Killarney, Ring of Kerry Muckross and Jaunty Ride

     Today was a full day after the light day yesterday.

Ring Of Kerry

We started off early this morning for a drive around the Ring of Kerry. It is a 100 mile panoramic drive following a road around the western most part of the island. It was definitely not as developed as the rest of the areas that we have seen on this trip but is now a resort area where people come during summer vacations. We tried to compare it with Canadian coastlines but had some trouble. Parts reminded us of Nova Scotia, parts of Newfoundland and finally parts of British Columbia. A mixture of all 3 

Ring Of Kerry

areas. We stopped in the middle at a small cafe/shop for lunch. It is interesting if you order the (homemade) soup of the day you receive a large bowl with 2 large slices of fresh baked bread. It is more than a meal.

    The last part of the drive followed the southern road back to Killarney stopping to view the Lakes from the Ladies View where Queen Victoria stopped on her tour. In all it was an interesting blend of “mountains” valleys lakes and the ocean.

The afternoon saw us at the Muckross House where the owners of the large track of land that is now a national park use to live.

It dates from 1839. The house is furnished with Victoria furnishings. A shop with a weaving demonstration was included. The gardens and grounds were well kept.

    After arrival at the hotel, we were off on a “Jaunting Car” ride 

Muckross House

to another old castle like structure. The ride consisted of a horse drawn wagon with a cover seating 8 people. The ride lasted about an hour but really was a highlight of the day. The driver went through a well repeated repertoire of jokes and songs and we were in stitches all the way there and back. The driver also directed us to the local wine shop so that we could purchase a bottle for the ship.

     Dinner at night was in a local pub where we were combined with another “Globus” tour for dinner. The beef stew was good

Muckross House

and the beer tasty. By then we were ready to turn in. It was definitely the longest day of the tour. We decided to send all our luggage ahead by truck to the ship so that we did not have to bother with it at the airport. That meant that we had to have 2 days of clothes packed into our back packs. Actually it was not that hard to do.  

.