Tralee... PJ's.... and Reflection.

     With my hiking adventure over, I shifted into tourist mode.  I headed to Tralee on the bus and it was once again raining.  Really doesn't matter, the views out the big windows were as breathtaking as always - and no, despite the fact I'd  been looking at the Ireland countryside for 10+ days it does NOT get old.

     I had about a 10 minute walk to the B and B when I got to the station.  No biggie.  I arrived in Tralee without incidence the busses are very well organized in the larger towns.  My walk to the B & B was straightforward (thanks to the map provided by Ireland walk hike bike!).  When I got there, I was early so I gave the host a call.  She came and let me in.  I discovered that Mary (my host) also works as an administrative assistant for the courts.  She had a map,  gave me the lowdown on the town and gave suggestions on places to check out.  I put my bags away, took the map. put on my sneakers and took a walk.

     Tralee was more fast paced and not as touristy as some of the other towns I had been in. Got a snapshot of urbanish living in Ireland.  I walked around for a bit - got a bite and then picked up some cheese and crackers and the local newspaper in the Centra (one of their supermarkets) and went back to the B & B for a PJ afternoon.  Time to catch my breath, think about the next few days and reflect. I would be heading to Waterford the next day and then on to Dublin and home.  It has been an amazing journey.  When I started this back in September it was a leap of faith on my part.  I'd never traveled like this alone, nor had I attempted what I accomplished.  It felt good.

On this journey the truths that I have discovered (thus far):
1) I can climb mountains! It may be slow going at times, but if I focus my energy I can do just about anything.

2) Sometimes you need to look at what's right in front of you.  If you are looking down or too far        ahead you can miss what's important and amazing.

3) Don't over think.  Maps and directions are good guidelines - but sometimes you need to put them away and trust your gut.

Slainte'


   
     

My Last day of Self Guided in Ireland

     Yesterday I took a day off.  I had a mountain of laundry to do (You can only rinse out clothes so many times...), I wanted to catch up on my blog,  and I had other sundry errands to run.  Plus, I was just needing a break.

     True to their word, Ireland walk bike hike kept tabs on me and about noon Linda called to me know that I could meet  Sean and Marianna for dinner, and for the trip to the Blaskets the next day (today).  I said I would love to as long as I was not being a gate crasher.  She assured me it would be just fine.

     I arrived at the restaurant a bit early and struck up a conversation with an Aussie expat who was now a tour guide.  His answer to "kids today" was they needed a good swift kick to learn discipline. Hmm... Luckily Sean and Marianne arrived and we had a nice dinner and made plans for going to the Blasket Islands the next day.

     Today I got up and walked to their hotel and was met at the door by Sean who told me the boats were not going out due to weather. He suggested a walk around to the point. OK sounded good to me.  The clouds were low and he said it would not make any sense to go to the mountains as there would be nothing to see.   So off we went.  Turns out the entire trip was on roads - some heavily traveled.  Sean was a different kind of guide - he had a lot of knowledge about plants and fauna and recipes!!!  Before we began he stopped at the local market to show Marianne what  ingredients she would need to make his world famous "Guinness Bread" I later got the recipe from him and looking forward to trying it.

The only Fungi sighting we had all day!

     We walked and he pointed out a variety of plants, told us stories about Dingle and the history of Ireland from the ice age on.  I loved it!  So much history.  We passed a handful of dogs that came out to greet us - most very friendly.  We walked on and as we came around the end - Sean noticed that the "dolphin" boats were out.  Dingle has a celebrity - his name is Fungi  and he is a dolphin that has been in the harbor for many years.  We stopped to watch and the boats just kept going.... Sean thought perhaps they would be going a bit further out - but was puzzled because Fungie usually stays in the harbor.

     As we neared the end of our journey - Sean suggested we go see the watch tower, I looked up the hill and it was covered in a layer of fog - He saw it too - then he saw the farmer standing by the path collecting money for "permission to pass"  We passed and kept walking.  The trail was meant to end by the water but as we got closer we discovered an electric fence set up across the road.  That was the end of that.

We did sight a mama goat and her three kids

     Sean suggested we walk back and stop for lunch, seeing if we could locate Fungie.  We got settled for lunch but no Fungie showed up.  As we headed back Sean remembered that there were standing stones not too far off by a college.  We found the road and took a side trip to see them.  The stones had Ogham or ancient writing on them.  As we walked Sean entertained us with his best impression of a Kerry accent.  He had us both try - it is fascinating how the accents are so very different across the country - but perhaps not so strange as we have the same phenomena in the states.

Too dang cute

Very sweet

     We found the stones and they were pretty amazing.  You could tell they were very old - many of them had lichen growing on them but you could still see the markings or Ogham.  Sean explained it's not truly ancient Gaelic or Irish it's more closely related to Roman writing.  I found it fascinating.
     On the way back into town, Sean pointed out more plants and sang a few verses of song.
When we arrived back in town, I was asked if I had bee to Dick Mack's pub.  I hadn't, but apparently it has been voted the best pub in all of Ireland.  We went in and had a celebratory pint. We first had to sit in the "snug" which were were women were allowed in the pub in years gone by.  It was not thought appropriate for a lady to be seen drinking so they had small rooms off the side of the bar where the ladies could go and get snookered!  As I was getting ready to leave after copying down Seans' famous Guinness bread recipe, a man with his family had come in and he was playing the guitar while  his young son was singing.  Sean asked if he could play a tune - and he did - he had a great voice! Who knew.  All in all a fun last day of hiking!  We ended up going about 24 Km or 15.5 miles.  Long day of walking and a great way to end this amazing hiking adventure.

Me by the Ogham stones

Tomorrow I am off to Tralee for the day and then on to Waterford and Dublin then home.