We got an earlier start today and were out the door this morning before 8, headed to Cork to explore the English market and select picnic supplies for our planned adventures on the Ring of Kerry. We love covered markets and this one was a good one. We walked out with a bag full of scones, fruit, artisan sandwiches and a wheel of fancy Irish semi-soft, washed-rind cheese.

From Cork, we headed toward Killarney so that we could drive through the Killarney National Park on our way to the Ring of Kerry. Our timing was perfect, as we had read that the narrow roads bottleneck with tour buses in the afternoon, but we seemed to pass through early enough that we really only encountered one or two tour buses and luckily only at areas with generous space for them to get around us without much fuss. Along the way, we stopped at Torc Waterfall and hiked the short wooded path surrounded by mossy rocks and ferns. There was a gentle rain that started right as we embarked on our short hike and, of course, let up right as we made it back to our car.

Our next stop was at a scenic spot known as Ladies’ View because Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting reportedly enjoyed the view from this spot during their visit many years ago. When we parked the car, it was sunny with an occasional breeze. But in the 5 minutes it took to walk up the road to the viewpoint, a driving rain had oved in with sudden gusts of wind. We hiked out onto the rocks but didn’t dare approach too close to the edge for fear a sudden gust would be the end of us. We braved it for a couple of minutes to enjoy the quite spectacular view before heading back to the car, at which point it was sunny again.

From Killarney National Park we officially made it onto the Ring of Kerry and into Sneem, a cute little town that we hear can be crowded with tour buses, but our timing here again was perfect and we mostly had the town to ourselves. The sun was still out so we decided to find a nice bench to enjoy part of the picnic we had procured earlier in Cork. But as soon as we sat down, it started to mist and the wind picked up. We both made it through half of our sandwich before giving up and going on a hunt for the public water closets, opportunistically stopping for ice cream on our way back to the car.

The wind had really picked up by the time we made it back to the car, so we enjoyed our ice cream in the car before heading on to our next stop at the Staigue ring fort. By now, I’m sure you’ve picked up on a pattern, as had we. In fact, we were starting to take it personally. But this time, though there was still a gusty wind, the sun stayed out the whole time we were out of the car. Charles climbed up on top of the ring fort, but the wind gave me some pause. Eventually I worked up the courage to climb up at a different spot that seemed a little less daunting, enjoyed the view from the top, and scrambled back down before the wind made good on its threats to push me over the edge.

After the ring fort, we continued on around the ring. We stopped to admire the view of the sea from a few scenic pull-out areas and a beach, allowing us to appreciate the view from above and from below. At one of the higher-elevation viewing points, the wind was blowing so hard that it was rocking the car. We braved the wind for a few minutes and a couple of pictures, but it was a full body workout trying to stay upright and make it back to the car against the wind. The sheep grazing along the cliffs have apparently trained for these circumstances and seemed completely unfazed.

Toward the end of our adventure, we stopped at a chocolate factory for a cup of hot chocolate and yet more goodies for our picnic supplies. We’re accumulating quite a surplus but the samples they gave us to try were too good to pass up making a purchase. Our very last stop before our end destination were the Kerry Cliffs. It was a fairly steep hike up the hill to each of the two view points (good practice for tomorrow), but the view was spectacular. True to theme for the day, the wind was so strong that it was difficult to keep my eyes open to appreciate the scenery, even wearing my glasses to block some of the wind. We made our way back down the hill to the car and our B&B for the night, grabbed an early dinner at an outstanding seafood restaurant down the road, and are now getting organized for our excursion to Skellig Michael bright and early tomorrow morning.

Today’s Highlights

• Delicious snacks from a beautiful indoor market in Cork
• Scenic views of waterfalls, pastures, and the sea
• Sheep!
• Laughing about how we only thought we knew about windy days yesterday
• Fresh salmon and hake at a restaurant right on the harbor (everything in Portmagee is on the harbor)
• Watching the sun set over the water and listening to the seagulls from our B&B as I write our blog post

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures

• Taking the ferry to Skellig Michael for a hike to the top (weather permitting)
• Breathlessly humming the Jedi theme from Star Wars all the way to the top
• Ring of Kerry Part II
• Arrival in Dingle