Day 4 - Travel To Dingle

Today we had to get up early to catch a train at 7:00 am towards Dingle where we are spending the second leg of our trip.  The alarm went off at 5:40, and we were checked out and up the road waiting for a bus by 6:05.  Being a bit over-cautious again we were at the station by 6:30 for our 7:00 train.  With no hitches, we were sitting in our seats in the quiet carriage - no phones, no devices, and virtually no talking.  It was a very peaceful way to watch the scenery go by.  It is similar to Scotland in many ways, which is no surprise.  Lots of rolling green fields, agricultural in places and mountainous in others.  I am feeling very at home here.  We are both guilty of having dozed off a little bit along the way.  At Mallow we transferred trains, and at Tralee we transferred to a bus.

We’ve had a few odd experiences with Irish busses so far.  While I truly appreciate how accessible and cheap the transit system is here, I think a few of the bus drivers could use an attitude adjustment.  Yesterday a few busses we were trying to catch flew past us like we didn’t exist.  After checking with Google I learned that in order to get an Irish bus to stop you have to flag them down with your arm - simply moving up to the curb is not indication enough. 🤷  Ok, my bad.  Today we saw our bus parked off to the side with its door open.  As I approached to see if we were able to board there I was bellowed at by the driver, “BAY 2!!!!!”.  I guess I didn’t look like enough of a tourist for him to have mercy on me.  When we did get on the bus he was equally rude to other customers, so I didn’t take it too personally.  The moral of the story is if you choose to use bus transportation when in Ireland, be extra kind to the driver...🤣

We made it to Dingle at 12:30, just as it started to rain.

Welcome To Dingle!!🌧

First stop was the B and B to see if we could drop off our bags before check-in time.  Our host Tom gave us a very warm welcome and showed us our room to drop the bags.  He gave us our key and sent us on our way with a map of the town and its attractions.  We decided to do a quick loop around before choosing a spot for lunch.  We ate at a very nice place with friendly servers called The Diner.  The rain died off as we ate, so we decided to do a little more exploring.  First we went down to the harbour and walked around the breakwater.  From there we could see Hussy’s Folly (more on this tomorrow) and the lighthouse we plan on hiking out to in the morning.  

Looking Back To Dingle’s Harbour-Front Street From The Breakwater

Next we went back to the main square in town and found a place to sit and relax for a bit.  As the sky brightened up we decided to go for another walk towards the trail we will be on tomorrow.  We made a short loop, passing a very docile group of cows, and confirming that the trail is defined and accessible.

Jojo On A Stone Stairwell

Our New Dingle Friends

Looking Towards Hussy’s Folly And The Lighthouse Point

After the walk we headed back to the B&B for a little rest before dinner.  We both managed to doze a little which was very nice!  Around 5:30 we went out to explore a bit more before dinner.  There were three churches on the map, and we decided to try and go by each of them.  The first one, St. Mary’s was a neo-Githic church built in 1862.  There were people praying inside and  we did not want to disturb them, so we grabbed a quick picture and headed to the next one.

St. Mary’s Church

The next one on the map does not exist in reality so we moved on.  The third one, St. James’ Church, had a very interesting cemetery in the back.  It is in a state of disrepair with some headstones so old the inscription is impossible to read.  The oldest one we were able to make out was from 1832.  We also passed a very strange tree stump that seemed to have devoured an old gate or fence.

Fence-Eating Tree Stump

St. James’ Church And Its Decrepit Cemetery

It is easy to see this country’s connection with religion.  There are many religious displays, symbols, and locations wherever you go or look.  It seems much more prominent than back home in Canada.

Next we hunted for a place to have dinner.  There are numerous pubs and restaurants so it was less hunting, and more deciding which one.  We ended up at Paudie’s Bar and both chose Guinness Steak Caserole and a pint - I had a local golden ale, Jojo had a local IPA.  Dinner was delicious and it was nice to have some veggies as our side 😁.  After we paid we both agreed it would be nice to find a different place for dessert.  O’Flaherty’s did not disappoint:

Dessert!! 🤣

O’Flaherty’s Bar

We are back in the room now catching up on the outside world.  Tomorrow morning looks good for our hike weather-wise.  Our plan is to pick up some sandwich supplies and have a little lunch out by the lighthouse.  We are both looking forward to it!

That’s it for today.  Goodnight, and thanks again for following along!!