that assemble an aforementioned core memory.
And for this writer, the 11 hours spent exploring the pockets of the piece of Ireland territory known as the Ring of Kerry created one of the most indelible days of my life, appropriately enough, the last day spent in a particular decade before a looming birthday would change the age bracket for some on this trip.

And of course, making the day as unforgettable as it was, was spending it laughing, walking, and just sharing memory-making with the love of me life.

For those not familiar with the Ring of Kerry, it's a 111-mile circuitous roadway that meanders primarily throughout County Kerry.  We started our trek from Killarney, just outside Killarney National Park.

And for any readers of the blog intending to head to said Ring any time in the near future, tourist pro-tip: if you're driving yourself, as we did, take the Ring in CLOCKWISE, and get an early start.

Driving the roads clockwise with an early bell gives you uncluttered views of breathtaking scenery, with vista pull-offs devoid of any other cars or tour buses.  The buses, you see, travel the ring COUNTER-CLOCKWISE, so they're at the opposite end when you begin from the southern link.

Not long into the day's exploration, we hit the village of Sneem.

Sneem's population numbers somewhere less than 400 villagers.  It earns his name from an Irish word meaning "the knot" - speaking to its intertwining of several waterways around it.

Me, I'd tie the Sneem with this wonderful lady all over again.

In Sneem, we stopped for one of the many scones that helped comprise the menu for our trip.  A nice coffee-filled respite at Kelly's, before the day really took off on us.

Next vista stop was in Kilcrohane, a coastal village on the Sheep's Head Peninsula.

On to Doire Fhionain, or Derrynane, meaning the oak-wood of Fionan.

On the shores of Derrynane Bay

Next, we made a pitstop at Waterville Beach, where Jackie and Sue bought some local nautical slate art, and got the best tip of the day from a local merchant, Kathleen, who advised us to head out to the outer roads of the Ring of Kerry, roads so narrow for the locals that tour buses aren't allowed out there.

Fun fact: American actor Charlie Chaplin and his family first visited Waterville in 1959 after his friend Walt Disney recommended the area as a good place for fly fishing. The Chaplins were so enamored with Waterville and the surrounding area that they came back year after year for over 10 years and developed close friendships with some of the locals.  There's even a statue dedicated to the Little Tramp in town.

Nearby St. Michael's Church in Waterville was built in 1866.

First stop was a visit to the bay at the Ring of Skellig.  The geek in me HAD to make a pass through this area, as it's the location for where some of the scenes were filmed in the Force Awakens, the eighth chapter in the Star Wars saga, where Luke Skywalker was found by Rey on the planet of Ahch-To.

The view in Ballinskelligs

Despite my best efforts, however, I not only was unable to find Luke or Rey, but there wasn't even a Porg to be found anywhere.

Much like the birds that do populate this bay, Scott and I were puffin by the time we climbed to the outer rocks in the bay.

Jack, looking out onto St. Finan's Bay, also looking for her own piece of Star Wars lore.

Sadly, due to ferry time conflicts, we didn't make it out to Skellig Michael, where Luke's secluded home was erected.

However, because I KNOW all ye readers are sweating it out that I wasn't able to make my Star Wars connection directly, fret not.  I can proudly say I enjoyed a drink in the pub where Mark Hamill himself poured his own Guinness.

The Force was with me indeed, this day.

Too much in one day to pack into a single blog entry, so we'll just leave this one at To Be Continued....