Read, Write, Ramble

We have left the Gaeltacht region of Kerry, where the Irish language is the predominant language spoken and in many areas, the only language used on signage.  While we were in Ballyferriter, we met a friendly bunch of Irish College Students from all over the country, who were part of a residential summer school where they were totally immersed in the Irish language for the two week duration of the course. They told us (in English!) that they weren’t allowed to speak English during this time, and would get detention if they did, but they all appeared to be having a wonderful time at the beach, playing sports and holding a Ceili, while all the time speaking Irish.  There seems to be no connection between Irish and English, and although we tried, there were very few words we were able to understand; see the pictured sign.  The morning was quite damp and considerably cooler than the last few days. Before our late morning bus, Julie and I popped into the local Vinnies as I wan...

 Unlike the pub in Ballyferriter that kicked on ‘til the wee, small hours, and on a school night too, our accommodation in Cuas was dead quiet by 10, allowing weary walkers to catch a good night’s sleep. We did hear that there would normally have been more dancers there on a Thursday night, but they didn’t turn up because of the heat!   Breakfast was at 8am, so we were all packed and ready to go by the time Sean our taxi driver arrived at 9:30. The 15 minute trip across the peninsula was entertaining, with Sean firstly telling us all about the local lads who had made good and moved to play AFL in Australia, for example Cat’s player Mark O’Connor - we even saw the house where he grew up, and his uncle’s house over the road to boot. He also told us to keep an eye on Kobe McDonald from county Mayo who has just signed up with St Kilda. Then he entertained us with tales about the legal machinations of the town, today being Court day; and the one local Garda who has let power go to ...

 The Dingle Way is a 179 km circular walking route on the Dingle Peninsula, beginning and ending in Tralee, and typically taking 8 days. We have enjoyed a 3-day curated walk, of approximately 50kms, which aims to highlight the best features of the Dingle Way. Today was our biggest, and final day.  The weather has been perfect, culminating in a 30 degree day today, way too hot for the locals, but we Aussies were not daunted.  We started  with a cooked breakfast at the Tigh an tSaorsaigh pub/B&B in the heart of Ballyferriter, being entertained with the life story of the breakfast chef, who regaled us with tales of her interesting life while we ate.  All too soon however, it was time for us to move on and start our day’s walk - it was already past 9am and we were expecting to walk 15.7km today.  We began by retracing our steps to the point where we had left the beach on Smerwick Harbour and set off along the smooth sand. It didn’t take us long to miss the ...

 We had a later start to the day today, with breakfast at 8:30 am, before setting off for the Blasket Centre; a heritage and cultural museum dealing with the history of the stunning islands that had dominated so much of our view during yesterday’s walk.  The people who had lived there until the islands were abandoned in 1953, had been isolated, not so much by distance from the mainland, but by the harshness of the environment and the often impassable seas. They existed on subsistence farming and fishing, speaking only the Irish language.  When all the young people eventually left for a life of opportunity in other countries however, there were no men to man the fishing boats, and those remaining were forced to admit they could not survive there any longer.  It was a moving story told through comprehensive interactive displays, and we spent a couple of hours immersed in the experience.  After a coffee, we finally set out for today’s leg of the walk to Ballyferrit...

 It was the first day of our walk on the Dingle Way and we set out in perfect conditions  Despite the widespread heat warnings for the area, we felt that the forecast 21 degrees and sunshine made for perfect walking weather.  Our B&B in Dingle provided us with a delicious cooked breakfast and we were ready in time for our taxi transfer to Ventry, a mere 10 minutes away, where we would pick up the Dingle Way, a 179 km circular walking route on the breathtaking Dingle Peninsula. Jutting into the Atlantic from the Southwest coast of Ireland, the area is famed for its coastal beauty, ancient archaeological sites and Gaelic culture. The path follows quiet country lanes, beaches and mountain trails with ever changing views of the ocean and nearby islands.  In Ventry, we purchased some fresh cheese rolls from the local cafe to take with us for lunch, crossed the road to the first way-marker and set off down a narrow path lined with fuchsia hedges, that spilled us out on...