Dinosaurs on the Dunloe

Catching up on the second half of the Ring of Kerry, we heard about a botanical garden that featured dinosaur themed sculptures, which made for a must-stop-and-check-out, especially for my bride, who has a passion for all things dinosaurs.

Truth be told, if there was a real-life Jurassic Park, Jackie would probably still visit it, despite the repeated escapes, misadventures and inevitable Saurian disasters that lurk within its pens.  She just really digs dinosaurs, which works out very conveniently when it comes to being married to this old fossil.

 (Read this in the voice of John Hammond/Richard Attenborough) Welcome to the Kells Bay Gardens in the town of Cappamore in the Killinane parish!
The so-called Jewel of the Ring spans more than 30 acres and features dozens of sub-tropical plants.
And did I mention dinosaurs?

The garden also is home to Dinosaur Walk, which spotlights large dino sculptures made from the remains of various trees felled by storms through recent decades.

Here's the DoYouThinkTheySaurus

Jackie made it clear she wasn't sharing her smoothie with any of the garden's denizens.

The Mad Thinker - (First Appearance, Fantastic Four 15, January 1963)

I'm lucky I didn't start a forest fire with my deep thoughts.

On to the Sky Walk rope bridge 

From the Valley of the Dinosaur, it was time for one final stop along the Ring, an excursion into the Gap of Dunloe, a narrow mountain pass that runs about 7 miles and carves its way between the MacGillycuddy Reeks and Purple Mountain.  The Gap was formed about 25,000 years ago during Ireland's last Ice Age.  The river Loe runs through the carved pass, and to describe this "roadway" as narrow would be the understatement of the trip.

The Gap begins at Kate Kearney's Cottage, and for many, they only dare to venture into the area via a jaunting car, which is a horse-drawn wagon.  We made the attempt in our own wheels, and it was a hold-your-breath nailbiter!

One of the mandatory visits for us along the gap was the Wishing Bridge, complete with Irish lore that says a stop here grants its visitors a wish.  Needless to say, we made our secret wishes, the content of which will remain on the pathway - for now.

Me, I had already got my wish to see this land with this special lady

Again, can't say enough about this particular 11-hour adventure.  This is the kind of place I would love to return to and spend multiple days just hiking, exploring, and unearthing the endless secrets to be found within this unforgettable ring.

Truly, One Ring to rule them all.

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....

We Happened to Come Muckross

Moving down to Killarney and County Kerry, and eventually the Ring of Kerry itself, we checked into one of the nicer hotels we've come across in quite some time, the Brehon.  Can't say enough about these digs, for the food and drink (Guinness Stew!), accommodations, and all-around ambience.  Didn't hurt that they had U2 songs piped in through the hotel's speakers, either.  The hotel and spa is located just on the lip of Killarney National Park.

Lots of walking queued up for this stretch of the trip, and the first thing on the docket was a 3+ mile walk to sort-of nearby Muckross House, on the shores of Lough Leane.  Truly a treasure logging the mileage alongside the one you love.

What's a Muckross you ask?  Well this blog is nothing if not educational, so luckily I found out Muckross comes from the word Mucros, which is a “the wood of the pig” and refers to the early practice of pasturing hogs in the woods. So now you know.

Before we got to the aforementioned Muckross House, though, there was a pitstop at the Muckross Friary, located on the expansive grounds of the estate. 

The friary was founded around 1445 by a chap named Donal MacCarthy, and occupied by the Observantine Franciscans, so called because of their observance of rules regarding diet, clothing, and personal property.

The story goes that Donal’s great grandfather Cormac MacCarthy Mor wanted to found an abbey of his own, and it appeared to him in a vision that he should build it at the legendary Carraig na Chiuil, the Rock of Music. He sent men to search for the place, and they were about to return to Cormac having failed to locate the site, when passing by this chunk of Killarney they heard beautiful music coming from a rock, and Cormac founded the abbey there. 

The friars inhabited the grounds until 1652 when they were driven out by the Cromwellians.  Feel free to look up the details of that little conflict.

Hands down one of the coolest features of the friary is undoubtedly the massive yew tree which stands in the center of the structure.

Straight out of Game of Thrones or the Lord of the Rings trilogy horticulture, the tree dominates the center courtyard and is said to be as old as the friary itself.

Looking good for a 600+ year-old tree!

From there, it's on to Muckross House itself!

The 65 room house built in the fashion of Tudor. It was built from 1839 to 1843 but further work was carried out during the 1850’s in preparation for a visit from Queen Victoria herself!  (Those improvements, btw, supposedly contributed to the financial woes of the estate's owners, forcing them to eventually sell it.)  This may explain is why I hate doing home projects in advance of our own annual parties.

Because what's a mansion without some mounted elk heads?

Had to take this pic for Andrew - his idea of a dream library for his home, with books floor to ceiling, and a doorway built right into the bookcase itself

My bride and I are official Lord of Lady of a patch of grass in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, courtesy of our children.  And while we have yet to build a manse upon that postage stamp of land, we could practice for our mansion photos here in the heart of Muckross.

Jack and Sue loved the offerings of one of the multiple kitchens in the home, straight out of Mrs. Patmore's cooking digs at Downton Abbey

The grounds consist of 11,000 acres, and we did our best to try to explore as much of it as we could.

Afterwards, after logging more than six miles of walking just getting to and around the friary and estate, we quickly took one of the horse-drawn buggy drivers up on his offer to get us back to the parking lot in style.

If you're in the neighborhood and have some downtime before embarking into the nearby Ring and national park, take the time to wander through Muckross - a worthy detour and historic spot worth mucking around in!