at cliffs edge county kerry. the southwest coast. ireland 11.17-22. 2013

5 days and 4 nights. my sister and i, running wild in the southwest coast of county kerry. look out! haha, not really, but we had a fun adventure. first off, i decided to rent a car down there, as it would be easier to get around the 2 peninsulas. what that meant was driving on the left side of the road for the first time in my life. and as you can see, i'm still here to write about it, so you know that is wasn't a complete disaster of an experience, i managed to not drive my sister and i over a cliffs edge, or though the centre of a round about; which by the way you drive through counter-clockwise!?! it was a fun experience, with a few "uh, stephen, get in the other lane" words , calmly uttered to me by my sister :) her hands gripping tightly onto the door handle as she said them.

first off was the dingle peninsula and drive along the ring of dingle. what a beautiful peninsula. definitely the highlight of that southwest coast trip. sharp jagged stone along the coastline, protruding above the sea. constantly bashed by harsh incoming atlantic waters. yet, such calm, peace and beauty here. so many places to sit and contemplate high above the waters, or feel the oncoming tide down below, on a beach. <3 the atlantic ocean! 

travelling with my sister can be an adventure on its own. we'll be walking, and i'll stop to take a photo, or two, or three. then i'll look up and she'll be gone. disappeared. out of sight. i continue and stop some more to take more photos. this would go on, sometimes climbing up or down rocky terrain, until eventually, i would find her at the edge of a cliff, perched on a rock, staring at the sea. seemingly at such peace. discovery can be such a beautiful place. 

view dingle peninsula photos here

next we ventured south to the kerry peninsula, and the ring of kerry. vivid rainbows and painted towns in abundance. and the landscape wasn't so bad either ;) spectacular cliffs, remote beaches of weathered rocks and stone. abandoned farm houses and forts along the water. and a misty glimpse of the harsh jagged skellig islands. we ended our journey in the town killarney. the centre of county kerry. full of tourism, although at that time it was quite quiet. centered around killarney national park. waterfalls, hiking trails. beautiful mountain passes and views. we managed to not get soaked, even though at times, the rain did come down. it was a wonderful journey down south with my sister.

view photo sets here:
kerry peninsula set 01kerry peninsula set 02