Day 7 - Dingle To Doolin Travel Day

Not too much to write about today.  We said our goodbyes to Tom, left the beautiful town of Dingle at 9:00 am, and arrived in the beautiful town of Doolin at 3:30 pm after four bus rides travelling through Tralee, Limerick, Ennis, and many other small towns and villages.  The ride off the Dingle peninsula was stunning.  Where we didn’t have good visibility on the way in, we definitely had it today.  We kind of knew already, but today it was confirmed that the Dingle peninsula is absolutely gorgeous, and is what most of us think of when we picture Ireland - rolling green pastures, stone walls, mountain and ocean vistas in the background.  Riding the buses and trains has added so much to this trip, just in the scenery we’ve been able to take in.

We checked into our B and B as soon as we arrived and were very happy with our new digs.  It seems to be refurbished farm buildings, converted into individual apartments.  Our check-in was quick and friendly, and our room is very cosy.

Our B and B

  

We Are The Door On The Right

You would think we would have had a tonne of energy after having sat on our buts all day but that was definitely not the case - we were both a little tuckered.  Since it was rest time anyways we lazed around for an hour or two before heading out to explore the area, and look for a dinner spot.

Relaxing In Our Room

Eventually our hunger won out over our fatigue and we headed out.  There are about ten restaurants/pubs, a couple of cafes, and five or so gift shops in town - no grocery store, no gas station.  We ended up settling on a quiet little seafood place.  Jojo had fish trio, and I had seafood pasta - they did not skimp on the seafood!

We had a good discussion after dinner about our trip so far.  I am not being cranky here, or putting anybody’s experience down, but we asked the following question - Is sitting in a pub in Ireland where the crowd is probably 70% American, and 30% European, listening to three Irish musicians play, really an Irish experience?  Where are all the Irish people - not including the bar staff?  We were very fortunate to have had a meaningful personal experience with Damien at Dick Mack’s the other night, but is this the exception?  Should all of us tourists be heading to smaller, less desirable towns in search of something more authentic?  I’m not sure what the answer is, nor does it really matter.  I guess if we are all happy with our own experience then that is what really matters.  And I would say that Jojo and I are very happy with ours so far.  We have met some very kind and friendly people (even the bus drivers were nice today 🤣), we have seen some unbelievable sights, and we are really looking forward to the rest of the trip.

After dinner we headed back to the other end of town and stopped at Gus O’Connor’s Pub for “dessert”. 🤣

Jojo And Our Empty Dessert Dishes 😂

After dessert we walked up the hill towards the ferry launch and got a sneak peak at the Cliffs of Moher where we will be hiking tomorrow.  It was a spectacular sight, and unfortunately my picture-taking abilities won’t do it justice.  We are pretty excited about tomorrow - the weather forecast is calling for sun all day which would be a first for the trip…🤞

North End Of The Cliffs Of Moher - Picture Doesn’t Even Come Close

View Of Atlantic Looking West From Doolin Point

The plan for morning is to wake up for our 8:30 breakfast.  We are going to run up to the cheese shop where there may be fresh bread to buy supplies for a mid-hike sandwich, and then head to the Cliffs Of Moher from there.  May the weather and hiking Gods be on our side!!

That’s it for today.  Good night, and we’ll check in tomorrow!