Stage one, Wild Atlantic Way

Gordon slept all night last night.  He said "I slept all night last night.....I don't think I've ever done that".  He says that every time he sleeps all night, which, granted, isn't often but just funny that he says it.  He also slaps or pats my butt every time I walk by.  Is that a husband thing?  Do they all do that?  Come on girls, tell me.

Anyway.  Today we started our adventure on the Wild Atlantic Way, symbolized below by the conch shell-like symbol and the blue "wave".   Follow that sign all the way up and down the west coast of Ireland and you will have done the "Way".  We've driven the north coast and halfway down the west coast to Galway and now we're headed to partially do the south coast.

We thought about and researched the Ring of Kerry and decided against it because it would take a FULL day....like 8 hours! Ugh!  It took us long enough to do the Ring of Beara but the HUGE PLUS,  NO TOUR BUSES!  Not one.  Yay!  When we were up north there were tons of tour buses to contend with. 

So we start on an overcast morning......

....and decide that any sign we saw that we were curious about we'd stop and take a look.  Our first stop was truly fabulous! 

The sign

Yeah, right.  This was not an official sign I assure you.  Plus I'm married to the Scotsman.

We drove about as far as we could drive toward the circle of stones until we came to a little "off-roading" which, frankly, we don't want to drive on.  Fi-Fi might not like that.  Fi-Fi, the car.  Her tires are about the size of large wheelbarrow wheels and having a flat wouldn't be good.  We've had a flat before from driving on gravel roads so.  Anyway we hoof it in across a little bridge...

....and approach the small circle of stones with rams.  It's no Stonehenge as the sign suggests but enchanting just the same.  Gordon had to chase the rams away, who were happily scratching their rears on the stones, so I could approach.  Wild animals make me nervous.  

Gordon had visions of Rob Roy

I had visions of Outlander and Jaimie!

 Still really cool that hundreds of years ago someone, or a group of someones moved these stones into place for some reason.  They are huge and super heavy.  We mused on the reasons why they might be here and for what purpose.  Inconclusive.

 The view of the Lough and the waterfalls was spectacular!

Bye circle of stones

A lace-cap hydrangea taller than me!

There are massive hydrangeas  all over the place here, pink, blue and a deep purpley color.  They're gorgeous!

 Meanwhile we drive and enjoy the stunning views.

 and little towns and tiny harbors.

 Oyster season has begun and they've shelved their crab pots for oyster baskets.

Crab pots!

Colorfully painted towns

 So we decide to drive to the furthest point on the peninsula. There is an island just off the peninsula called Dursey Island and there's a cable car, the only cable car in Ireland, that shuttles people to-and-fro.  Believe me, it would have been shut down in the states!  It's quite rickety!  But we enjoyed the view while a large trawler passed underneath the cable lines.

Crazy!  The floorboards are wooden on the cable car and look a little too precarious for G and I!

After we stopped for a bowl of seafood chowder and more soda bread!  Some soda bread is ok, others?, not so much.   I'm about over the soda bread.

The pubs were buzzing!

We finished our tour of the Beara Peninsula and drove into Bantry to have a look around.  There was a "fair" going on and the town was packed!  The fair was really just a flea market.  Now we are comfortably settled into a lovely room at The Mill in Bantry at the base of Bantry Bay, our starting point for tomorrow....Sheep's Head Peninsula.