This time - it was time to check out Ireland, beyond the tourist-standard destinations of Dublin and Cork.
My plan was pretty simple really. I had kept hearing that the true beauty of Ireland was to be found in the countryside, and especially on the west coast - on the Dingle and Kerry Peninsulas.
So, I booked a cheap flight into Kerry, and then hired the smallest car the rental agency had - with winding country lanes serving as the major thoroughfares, even a sub-compact would feel quite big, and sharing the road with each oncoming car an adrenaline-pumping adventure.
View Irish road trip in a larger map
I got in late at night, and had a seriously tasty bowl of seafood chowder and (of course) a Guinness at a gastropub in Kenmare - a pretty little town that serves as the gateway to the Ring of Kerry, a 100 mile loop that covers much of the prettiest coast and country that Ireland has to offer.
The next day, it was a great day for driving. True, the weather was standard Irish-grey and drizzly, but from the outset, the winding lanes took me through funnily-named villages like Sneem...
... up to 1000+ year old rock forts in the hills, with a bonus of listening to the lilting accent of a gregarious shepherd whilst his amazingly well-trained sheepdog kept a watchful eye on the sheep...
...to coastlines of all types and sizes, with lonely farms perched on a rocky slope overlooking the West Atlantic.
Just gorgeous.
I then drove into Dingle, a chuckle-inducing town on the peninsula of the same name. It took the sheer cuteness of Kenmare, and raised it another notch, as it featured a working harbor and pub-packed high street, nestled at the base of tall mountains(for relatively flat Ireland at least).
I stayed in a lovely clean hostel right off the main street, then just wandered around before ending up (where else?) in a pub for the evening.
The next morning, it was, wonder of wonders, sunny and clear! Unbelievable.
Even I know that you have to take advantage of this as soon as possible, so I wandered around the town in the early morning light...
...then, with a picnic lunch, I drove up the steep, steep, steep road to Conor's Pass, with 360 degree views all over the landscape.
I ended up hiking away from the rest stop until I was way, way up - and precariously-perched on a cliff trying to get a picture with both pond and ocean:
Then, it was time to go down, down, down the other side of the pass, perched on a road that would make any Health & Safety officer or halfway-sane civil engineer throw his hands up in despair. Think steep and narrow - so narrow in fact, that on blind turns it was often a mere 1.25 lanes wide, with oh-so-careful cooperation required by all the drivers. Fun stuff.
The north side of the penibsula just kept getting prettier - with villages, abandoned shepherd's huts overlooking the ocean, and of course, meadows and meadows worth of sheep...
Just a great day all around, and I was only halfway done - as I then took the road to Slea Head, which took me to yet more forts, as well as a gorgeous sandy beach that was the perfect place for lunch.
Back in town, it was a few pubs for the rugby (England losing a close one to France) and some traditional Irish folk music... just a good night all around.
My last day was another early start. The plan was to hike to the top of Mt. Conor, but as it was cloud-covered, I went to my plan B, which was... um... to drive and see what happened.
Turns out that stopping at Inch and its beach had some great reflections...
... before I headed to the other major town of the area - Killarney. It's a tourist mecca but worth visiting nonetheless, and I even got a hike in around the local national park.
The rest of the day was pretty chilled out wandering around town, just in time for Ireland to send me on my way back to the airport with a massive rain storm, reminding me of how lucky I was - great weekend, fantastic views, with tasty pints to end each evening.
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