Leaving County Cork, entering Kerry. The landscape already looks different.
Across the water is the Dingle peninsula, north of the Ivernagh peninsula, or the “Ring of Kerry.”
Dingle peninsula again.
A hotel in Kerry, I think.
View from outside our hotel window in Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry.
Also outside our hotel.
Driving along the Ivernagh peninsula. It was fortunately very sunny Saturday morning.
As you can probably tell, the mountains are mostly barren. The land in Kerry is generally not very good for farming.
In the distance are the two skelligs, the larger one being Skellig Michael.
Skellig Michael is famous for the monastery built on top.
Early Irish monks liked to go to harsh, remote places to be closer to God.
This picture is taken from Valentia Island, looking back at the peninsula.
It's hard to get a proper sense of perspective, but these cliffs were quite high.
The skelligs are basically just giant rocks several miles out on the Atlantic. To get to the top of Skellig Michael you have to climb 500 stairs handcarved from stone.
Sorry I took so many pictures. This was just the prettiest place I'd ever seen.
They actually have a deer farm! As in they are purposely raising deer. Clearly, they are not from PA.
This is where we walked up a mountain.
Looking back at the peninsula.
I think out there are the Blasket Islands.
Still walking up the mountain. It doesn't look like we're very high up, but we were.
Normal people just drive up here...
At the top of the mountain! Lots of people gave up, but I've heard I can be stubborn.
At the bottom of the mountain.
This is a combination slate mine / grotto to a saint? I dunno, Ireland's weird. You can see a saint (maybe Virgin Mary?) up at the top, and a stream of water.
Apparently Valentia slate is really famous, so we took some.
Still at the slate mine.
Cute little fishing village.
Their surfing beach. It doesn't look like much, but they do have a chocolate factory (really a shed, but good chocolate).
The spoken Irish teacher who led the trip is from this area (I don't know if it's really a town..). She pointed out everyone who lived in the houses.
These are pictures taken from a bus that was driving along narrow windy roads on the sides of cliffs. Whenever we met another car, one of us would have to drive in reverse because there isn't room for two cars.
From a bar on the beach.
The flag is for Kerry, since gold and green are their colors. I think it's only used for sports. Also, there is a castle in the ocean.
Walking through the town of Cahersiveen.
An art gallery. I'm guessing this is the old church.
Inside the Daniel O'Connell Church, apparently the only Catholic church in the world that isn't named after a saint.
Daniel O'Connell is known as the “Catholic Emancipator.” He basically believed in using non-violent political organization to change Ireland.
To be an MP at Westminster, you needed to take an anti-Catholic oath. He organized the Irish vote to get rid of this provision.
Some Irish language inside the church. I only know a few words, sorry.
We decided to explore by the mountains and bay.
Wild blackberries, yum. I ate some and didn't die.
Isn't this a cute cow?
Back to the hotel.
Outside the hotel on Sunday. Obviously, the weather wasn't as nice.
This was a British barracks. If it looks weird, it's because these were the plans for India. Which they sent to Ireland. Because, you know, that's a really easy mistake to make.
We walked to see some stone forts. It took about an hour and a half. Maybe a bus would've been better...
There are a lot of abandoned decaying castles here.
The stone fort. It looks pretty unimpressive from a distance.
From the stone fort.
Inside the stone fort.
The darker parts are original; the rest was reconstructed.
The second stone fort.
Inside the fort.
The Atlantic in the distance.
We stopped somewhere really beautiful to take pictures, but a fog descended. Also, it was freezing here!
Look at that fog!
View the bus of Moll's Gap, which is very pretty.
“Ladies' View.” This is in Killarney National Park, which was beautiful. The only real forest I've seen in Ireland was here.
Still in Killarney. That's it!
