Our entire group met in the lobby of the hotel this morning for a group photo. There is a beautiful, ornate grand staircase there that our Tour Guide, Carol, posed all of us on for the photo. She will send each of us a copy following our tour.
Following the photo taking, Norma raced out to the bus to secure us the front seat for a scenic ride of the Ring of Kerry. We all switch seats in the Motorcoach each day and since we had not sat up front yet, we were excited! Sitting up front did give us a great view of both sides of the road and also straight ahead, although it was not ideal for taking photos. Many of my photos today have either the bus's side mirrors or the driver's head showing in the photo! Also, it was misting rain so the windshield wipers were also an issue!
I am astounded that these tour buses are actually allowed to travel the roads on the Ring of Kerry! You notice I said "roads", not "highways"! They are very narrow, very twisting, very mountainous roads, with one-lane bridges at times, and never ever even a hint of a shoulder at the edge of the road, only thick hedgerows or rock walls! All tourists and tour buses are asked to travel the Ring of Kerry in a counter-clockwise direction, because in most places the road is barely wide enough for two small cars to meet one another, let alone a 52-seat Motorcoach! Crazy driving! But spectacular scenery, simply breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, and the mountains rising up out of the sea, with long sweeping valleys filled with a patchwork of lush farmland and quaint houses in between.
About halfway through our day, we stop at the "Thatch Cottage" where we are served our choice of shepherd's pie or stew. I chose stew, but I only carefully picked out each morsel of potato or carrot to eat, because my palate just could not tolerate the taste of lamb meat or the juice from it! (Lucky for me I always carry some snacks in my daypack!) The rhubarb pie for dessert was quite good though. Whole wheat brown bread seems to be a staple with Irish meals.
Following our lunch stop, we continued on to enjoy awesome views along the Ring of Kerry drive. There aren't many speed limit signs in Ireland, but we just passed one: 100km per hr.! Right past this sign, stenciled onto the road surface: Severe Bends Ahead! Of course, no one could possibly go 100km per hour on any of the roads we have traveled today! I think our top speed has been 45km per hour. Remember, we are sitting right up front and can see the speedometer on the driver's dashboard! We can also see the fright on the driver's face in the cars that we occasionally meet, when they round a bend in the road and are facing our large Motorcoach! Sometimes they will completely stop or back up, inching over as far as they possibly can to let us squeeze by them. I cannot imagine having to drive on these roads! It must take nerves of steel!
No matter what towns we pass through, we continually see healthy and fit looking people-no obesity at all! It makes me realize what a "nation of excess" we are in America. Not only with our nation of obesity, but also with our thirst for larger homes and larger vehicles. We don't see any of that in Ireland; those on our tour who have traveled in other countries over here, say that holds true throughout Europe. It is no wonder that sometimes, we as a nation, are viewed negatively by some folks in other parts of the world.
5:00 P.M.
We arrive back to the Killarney Plaza Hotel for a second night. Dinner this evening is "on our own", so since Norma and I are very tired and also not really hungry, we walk down the street from our hotel to the Dealz Store (resembles a Dollar General), purchase some snacks to take back to our room for an "early to bed" night.
I am able to connect with Tom by phone, and Norma tries calling our Mom (no answer), but does connect with Carla (her daughter). It is good to hear voices from home!
8:00 P.M.
I cannot hold my eyes open to read another page in my book, so I'm off to sleep!
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