ireland day 5: baltimore + ring of kerry | southwestern, pa photographer | travel

So there is a joke among the 4 of us, that we drove the Ring of Kerry almost twice in one day….and part of that is true! With the simple fact that we chose not to use a GPS and read the maps ONLY, we tended to get a lost a few times. We had driven an hour on the Ring of Kerry before realizing that at some point we had taken a wrong exit..(probably on one of those evil round about’s! LOL) and we had gotten off course. After stopping and finding out that we should have turned several hours ago, we decided…ohh well, let’s get back on track and we drove part of the Ring of Carry twice. I won’t lie, I kind of felt like I should have been on the National Lampoon’s Vacation movie and Clark Griswold would pull up beside us at any minute!! LOL

But before the Ring of Kerry (which had some of the most beautiful landscapes imaginable) we explored a little coastal town called Baltimore. When we had arrived there the night before it was dark so we didn’t get to see much-that and besides we were dead tired from our journey the day before we crashed in an attempt to feel refreshed for the next day. In the morning, we began to drive…and get lost…and drive some more, when we came across a road that would lead you up to a beacon on a cliff. We had to fight for the road with the local cows but after we make our way up there we parked and got out to explore. The morning was foggy and damp but there was also rain in the forecast so visibility wasn’t at the best…but I’m not sure that words nor my photos could come close to how beautiful it was in person. The one thing that stuck out in my mind, back in the US had we come across a place like this, it would have been roped off and guarded, but here we were literally able to walk up to a cliff ( hundreds of feet high) to see the raging ocean below…the Beacon Cove Cliffs. It was beautiful!! We found a sink hole that dropped straight into the ocean and as we stood there looking out of the ocean with the rolling hills of green behind us….I got the chills! I’ve gotten “the chills” many other times while traveling over the years and when it happens, I know that in that very moment, I am soo incredibly lucky and blessed. I never in my life dreamt of being able to travel to anywhere outside of my hometown while growing up…and here I am standing on a cliff just feet from falling into the ocean listening to the waves crash …in IRELAND! It wasn’t a tourist site, it wasn’t in the book of places we should visit, it was just this little piece of gold we found by getting lost! THAT is a part of my trip, I won’t forget! Ohhhh and besides the fact that the wind was so high after we climbed a bit higher to get to the beacon that the raindrops were pelting us in the head! LOL The punk guys weren’t brave enough to come out by the beacon….so us girls had to show them how it was done! 🙂

As we packed back into the car and drove away we got trapped by the cows and waiting for them to pass, we planned out what we’d do for the rest of the day. Ring of Kerry, Torc Waterfall and Steigue Fort. Driving the Ring of Kerry was also on my bucket list of things I wanted to do before I die..check! We were also told by the locals that we HAD to check out Torc Waterfall, which was slightly off our path, but hey..when were we going to be back and of course the Steigue Fort which was slightly off the beaten path but on our way none the less. I mentioned before that our entire trip was made up soley from suggestions from YOU guys or locals..and that’s how we found out about Steigue  Fort– a partly ruined round stone fort.  The fort is thought to have been built during the late Iron Age, probably somewhere between 300 and 400 AD, as a defensive stronghold for a local lord or king. The other stop was Torc Waterfall located in Killarney. Due to all the rain we had the past few days…let’s just say the waterfall was….BEEFED UP! We dodged the raindrops to get up to it…and out of the side of the mountain it just roared out and down the river. Speaking of coming out of the side of the mountain, one advantage we had with all the rain was seeing all the waterfalls just gushing out of the mountains along our drive. At one point we pulled over so that we could fill up our water bottles…….adventurous maybe, but it was the best tasting water I’ve ever had….and I’m still alive to tell you about it! LOL

At one point during our drive around the Ring of Kerry the sun started to peak out…it was right around the time where it was going to start setting, so we pulled over near the bay (Skellig Bay) and watched it dip down below the water…..pretty much the perfect end to an AWESOME day!

up next-Day 6…..Dingle Peninsula, rainbows and the narrowest, windiest roads EVER! LOL

Sorry for the photo-overload

 

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