Kilarney

We ate breakfast and caught the bus early out of Fossa.


We talked with a German duo that were going to hike the Ring of Kerry for the next few days. We got off the bus and checked into our hostel for the night and left our luggage there. Then we went to rent bikes. My ankle was hurt, but it only hurt if I rolled my toes. I figured I could ride a bike if I put the pedal on my arch or heel. Luckily I was right. We found a hostel that rented bikes. The man was insistent that we return them before 6 or "my wife will have my balls."
He showed us quickly on a map how to ride around a lake in the National Park and see some neat sights. We took off toward the park and decided we were on the wrong path. We found the sister bike shop to where we rented and the man showed us again on a map where we should go. We started off in the nice cool, moist morning and rode most of the way around the park. We saw some ruins, lots of great plants and great views of a lake.




It was fun. The majority of people in the park were riding bikes or in horse drawn carriages.
We rode around and found a bridge and took a photo right before the rains broke loose.

Part of the trail is on the main road. Scott decided we should ride up the rode toward the mountains. We rode up the hill on the two rental bikes for a lot longer than anyone on the bikes should. We rode up to a mini pass with a chapel at the top. As we approached (again with large grins) two bicyclists with packs, road bikes, and helmets, were staring at us with "are you kidding me" type looks. I like to think we impressed people, but I think we just confused them.

We then rode back down and stopped along the way to take some photos. We ate our apples for lunch while cars drove by looking at our bikes then looking at us in wonder. We rode back down hill to a waterfall(my memory card was full) and we met up with the Germans from the morning. They told us that they were lost in the trails of the park. We showed them the correct way out. Then Scott and I discussed how it should be easy to get back. We rode through the park and found ourselves running into fences and trying a new trail, then finding a fence. We finally figured out, we left the falls on a walking trail and needed to return. We finally found a trail to the Muckross house. It was beautiful. We did not go in, because it cost money, but we looked in the window. It seemed to me like Mt. Vernon, with artifacts of different eras.

We then rode down the trail to an old abbey. It was dated back to 1550. It was a monastery. We wandered around and explored old stone staircases, and it was incredible. Very neat old building to explore.



We then rode our bikes to the Ross Castle. At this point, whenever we stopped, our butts hurt and our legs were tired. It took some effort to get started again. We rode to the castle and then around an old mining trail. It was a nice ride.
We decided to ride to the Cathedral and then relax for a bit. The cathedral was smaller than Galway's but it was still beautiful.

There were great stories about the bishops and the architecture.
We then delivered the bikes back at about 4:00 and then went to our hostel. We showered and changed into dry clothes, and then decided to find food and a pub with music. We went to a sports pub and watched some Gaelic football and I had a shepard's pie. We then found a nice little band with accordians and guitars. We headed back to the hostel (with take out fries in hand) and played a couple of hands of cribbage. We decided to pull an all nighter in Dublin the next day, so we went to bed.