Day 1: Travel to Ireland/Castletownbear
|
Jeannette enjoys a Cinnabon before we get on the airplane. |
Not 3 minutes after I pull out my new camera, this guy shows up and asks me how to use his! |
On the Aer Lingus plane, Jeannette and I enjoy our first Guinness. |
Proof positive! |
The first views of Ireland (on the approach to the Limerick airport) from the airplane window. |
|
The trans-continental airplane! |
We had several hours to wait at the airport, so we went to its cafe. |
I ate an eclair. |
Jeannette did a little sewing for me! |
On the bus to the first night's stay: the heads of C.A., Joe, Pat, Cindy, and Brandon. |
See which side of the road they drive on! |
(they're still doing it!) |
|
|
|
|
|
Thatched roofing: a thing of the past. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cadbury chocolate cow land. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jeannette trys a 'bap'. Yummy! |
|
Our room in the Old Presbetery. |
|
|
Jenny in the Old Presbery sitting room. |
|
The Old Presbetery. |
The Old Presbetery. |
They have a bench overlooking the bay. |
|
Day 2: The Ring of Bera (loop)
|
The goose coop. |
The goose coop. |
Final adjustments of the bikes. |
Jeannette is ready for rain! |
|
They journey starts by leaving the Old Presbetery. |
Dunboy Castle can be seen in the woods. |
The cow and its castle. |
The cow and its castle. |
|
Jenny, Hannah, and Jeannette comment on the lush carpeting (of mud and cow plop). |
|
|
|
|
|
Behind the castle was some other structure with a small courtyard. |
|
|
|
|
Wow! What a castle! |
|
|
|
The cable car to the island. |
Gurnsey Island. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Day 3: Castletownbear to Kenmare (via Healy Pass)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The day's ride. |
Day 4: Kenmare to Killarney (via Gap of Dunloe)
|
|
Moll's Gap is over there somewhere. |
|
|
Pedalling up to Moll's Gap: back where we came from. |
|
|
At the top of Moll's Gap, looking back. |
The other side of the Gap is Black Valley. |
Riding down the other side of the Gap, into Black Valley. On the way to the Gap of Dunloe. |
Jeannette does Black Valley! |
Drying peat. |
Inhabitants of the valley. |
This is the stream that made Black Valley. |
Jeannette zoom! |
|
|
We were just down there! |
At the top of the Gap of Dunloe, about to go through it. |
|
We rock! |
There are several lakes/ponds along the gap. |
|
We stopped to let one of the frequent carriages pass. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The day's ride. |
Day 5: Killarney to Dingle
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sue, Joe, and Brandon. |
Joe. |
|
|
|
|
|
Outside of Foley's, Tom eats some lunch. |
|
Inch Beach. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inch Beach. In the background is the Macgillycuddy Reeks (mountains). |
Inch Beach and the reeks. |
Looking back at Inch Beach and the reeks. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minard castle. (it is really a tower) |
It is for sale! |
Nice view from the castle to the tide beach (it disappears at high tide). |
The upper floors need a little work. |
The tower's current owners. |
Many of the old forts are in need of weeding. |
|
And a little stonework. |
|
The valley behind the beach. |
The tide beach's view of the tower. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The day's ride. |
Day 6: Dingle layover
|
The former estate of Sir Ventry is now a girls school. |
Ventry collected a few Ogen stones. Notice the writing along the vertical edges. |
Close-up of one of the stones. |
It was difficult to mark the stone before the Iron Age. |
An old ring fort (it overlooks Ventry Bay [not shown]). |
You can see a hint of the old ring wall around the tower. |
The cows come from all over to sit down and pray at the old fort. |
|
|
|
|
A few miles away, a very old stone oratory still stands. |
|
|
The view of the bay from the oratory. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dingle. |
One of the two main streets in Dingle (lower). |
A church in Dingle. Supposed to have extraordinary stained glass windows. |
Hungry! We are looking for a pub serving lunch. Tough at 3pm (lunch usually stops at 2:30pm). |
Writing postcards to a few people while eating lunch. |
Had some lunch here. |
We figured out people's addressing using the Internet. |
One of the two main streets in Dingle (upper). |
(again) |
|
|
|
Day 7: Kilkenny? to Doolin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Cliffs of Moher (taken facing south). |
|
|
|
|
A small tower, built by a local entrepeneur. |
|
|
|
A view back into the valley from the cliffs. |
Onward, downward! Ahead lies Doolan and the Airan View Hotel! |
|
The town of Doolan. |
Jeannette comes back to tell me about the gas station with an air pump! |
|
|
|
|
|
Brandon enjoys a Smithwicks ale in the hotel's pub. |
Sunet and the Airan Islands. |
|
They had two hard-working dogs! Look at this one hard at work! |
Airan View Hotel, where we spent the last two nights. |
Signs at a T-intersection in Doolan. |
Day 8: Doolin layover
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mark waits for the boat to Innisheer. |
So does Jeannette. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jeannette reads/sleeps on the ferry back to Doolan. |
|
|
|
Had a beer here last night, and listened to some music. |
|
One of the other local pubs with great music. |
|
My turn to pet the hard-working dogs! |
Day 9: Leaving
|
This Aer Lingus plane will take us home. |
The airport parking lot looks very much like any moderately-sized airport in the U.S. |
View of Ireland (Dublin) from the plane. |
(same) |
Greenland! (from 39,000 feet up)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Newfoundland! (from 39,000 feet up)
|
|
|
|