To The Cliffs of Mohr

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM TO THE CLIFFS

WOW!! Sunshine! We were up and out by 9am. Wanted to make the 11:30 ferry from Tarbert to Killimer. Took the Conor Pass out of the Dingle Peninsula. The views were incredible, especially since the sun was with us today. The drive was very narrow, in some spots one lane twisting and turning down the mountain. We got a look Mt. Brandon with a bit of a cloud overhead.

Driving towards Castlegeorge, we spotted some beautiful beaches. Geoff decided to stray from the path and head down to Castlegeorge and the beach. Still plenty of time to catch the ferry. The beach was gorgeous! Maybe now we can do the Jerry B. ceremony. The shore was calm, spilled some on the sand and immediately a wave came up and took him. We didn't even get wet. Geoff looked down and there was a beautiful piece of sea glass. We had our noses down to the ground collecting glass and stones, when it started to rain. As we started going back to the car, we were greeted with a sight I have never seen before in my life! A full rainbow with one end fading off into the water. Simple majestic. The rain was still coming down and we were acting like giggly kids. Yes, Jerry is very happy here!  Three local women walked down to this lonely beach. I asked "Did you see the rainbow?" I got several nods. "Bet you see this all the time". The reply, "It's our reward for the rain".

It was time to press on, but what an incredible stop. Driving along, the rain and sun were taking turns with each other and meanwhile, the rainbows were coming and going. Fortunately, they were on my side so I could take some photos as Geoff had to keep driving if we were to make the ferry. We made it on to the ferry at exactly 11:30. What timing! Saw a few people that we had met during our stay in Dingle. I guess everyone has the same itinerary. We'll probably all meet up again at the cliffs. The ride across the Shannon River took 20 minutes. We are now still driving down The Wild Atlantic route.

Stopped off at Cooney's in Quilty for lunch, in honor of Ilana and Liam's friend, Cooney. He also owns a bar/restaurant in Charlestown, MA. We wondered if the Cooney's were related but our Irish Cooney had no relatives in MA. Too bad. Ate our soup with a great view of the ocean. We pressed on to the Cliffs of Mohr.

As usual, we opted for the path less taken. We had passed a sign that said Car Park - Cliffs of Mohr Walk. Hummm??? When we got to the Cliffs of Mohr Visitors "Experience", we took one look at the pilgrimage of people going up to the cliffs and turned the car around. Headed back to the car park sign and turned down the road. After driving for what seemed like forever up and down a winding road, we came to a small parking lot in the back of someone's house. Two euros to park and off we went. It was 800 meters to the start of the walk. Oh what a walk it was. We were so fortunate that the sun was out. The winds were fierce but the air was not cold at all. I'm not quite sure the photos do any justice to what we have seen today. There were absolutely no Americans on this trail at all. Barely any people to begin with but absolutely no Americans - they must all be at the visitor's center.

We came across a gathering of folks with long sticks do funny things to the ground. I asked one man what they were doing and he said "I'm doing too much if you ask me!".  Come to find out that they were hare hunting. They were pretty funny to watch. We made it pretty close to the visitors start line and then we turned around. Time was moving on and there was one more place to go before looking for a room for the night. Saw yet another rainbow on the drive out! No pot of gold at the end however.

Our last stop of the day was Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna. We watched a short video of the history and preparation of their smoking techniques. A little taste of salmon and we were hooked. Got a small package, some smoked cheese, and crackers for a roadside picnic by the sea. However, getting out of Lisdoonvarna was a bit tricky. It was the annual LGBT Matchmaking Festival. I am not making this up! The streets were crowded with cars people and all sorts of activities. We finally got out of town and found a quiet spot by the sea to enjoy our salmon picnic. Lovely

Rolled into Kinvarra at around 6. We were both wiped out and we stopped at the first place we saw - The Kinvarra Guesthouse. It is in the middle of a very small town. It is more hotelish than b&b but there is a full breakfast and it is a large room and clean. Wait a minute, there seems to be something a bit off with the bathroom. Oh yeah, we don't have a wheelchair! After we looked around a bit, we noticed that we were in a handicapped room. I felt like I was in a

hospital. Called downstairs and was told that we could change to the family room down the hall. OK, walked into this room, yes, it has a regular shower, but I felt a bit like Goldilocks when I noticed the three beds. We had a good laugh over that and then went to dinner.

There seems to be one restaurant in this town so that is where we went. The Pier Head - just to let you know there were a ramp going up to the door instead of stairs. We are beginning to wonder about this town. It was lively and the food was ok but the Guiness keg or tap was on the fritz. One would think that is sacrilegious anywhere in Ireland. Finished up and walked back to our room. Only one night here and move on to Galway for our last two nights on the Emerald Isle.

What a fantastic day this was. Riding through rainbows, hiking the cliffs of Mohr - yikes...

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM TO THE CLIFFS

Next time... Galway