Day Ten - Dingle Peninsula

Friends we met along the way

Today we drove the Dingle Peninsula. This is probably going to be a constant refrain but I am amazed by the differing terrains here. We have these differences in the states but in a country as tiny as Ireland, it is amazing. In fifty miles everything changes.

The Mizen Peninsula was full of steep cliffs, deep green pastures, and rugged moorlands. The Beara Peninsula was a place of rock-studded mountains jutting into the Atlantic at impossible angles or seeming to cradle placid lakes and green, rock strewn valleys. The Dingle Peninsula is a rugged, desolate country with breathtaking panoramas of the coastline with steep cliffs falling into the sea and white, pristine, isolated beaches. There is little of the rocky pastures found elsewhere on the island.

Driving the Dingle

There were so many things we saw today that I don't have the time to write about them all.  The Gallarus Oratory, a stone structure that is so tightly put together that it is still waterproof today, old monastic ruins, old church ruins, etc., etc.

At the end of the Dingle Peninsula, lie the Blasket Islands. Finally abandoned in 1953 when the last twenty two people living there were moved to the mainland. The island's population, which once boasted one hundred and seventy five residents, had steadily declined through emigration.

As the island's eventual demise became evident, an effort was made to have the inhabitants document their lives in order that their heritage would not be lost. As a result no other island community of this size has yielded such a literary wealth, producing world renowned writers, such as Peig Sayers. It was amazing to learn how these people lived under such hardships.

Back in Dingle town we took a walk to look for a cache. Just as we were starting out we bumped into Mary, our host at Tower View taking a walk with her two workers from the B & B. Evidently they do this most every day.

View from the cache location

It was quite a climb to the top of the hill. We made several stops to enjoy the view and catch our breathes. At the very peak of the hill we found the cache and were the first to do so. We were also rewarded by some lovely views of the town and harbor.

The next morning at breakfast Mary asked how our walk went and we told her about our find. She seemed fascinated at the idea of geocaching and asked for the URL of the website. We may have made a convert.