Ring of Kerry

Hello good people of Blogger.

This past weekend I embarked on an breath taking journy around the Ring of Kerry which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the southern part of Ireland. Now when I first heard "ring" I first thought "lord of the rings?" haha no but close. I though this was going to be a huge "ring" shaped area in the southern part of Ireland.

Close...

The Ring of Kerry is a massive loop that will take those who decide to come visit over moutain ranges, magical veiw points and historical sites that are almost unbelivable.


Day One:
A group of 22 UL students boarded a bus at 2pm and began our 2 1/2 drive south towards Cork. Where we would veer southwest and end up near Killarney. We met up with 23 Cork University students and started the trip with a look at the Crag Caves.

 This cave was discovered in 1983 when diver, Martyn Farr, dove into a small pool in a cave located about 100 feet above this one. Martyn Farr crawled his way through the tiny cave until he came out into his collect of caves.
The only entrace to the cave was through the pool of water until builds developed the cave in 1987 where they provided stairs and walk ways for visiters to explore the caves.

As we walked deeper into the cave we saw this huge stalactite said to be almost 3000 years old, below it is a stalagmite and we were told it would take about another 1000 years to meet each other.

We didn't go very far back into this cave, but we were told many places and interesting sections of the cave were named after Lord of the Rings characters or locations in the book. That's pretty cool!

With both groups together we boarded the bus and drove from Crag Caves located in Castleisland to the Ring of Kerry Hotel set just outside Cahersiveen where Daniel O'Connell Memorial Church is build in the city center. What makes this church so special is it is the only church in the that is NOT named after a saint or Christ himself. County Kerry sought special rights from the Pope in Italy to dedicate this church to a man many would call the savior of Ireland.

We ended our evening with on amazing dinner provided by the Hotel and then upstairs for some Irish Ceili dancing which was grand. Ceili is a tight of step dancing that includes everyone and partners. After fumbles and trips everyone just let it loose and had a great old time. It was a work out though, I couldn't believe my shines in the morning, but I can't wait to bring back the steps to America all my friends and family will love this dance.

Day Two:

The first thing I would like to point out about day 2 of our trip is the sun. I couldn't believe when we walked out to the bus that day just how beautiful it was. There was not a cloud in the sky.
We started out heading west to Valentia Island where we stopped at the Skellig Experience. When you look south, off the coast you wouldn't be able to miss two large islands sticking high out of the water. They are called the Skellig Rocks. 

Located 11.6 km off the coast these magnificent islands hold more than just beauty, on the tallest of the two. Said to be discovered by Saint Fionán in the 6th century.
Monks flocked to Skellig Micheal (the larger of the two islands) and then began construction of nearly 668 steps to the very top. A monastery is built over looking the wide ocean and the stone homes and church have withstood the test of time.

It was said that solitude and time spent on Skellig Micheal gave the monks the ability to became closer to god or some would say "reach enlightenment." They had to hunt and fish for food and when the raging waves of the Atlantic Ocean tossed about the base of the island they remained in prayer to the god they served.


Next we drove northeast along the island until we reached Geokaun Mountain and thus began our trek up this horridly steep hill. To be honest, this was the worse part of the trip, only because two miles up this hill might not seem that much but I nearly crawled my way up...that's how steep it was.  However, the view at the top was SO WORTH IT!

This is the highest peek on Velentia Island and it sure gave us a birds eye view to the breathtaking views of Kerry.

After about a hour spent (on top of the world) we loaded the bus once again and departed Velentia Island. We contuined over the mountains to the south and stopped in Saint Finian's Bay where we came upon this grand little castle build on the sea. This little jem is slowly sinking into the ocean, which is so sad. But it was great to climb inside and stand on top.

Once inside the castle you can see names carved into the stone. People from all over the world come here to see the Ring of Kerry and they left their mark. The castle is just a pile of rocks now, the wood floors are gone, the beds are no longer to be found all that remains is a empty shell of a life it once had. As I stood int eh middle of the "great hall" or what was left of it I couldn't help but feel honored, someone, hundrads of years ago used to call this home.

What will my past homes look like in a hundreds years? Will someone years from now stand in my living room and think of who I was? Of what I did? Of who I lived with and loved while growing up in this house?

To finish the second day of our tour we stopped at Cahergal Forts, both small and big. These forts were build years ago in the little town across the river from Cahersiveen (where we were staying.) The larger of the two forts was used for protection, the walls are about 8 feet thick and stand (a guess) 20-25 feet in the air. It was very high.
The smaller of the forts was used as a look out since it was placed higher on a hill to over look the entire land for attackers.

Fun little story about this very strange white castle. When Great Britian (who ruled over Ireland when this castle was build) ordered plans for this fort to be built those in charge of the plans mixed them up with plans for a Indian castle that would soon be sent to India.

Low and behold, the plans were switched and now we have a very strange Indian palace set among the green of Ireland. Somewhere in India is a very square, stoney and Irish looking castle. haha



Day 3:

By this time we are all exhausted, our mind are in overload from all the amazing things we've seen and done. We started later in the morning, loaded the bus at 10am with all our belongings and said our farewells to The Ring of Kerry Hotel.

Our first stop was to Daniel O'Connell's holiday estate also known as Derrynane House and National Park. This is where Daniel was raised and lived for most of his life with his younger brother. His uncle educated them and left the entire house and land to his heir Daniel.

As explained above, Daniel is known for saving all of Ireland from some of the oppression from English rule. It was a great honor to stand where he lived, raised his children. One of the greatest Irish men to ever live.

The archers of land Daniel owned behind the house is now a national park. In the forest just behind the house a local artiest took it upon himself to build little fairy houses to brighten up the forest. I found about 6 of them. :)

Our second to last stop was in Killarney National Park where we stopped at the Torc Waterfall. The waterfall wasn't that big compared to what I'm used to in Oregon with Multnomah falls ten minuets down he road from my house but what made this hike absolutely amazing was the forest surrounding it.

The entire forest, rocks included, was covered in a think layer of green moss which made it magical to walk through. I felt I was in a fairy tale, the green was so vibrant and stunning and the water was crystal clear, fresh from the mountains above.

This was my favorite part of the day, I walked away from the others in teh group and climbed my way down to a large rock that sat out far over the rushing stream. I leaned my head back and breathed in the sweet must of the forest around me, listening to the water that drowned out the voices of passing hikers. I was alone, thinking pondering of the sheer beauty that I was consumed it. What secrets laid beyond the thick wood just outside of view? What made the forest grow so green even when sunlight couldn't break through he canopy?

To finish our long fulfilling trip we stopped at Muckross Garden's. A beautiful estate set on a hill with a view of the Ring of Kerry just outside the front door. The grounds stretched all the way to the lake which sat cradled between the Kerry mountains. This was a beautiful place to end the day, after we loaded the bus again it was time to say goodbye to the Cork University friends we had made and UL students departed north on a different bus.

This trip was worth the money spent, I learned and saw so much in only three days. The food was amazing the people were enjoyable. I hope to take part in another trip like this one soon, if not around Ireland than I want to venture out of the country and experience the whole of Europe has to offer me.

Cork and Kinsale

This past weekend my roommates and I planned a girls weekend to Cork in celebration of H's birthday! Girls only, so we left the boys at home. Now I know I am bisas about Limerick because it's my home, it's where I will be living for a year but Cork--wasn't anything to write home about. In fact, I felt less safe in Cork than I do in Limerick, who used to be known as "knife" city.

 So Cork, is the second largest city in Ireland, next to Dublin being the largest. 119,230 reside in the large city build on a hill. Build on the river Lee the city is divided upon this river. The entire city center is enclosed by the river making it an island. As you cross the Lee on Patrick street you see the large city center shown in the picture to the left. The streets were lined with people, shops and entertainment. Those guys who stand like statues, yep they were there too, making a statement like always and scaring little children if they get too close.

 Now we Limerick is only a little smaller than Cork and yet, I felt crowded and a little overwhelmed, Limerick is such a nice and small street that do not have as many pedestrian streets. However, Cork has an amazing McDonald, I thought I was at Red Robin.

By far one of the coolest parts of Cork was the English Market, which everyone told me to check out because it is a sight too see. It was. Much like Powells book store this farmers market took but almost an entire city block, it is carved out of a large building, with sloping walls, and there are tunnels made by stands piled high with food, fish, chocolate anything you can find.
This was a really cool place, deep within the market where second hand stores with one three story little store with everything you could think of from the 60's. I fell in love with this place, scarves, dresses, gody necklaces, hats and homey decor. This was by far a highlight of the day

So to end our first day in Cork we stopped at St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, which was beautiful. We couldn't go in because they were closing but just by looking at the outside you can see just how grand it really is. It was located right behind Elizabeth Fort which is a huge Gadia station now, it overlooks the city with stone walls and port holes for cannons. The fort was a safe heaven for Elizabeth, the English Queen, if there was a threat to her life she would flee here to be protected by the Irish.

That night we did what we came to Cork to do in the first place. Drink. We found a little pub just down the street from our Hostel and sat back for some old traditional music. Note (The video is a little weird because I was trying not to be a typical American who has to videotape everything) :D

The music was great "craic" (fun) my roommates and I shared pints and watched as some of the locals danced, sung and clapped as the musicians played their tunes. After our night of music and drinking we walked home to the Hostel set on the hill overlooking Cork City Center.

Now, this was my first experience in a Hostel and let's just say it was strange. For some reason I didn't think about the possibility of having male roommates within our room, I just thought the manager wouldn't put three girls in a situation to be alone with three different guys. But, low and behold at 3am three french gents crept quietly into the room, dressed for sleep and went to bed. This meant I didn't get much sleep, I was on guard which is ridiculous because they couldn't even speak English very well. Thank god I had my two french roommates because they could talked to them while I stood and smiled in the background.

The next morning we rose early, dressed and hit the town seeing as many Cathedral's as we could but as we walked around in the rain we realized it was Sunday, which meant all the Cathedral's were full of those seeking prayer from the Catholic church. So while taking pictures of the outsides we fled back to our car so not to disturbed the entire mass. At a loss of what to do now, because of the rain, one of my roommates said "Lets go to the beach."
Being, go with the flow kind of girls, we said "alright!" And so began the best part of the trip. Getting lost on a beautiful peninsula at the very edge of Ireland. With cliffs as magnificent as the Cliffs of Moher but what made them better was that they were all ours. We climbed over a fence into a pasture with cows and climbed down the cliffs to see the other side which was breath taking.

As the Atlantic Ocean splashed against the sharp rocks of the cliffs we stood in utter awe of what we saw and what many people might never see.
The Peninsula was called The Old Head of Kinsale. Kinsale is a tiny little town just outside of Cork, it has a large bay where all the ships stay and habor. Then downt he little 1 car lane road we found this.

 As we turned away from the cliffs we saw a rock structure standing above the grass and fences. It was a little watch tower, set high on the hill with a view of the ocean and then the city below. We hopped another fence and made our way to the tower to take some goofy pictures.

To finish off our trip we drove the coastal road leading all the way back to Cork. Be we couldn't stop without walking on the beach for a sort while. Ireland does not have many beaches most of the Isle is cliff faces and sheer drop-offs. So finding this beach was a treat.

The water was freezing and unlike Oregon beaches barely anyone was out because of the storm that was raging in the north. We didn't stay too long but did enough walking in the sand and collecting a little bit of Irish beach on our shoes.

 To end our little adventure, I did something that was very contorversal topic while I was home. To kiss or not to kiss the Blarney Stone, said to give you the Gift of the Gab. (Or speak like the Irish)
Well I am proud to say that after 67 steps, crawling through tunnels and doing the most uncomforable position of leanign back over a gapping hole in the floor, I kissed the Balreny Stone.

 Haha, it was grand! Not too bad at all, though I refused to look down because we were really really high! But the keep or castle was really beautiful, once at the top it over looked the entire Blarney estate.

Over all this trip was AMAZING! I had a great time with my roommates, they are teaching me bits of French while we traveled and it was great to be one our own discovering beautiful parts of Ireland that aren't the usual tourist attractions. For a total of 40 euros, I had an amazing weekend with the girls, one that will be remember for a long time.