A day on Dingle Peninsula

XII BLOG Toto Travels
22 May, Sunday
 Dingle 


Sunday morning dawned much nicer, but it remains cold for this time of year.  Definitely still rain jacket weather. Kathleen is very cordial as well as businesslike. She calls every guest by name and with 14 rooms housing 2 to 4 people each, knowing everyone's name is noteworthy. 
After a reasonably leisurely morning, we left for Slea Head drive around Dingle peninsula on a partly sunny morn.  Around Ventry bay, again rugged coastline and crashing waves. And sheep... I read somewhere there were about 500,000 sheep on little Dingle peninsula, and I believe it!  Now that has to be a JOB counting sheep! 

At our first main stop, the beehives, ancient dwellings made of stacked stones with a technique called corbelling, are scattered amid a maze of stacked stone fences, I  read on a neatly handwritten note on the outhouse door: 
DEAR CUSTOMER
PLEASE BOLT THE DOOR AFTER USE
  IF THE DOOR IS LEFT OPEN MY SHEEP WILL EAT THE TOILET ROLL 
THANK YOU
Ya gotta love it! And looking at all the sheep, I do not doubt it for a second.

Clochans or beehives, stone-stacked house-type structures of unknown origin. Various writings date the dwellings from 2000 BC  to 800 or 900 AD, who knows.  Well preserved and interesting to observe. Who lived and worked here 1300 years ago? Was it a family, did they hunt, fish, raise sheep - all of the above? 
As we continued the coast drive Mike was on high alert for a "little blue house" that said: coffee, tea, pies. We heard about it from the Boston couple at dinner in Ennis.  But alas, no little blue house was to be found- maybe the fairies own it and it only magically appears certain days.
  On around we viewed Slea Head beach nestled in the cliffs and crags. As we drew closer, we could see people on the beach and we saw a tour bus (gasp - surprise) in a parking lot.   Initially we thought it was too cold, but then decided to check it out. Glad we did. Great walk down to the beach, with little wind and quite a bit of sun. It was a protected cove plus the weather was improving. The people here were scattered and quietly enjoying the beach, well except for a group of young adults from Spain who were having great fun but not bothering anyone. Mike took a photo for them of the entire group and then one of them took a pic of us.
Two young fellows were posing against the ocean or the rocky coast and taking turns snapping photos of each other. I offered to take a photo of the two of them. They looked quite surprised, then rather sheepish  and one muttered in a very proper English accent, " No, we're not wanky or anything like that." 
I laughed hard to myself and thought of several things to say, from quipping, " really, ya  sure look it" to ,"really, stop acting like it then" to the motherly "of course not, didn't mean it that way."  I am sure it played with the rest of their day. Cousin Melody commented on my Facebook post,  "Don't you know they spent the rest of the day trying hard not to  look NOT 'wanky'."
Still on the lookout for the mythical (?) wee blue house with the pies, we drove on around through Dunquin with a quick look at Great Blasket Center and on through Ballyferriter.  
The last planned stop was Gallaras  Oratory  a bit down the road.  It is a stacked stone chapel looking like an elongated beehive that is about 1300 years old, one of the best preserved early church ruins in Ireland according to travel books. Small, not many would fit here for worship.  Again, a place to stop and reflect on life 1300 years ago in such an isolated, although beautiful, place.

Back in Dingle, we walked and shopped and ran across the Dingle dogs cart, has a catchy ring, doesn't it? A Dingle Dog would have sounded good, except we had just eaten at The Watershed. I had a cheese plate at lunch, really enjoy the fresh local cheese, especially combined with crackers and grapes or jam - yum. After walking around a bit more,  we tried to find the Post Office you "couldn't miss" - we have done quite a bit of missing things-you-can't- miss according to the locals. We finally figured out where it must be, so tomorrow - Monday - we will mail a box of Ireland trinkets.  On our way tomorrow toward Dublin area to wind up Ireland for this trip. 

It occurred to me to check the road closures due to President Obama's Visit to the home of his ancestors in County Offaly, the town of Monyegall. Sure enough the N7 would be closed about the time we would be through that area. In addition there were no decent rooms with acceptable rates that I could find in a short time available in or around Dublin on Monday night, not Dun Laoghaire, not Malahide - sigh.  There are football and rugby, or was it hurling? games that are drawing loads of visitors.

Dingle is a great fun little village set on a beautiful, rugged, historical peninsula. Life is slower and there may be more sheep grazing per square foot than about anywhere else in Ireland. I could stay here and enjoy.

The sound of the ocean, the peaceful countryside, the simple life, a time for reflection and simply being in God's earth, listening to nature - or to the silence. Worship slips overs me as I look in wonder at this portrait of earth and bask in the greatness of our God.