Ring of what???

TODAY!
We traveled the Ring of Kerry - not only one of Ireland's most popular tourist circuits, supposedly some of the best views in Ireland. We didn't get to see too much of this today - because of low lying fog that clung to the mountains and obstructed most of our views.

We made the most of our journey today, stopping first at the Staigue Ring Fort - one of the best remaining examples of a ring fort in Ireland. Built during the Stone Age, this ring fort was a means of both protection and also a way to contain property (livestock, etc.) Except this time we dodged gates to keep the livestock out...

We detoured off the main route later (no buses or tour groups here) and the narrow winding roads led us to the beach of Ballinskellig Bay. Andrew and I were the only ones to troll around the sand here (quite cold and rainy today) but enjoyed walking the look of painted sand and around a set of ruins set in the middle of the pier - extending into the bay below. It was a really nice break and something we haven't done yet - get nice and close to the water!

We drove down a very bumpy and unpaved path to visit St. Brendan's Well. Another site of Catholic Pilgrimage. Most must come by foot though, not much of a road to speak of here! But there was no one else for as far as we could see and did enjoy our walk both to the well and also to the edge of the Valencia Island on which it sat.

After lunch at a nearby Kerry town we decided to head straight to Dingle and settle in - we'll be spending the next 2 nights here...

When we got to Dingle we checked into yet another awesome B&B overlooking the Dingle Bay (we kind of splurged and upgraded to a bay-view room). Walking around we visited the Dingle Crystal Co. owned and operated by a local "Harley" man who was trained at Waterford and decided to go on his own to recreate the original Irish crystal style - deep cuts and intricate patterns. We had a great conversation with him and purchased an ornament for our first Christmas tree :)

We later stopped by a few pubs for live music and ending up spending a few hours with some other Americans we met - had a great time, but we're off to bed now to rest and enjoy another full day tomorrow...and hoping for some better weather!