Ireland, Part II

Wowee zowee, I have been slacking. Sorry! Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?

So there we were, leaving Cork and driving to County Kerry. It was overcast and drizzling, but it didn't dampen the amazing scenery. Many people have heard of the "Ring of Kerry," which is a scenic drive around a peninsula. To get there, we drove through a beautiful mountain pass .

(This was my first attempt at stitching together a panorama...I need more practice.)

Eating our yummy lunch.

It rained off and on the entire drive, so we weren't able to take many good pictures. It was still so gorgeous.

This is what Andy had to deal with for 2 weeks...tensing up at every hairpin turn in anticipation of a huge tour bus pushing us off the road. They drove by every 5 minutes!

By the time we arrived at our B&B, it was cold and very windy. But the house was right on the beach and we had a great view. Oh, and it was a half-mile from a CHOCOLATE FACTORY, so of course we had to check it out.

Since we were hoping to make a trip to Skellig Michael the next day, the weather was discouraging. The only way to get there is in a small boat, and trips are canceled if there is any chance of high winds/storms. This was THE thing I was most excited for on our trip, so I went to bed praying for the opportunity to go....

The next morning, we woke up to sunny skies and calm seas. YES! Our B&B hostess got us a spot on a boat and we settled in after decking out in rain gear.

The boat ride took about 30-45 minutes, and that alone was worth the trip to see the landscape from that perspective. We watched as Skellig Michael (meaning "Michael's Rock") loomed closer and closer. 

As we honed in, we could see the monastery on the upper-left corner.

Since we were the first people on the island that day, we decided to save pictures until we got to the top to have more time to ourselves. Here we are looking down from the monastery as other boats come in. The other island is Little Skellig.

 This monastery was built by monks in the 7th century. They chose this spot because of its isolated, stark location. Since no part of the island was originally flat, they terraced it themselves to build huts, a chapel, cisterns, multiple staircases and retaining walls. 

 It was truly amazing to imagine the beauty and starkness of living there. It is believed that monks survived here for over 600 years, even through several Viking raids.

We picnicked at Christ's Saddle, which separates the island's two peaks. This was my favorite part and no pictures will do it justice. The section behind Andy plunged nearly 700 feet into the dark ocean below.

Finally, we began our descent. The steep steps combined with the intense landscape made me quite dizzy. I kept wanting to look around but needed to pay close attention to my feet!

 What an incredible place! Definitely something I will not forget.

The boat ride back was just as beautiful. We passed Little Skellig and got a view of the thousands of gannets that live there.

After docking, we hopped back in the car and hit the road. We had no idea where we would be staying that night, but we had had such a great, tiring day that we didn't really care.

I suppose this is enough for now. More to come soon, and hopefully I will also get my butt in gear with some "real-life" posts. Happy Halloween!