October 23 - Day 7 - Killarney - Ring of Kerry - County of Cork

Today was another long day. From 8:45 to 10:00 in the evening before we could get to our rooms.

We headed to the Ring of Kerry where we saw amazing scenery from mountains to wild Atlantic coastline to beautiful lakes and inlets as well as small villages nestled along the coast. The natural beauty of this part of the country is astonishing.

Another of many churches along the way.

On the way we stopped for our 1st comfort stop as our guide calls them in Kerry bog which had a small village with thatched roofs that you could visit. Leo our bus driver offered to accompany anyone who wanted to visit as he was born in a house similar to these.

We also stopped for a short picture taking stop along the way where one of the locals was selling honey and other condiments as well as holy water (moonshine) that was stashed under the table. A few people bought some. They told us it was hash stuff.

Around the Dingle peninsula it was foggy so the pictures won't be great. From what we could see it is a really nice view.

We stopped for lunch in a small village called Waterville. It is here that we find the Butler Arms Hotel where Charlie Chaplin and his family would spend his summer vacations.

Golf Courses everywhere. The one on the hill in the distance has hosted the Irish Open in the past.

The Butler Arms Hotel.

Interesting memorial with a reference to Miramichi, NB

The roads around part of the Ring of Kerry are very narrow with barely an inch between our bus and the ambulance that we met. As well as being narrow they are serpentine. We were glad when we finally hit straighter roads as we was starting to feel a bit queasy.

Once we got to the top of the Ring of Kerry, our guide advised us to leave our hats on the bus if we did not want to lose them. Once we got off the bus, we understood why, it was very windy but a beautiful view.

The next to last stop of the day before arriving at our hotel a small village of Sneem. It's main attraction was a set of sculpturers of stone pyramids called "The Way the Fairies Went". 

We did one quick final stop to admire the view in Killarney National Park. This is near what is called the "Ladies View" where Queen Vitoria's ladies-in-waiting visited during Queen Victoria's visit in 1861. 

Tight squeeze for the bus.

As our hotel was not near town we again came to deposit our suitcases and shortly afterwards got back on the bus to go to Cork for supper. There is some sort of festival this week so the restaurant that we had reservations to was full and although the supper was very good the service was extremely slow. We finally arrived at our rooms at 10:00.