A Day In Dingle

In the past few posts I'be been so busy talking about the history of places that I haven't gotten to say all that I've wanted to say about Ireland in general.  But now I have the time.

    First, the cows.  I have seen more cows on this trip than I have in my whole life.  There are cows everywhere.  Next to Newgrange, at the foot of the Rock of Cashel, and along the waterfront in Dingle.

    Next, the roads.  Driving in Ireland is an adventure.  In places, it's better than a ride at the fair.  The roads are extremely curvy, especially out here.  And bumpy.  On such roads, 45 miles an hour is terrifying.

    Today we drove around the Dingle Peninsula.  There is a lot of old stuff here.  We saw a few prehistoric stone forts, and beehive huts.  But one of our main stops was the Great Blasket Centre.  It documents the lives of the Blasket Islanders from the early 1900s to 1953, when the island was abandoned as a dwelling.  It gives a look into the culture which produced many writers, a culture that remained somewhat separate from the mainland.

                  Great Blasket Island.  You can see what remains of the houses and fields.

     The next significant place we visited was the Gallarus Oratory.  An ancient church, it was built around the 7th or 8th century.  It was built with carefully fitted stones, without any mortar.  It is completly waterproof.  That was tested yesterday.

In the evening, we walked around town.  There's a fun fair going on, with a few rides.  It's a bit disconcerting when the ride you're on starts smoking.  We also discovered a very good ice cream place, which might be a chain.

    The next drive entails going back through the mountains.  More winding roads at high speeds.  Much better than any fair ride.