Killorgin and Ballintleave

The poor service at the Best Western continued as we were told we had to pay for breakfast despite our reservation saying it was included. J. R. went to the room for our paperwork and went to the front desk. After a few moments, they called upstairs to the restaurant to let them know we did not need to pay. Breakfast was okay -- same Irish breakfast selections as other places but meats were overcooked. We walked around Killarney, including a stop at a chocolate shop where the ladies picked up some chocolate for the road before we walked to the Paddywagon tour office for Ring of Kerry tour. We were escorted to the bus, which ended up being past the chocolate shop for our tour.

We drove through the town of Killorgin where our bus driver Shane told us about the famous 400-year-old tradition of the Puck Fair. Legend tells of a goat who escaped being herded by a group of Cromwell's "Roundheads" while they were pillaging the countryside and ran into Killorgin. This warned them of the approach of Cromwell's men. So each year a goat catcher goes into the mountains to catch a wild goat. The goat is brought to town and the "Queen of Puck", traditionally a primary school girl, crowns the goat "King Puck". On August 10th, The "King" is paraded through town before being elevated onto a high stand in the town square for three days. On the 3rd day of the fair, he is brought down to be led back to his mountain home. We made our first stop outside Ballintleave where we had views of the Caragh River as it runs down from the slopes of Macgillicuddy's Reeks into Dingle Bay.

Red Fox Inn

We had a breakfast stop at the Red Fox Inn near Caragh Bridge where Alex enjoyed an Irish coffee and Janie had a Bailey's hot chocolate (with Rebecca having a regular hot chocolate). We skipped the bog tour but Shane told us all about bogs and peat and we picked up some peat-scented candles as the aroma was lovely.

Kells Beach

We stopped next near Kells Beach which overlooks the Dingle Penisula to take photos of the ocean and Dingle in the distance.

Com An Chiste

Our mid-day stop was at Com An Chiste (Coomakista) which overlooks the Kenmare River and Abbey Island. The views from this area were stunning and we enjoyed walking down along the rocks. Rebecca, on the hand, especially enjoyed playing with the newborn kitten, which she talked about for the rest of the day.

Scariff Inn

For lunch, we stopped at the Scarriff Inn, a bed and breakfast in Caherdaniel. Supposedly "the best view in Ireland", we dined on traditional pub food, including curry and seafood stew while looking out over Kenmare and Bentry Bays. Scariff is roughly the half-way point on the Ring of Kerry. After lunch, we were back on the bus for the next leg of our journey around the Ring.

Sneem

On our way to Sneem, Shane told us a story about why Irish sheep had paint on their rear ends and we will never look at sheep the same way again. Shane was a fantastic tour guide, being both funny and informative. Our afternoon stop was in the town of Sneem on the Iveragh Peninsula. Our bus parked near the Sneem River with views of the small rapids. We then walked into town and did a little shopping (and used the facilities).

Killarney National Park

Our final tour stop before going back to Killarney was Killarney National Park. Our first stop was Ladies View, which was named for Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, who were sent by the Queen to check out the scenery to determine whether it was worth her taking the day-long trip to see it. They reported back on the magnificent view and the spot was named for them. After Ladies View, it was on to the Torc Waterfall, which is approximately 20 meters tall. From the bus, we had to take a short hike up to the waterfall, with Rebecca climbing the stairs to the higher viewing area while the rest of us hung out near the main viewing area. We were dropped off at the Killarney Outlet Mall and walked the short distance back into town. We walked around for awhile looking for a restaurant and finally settled on the Caragh Restaurant. The Caragh was more standard pub food but was very good. Janie and Rebecca turned in for the night while J. R. and Alex sat at the bar in Danny Mann's and watched some more Euro football while drinking some Irish whiskey and beer.