So, the Ring of Kerry. Saturday we woke up after having gone to bed quite early to go on our tour of the ring of Kerry. Now contrary to what it may seem (and I thought this myself at first), the ring of Kerry is NOT some kind of statue, ruin, or structure of any kind. It is a mapped out circle around County Kerry which displays all of Kerry's beauty to its fullest.
Remember that mountain range from the last post, the McGillicuddy Reeks? These are them again!
There is a funny story about this stop. It was the very first stop of the bus tour. As I was taking pictures, I heard someone say "Jamie Blanchard!" Now I was on this tour with friends, but they were friends that I had only met in Ireland. I did not think that any of them would know my last name! I turned around and it was one of my best friends from home, Ashton. I knew she was studying in Dublin, and I knew she was traveling that weekend, but I did NOT know that she was in Killarney, and I did NOT know she was on my bus tour!
It's a bit difficult to tell what this next picture is, but it is of a bog. I have taken pictures of bogs in the past in different locations around Ireland, but I did not know anything about them. This particular bus driver/tour guide explained their significance to us.
Bogs apparently take THOUSANDS of years to form! Starting in the 17th century, the Irish cut the peat out of the bogs to use for fuel in their fires. Thousands of acres of these bogs have been destroyed because of the Irish dependence on peat for fuel. More recently, they have been trying to become dependent on other kinds of fuel to preserve this unique feature of Ireland's landscape.
We stopped briefly at a bog museum which featured a small village and bog ponies, which were used to help harvest the peat. It was very apparently very informational about these bogs, but as much as I love to learn, I did not want to spend 5 euro to go see a pony and a little village. In fact, most of the people on the tour decided to pass on the museum tour. Ashton and I waited outside and came across this unique creature:
This poor cat was the friendliest thing, but had this awful, deformed tail. I named her Piggy because her tail was curly like a pig. Despite her(/his?) demented appearance, she loved attention!
This is just a really pretty picture of a breathtaking viewpoint that we stopped at. I don't know how many times I'll say this, but you cannot see how beautiful it is from these pictures alone. Come to Ireland someday to see yourself!!
But it only gets more beautiful! This is a picture of Dingle Bay and Dingle Peninsula (straight across) which is one of the top 5 most beautiful places in Europe according to some people. There is a bus tour around Dingle (or you can take a bike or horse!) that I plan on going on with my sister, Sam, when she comes to visit. These pictures made me want to return to Killarney; actually they made me want to LIVE in Killarney!
There are flowers blooming already! Spring is coming! (Sidenote: I saw my first daffodils of the season today! That is always my sign of spring!)
These next two pictures are of the islands off of Dingle Peninsula, the Blasket Islands. They are uninhabited (although they were not always this way), and they are frequently visited by tourists because of their natural beauty.
Remember the Famine Walls that I talked about? Well they are everywhere around Ireland. I found out that they are also called Penny Walls because the individuals who built them were paid a penny a day for their laborby the British (as if a penny would buy themselves and their families food). You can see the walls pretty clearly on this mountain:
Our next stop was one that is chock full of history! This was the home of Daniel O'Connell, the great "Irish Liberator." In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Irish (Catholic) were being oppressed though the Penal Laws by the British (Protestants). These laws were set in place in order to control the Irish and to get rid of their "Irishness" in order to assimilate them with the British culture and way of life. Some examples of these laws were:
- Catholics could not hold office or serve in the army
- Catholics could not practice their religion, and they paid fines for not going to Protestant church
- Catholics could not attend school unless they converted to Protestantism
- Intermarriages between Catholics and Protestants was illegal
- And more....
O'Connell was determined to gain equality and religious freedom for the Catholics not through physical force or violence, but through political influence. Throughout the early 1800s, he campaigned for Catholic emancipation. By the mid 1800s the penal laws were repealed and the Irish Catholics were emancipated. O'Connell continues to be an influence to people today, and was even an inspiration to heroes such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr.
As you can see, there is not much left of the house he grew up in.
This is just more beauty from the place that we stopped for lunch. The small town is called Waterville and is renowned for it's beautiful golf courses. It costs close to 500 euro to play on the nicest golf course here. In fact, it is a place that is frequented by professional golfers such as Tiger Woods. On a slightly different note, Charlie Chaplin also loved and frequented Waterville (in fact there is a statue erected in is honor there which I intended to get a picture with, but I was late for the bus!).
Just some more pretty places.
Now this was my FAVORITE spot ever! I could have sat here for hours staring. (Although I guess I felt that way about a lot of places on this tour.) I actually wondered about the house and property prices around there for a while. Maybe I'll have a house in County Kerry in my future...hmm...(I wish!).
Now this is an old ring fort ruin. The Irish have some funny ideas about circles and fairies though (which I think is so fun!), so this is also a "fairy fort."I'm sorry I took a pretty bad picture of it. Also, remember our old friend O'Connell? Well, just across the water, to the left of the picture, is his house that he lived in through his adulthood. He didn't move far from mum, did he? (Mum is how they say Mom around here.) Anyway, this house is now a museum in his honor.
Now this was one of the most interesting and bewildering parts of the tour! These next few pictures are of Black Valley. This valley is settled in between the McGillicuddy Reeks. The reason that it amazed me was because it was one of the last places in Ireland to get electricity and phone service. Guess when they got electricity?
....in the 1980s! I was just as shocked (excuse the pun) as you!
It is called the Black Valley because a large portion of it has never recieved sunlight, and the remaining parts get very little sun.
Now we are back in the Killarney National Park. This is Lady's View, and as with all of my sights, yes there is a little story behind it!
When Queen Victoria came to Ireland in 1861 for her first and only visit to the island, she stayed in the Muckross House while she was in Killarney (which I visited and will post about on Sunday). It is said that her ladies in waiting came to this very spot and declared it the most beautiful view in Ireland (after having visited other parts of Ireland).
I wouldn't say that it is the most beautiful sight I've seen, but it was certainly in the top 5. I do believe it lives up to its reputation.
The moon was out; isn't that stunning?
These are just some pictures as we drove through the park back to the bus station.
The water on this lake was so still; it looked like a mirror...or like I could walk on it.
I meant to capture the blue of the water with the glory of the sun getting low in the sky, but got something that looks like a black and white photo instead. I guess it's because I took it directly into the sunlight. It still looks pretty cool to me!
These last two are for you Dad!
That's the end of the Ring of Kerry. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip and for Paris (which I am heading to in 1.5 hours). I really should be sleeping right now....
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