Adventures in Deutschland: Day 59 - Dingle and Connor's Pass

Wednesday was our last full day in Killarney. We decided to spend it on the Dingle Peninsula, a location that has recently gained popularity. I can see why. It was gorgeous. To be honest, it blew the Ring of Kerry right out of the water and took about half the time to traverse.

We started by driving about 45 minutes to the town of Dingle. It was a nice little port town with fishing boats lining the water. It is known for its famous resident, Fungie, a dolphin who lives in the surrounding water. Tour boats leave hourly to pay him a visit. We decided to put off visiting Dingle until the end of our journey since the road lining the peninsula would lead us right back into town.

We drove carefully and slowly along the single road that lined the great mountains jutting from the sea. The road was somehow paved on these great mountainsides so that they were flat against a cliff on the inside and buffered by a small stone wall on the other. I was happy to have something a little more substantial than a guardrail dividing me from the precarious drop below. We happily slid in right behind a tour bus for the first part of our journey. The main road led us right to a sandy beach where we stopped to walk around. It was very windy and cold so we didn't linger for too long. Next the road took us past the Fahan Group of beehive huts which (according to the signs) date from 2000 BC. We stopped to visit Caher Conor, a group of 5 huts lined by walls to fortify the area. The huts are made of gray stone that is stacked in rings that get smaller and smaller until they are small enough to be closed with a single capstone. We were able to wander in and out of the huts, seeing them from the inside and experiencing how well their stone walls can keep the wind out. While wandering around these prehistoric structures unaccompanied by someone suspiciously peering over our shoulders was an amazing experience, the neatest part was seeing a cross that the early Christian pilgrims who used the structures inscribed on one of the stones.

After this stop, we drove for a long while around the peninsula. Everytime we'd drive around a turn in the road, we were greeted by a new magnificent view. At one point there was a spot for buses and cars to pull over in case people wanted to get out and take pictures. Unfortunately there were too many buses trying to do the same thing so that there were three buses side-by-side clogging up the entire road. We patiently waited for the other tourists to finish taking their pictures (I used the opportunity to take a few of my own), to get back in their buses, and to drive off before we could go anywhere. As we made our way around the peninsula, we noticed the way the water changed color as we looked from west to east, changing from aqua blue to dark gray. It was reflecting the clouds. There was heavy rain pouring down where we had just come from. We were happy to stay ahead of the storm.

We stopped at the Gallarus Oratory, a stone building built by Christians in the 6th or 7th century. Our tickets for the building told us about its dimensions and details, mentioning that it is still waterproof after 1300 years of Atlantic gales. This is not a lie. I can attest to it because we were lucky enough to test this out. As soon as we set foot in the 8m x 5m oratory, the clouds opened up and we found ourselves in the middle of a terrible storm. The rain came down sideways. After standing in this little oratory for a while with a few other families, we decided to make a run for it. We put Todd's sweatshirt on Therese to try to keep her dry and sprinted down the loooong path to the main building and the parking lot. Luckily the storm blew over rather quickly. We drove back to Dingle and grabbed some fruit, cereal bars, and string cheese (Therese was so excited) from a grocery store and ate at the harbor watching the boats bob in the water.

After eating we headed up Connor's Pass at the recommendation of our B&B owner. Connor's Pass is this crazy narrow path that climbs up and over the mountains that cap the middle of the Dingle Peninsula. The first sign to the Pass warns that no buses or trucks are allowed - an ominous warning considering the roads we'd seen them on, and for good reason. This road was insanely narrow. The cliffs alongside the road had rocks that would stick out here and there so that sometimes one of the lanes of the road was unusable by cars of a normal height. Eventually the path weaned its way down to one lane so that any time the cars down at the bottom of the mountain could see that there was a car coming in the opposite direction at the top, they would have to cuddle into a divet in the rock cliff and wait for the other car to drive all the way down. It was crazy! At the top of Connor's Pass, there was a small (4-6 car) parking lot for people to stop and wander around. We were so high up that we were close to the clouds that topped the mountains. The view was amazing. There was also a waterfall that led to the lake at the bottom of the valley. This little stop off on the top of this crazy pass was the most beautiful site we saw in Ireland. If only the pictures could truly capture it...

After Connor's Pass, we headed back to Killarney for an early dinner at Murphy's Bar. I had fish and chips and Todd had Guinness stew. Yum! We bought some drinks to bring back to our B&B, packed the car for our big trip in the morning, and put Therese to bed.