Day 2

We had a long day today. We left the hotel at 8:15, had rehearsal, then headed out on a tour of the Ring of Kerry. This took us through a lot of little villages, and way up into the mountains (Well, not way up- Ireland's highest mountain is just under 4,000 feet), and along some narrow winding roads. The countryside was pretty spectacular, and it was very, very windy.
(Sorry for the relative shortage of pictures. The Internet was being uncooperative, so I did what I could.)

This is a platform, in the town of Killorglin, erected to hold King Puck in the annual Puck Fair. King Puck is a wild goat that they kidnap from the mountains, pamper, then stick up high to lord over the town for three days. This festival is around 400 years old, and I may have to come back to Ireland just to see it, because it sounds awesome.

There are a lot of peat bogs in Ireland- peat was actually their main source of fuel and building materials after the early settlers chopped down all of the trees- and we spent a little while hanging out in a reconstructed bog village. It made me want to re-watch The Secret of Roan Inish.

We then headed up into the mountains. The landscape was pretty spectacular. We stopped at the excellently-named Dingle Bay for some pictures.

We then went to lunch in a little restaurant on a beach. Don't let the palm trees fool you. They must have gotten lost on their way to somewhere warmer. But at the very least, the sun came out.

Back up in the mountains, we stopped for some more pictures, and to fight some more wind.

Farmers mark their sheep with natural dye to keep track of them. It's shearing season, so these ones are all shockingly nude.

As an aside, I really want to come back here and do some hiking. The mountains are beautiful, and some of them are completely tree-less, so it looks like you could just stroll to the top. Apparently a lot of people hike here, and the only obstacle would be the weather. We were told today that it rains here twice a week- the first time for four days and the second time for three.

After completing our circuit of the Ring of Kerry we returned to Killarney, where we've been staying the past two days, and went on a little horse-and-buggy ride through the Killarney National Park. Most of the trip was through the woods, and the trees looked very much like the trees at home, if a little greener from all the rain. We stopped by Ross Castle, a 15th-century structure originally built by the family that ruled the Killarney area at the time, then we returned to town for dinner.

Flying bicycles in Killarney.

Ross Castle.

Molly, our frenetic horse.

After dinner we went to a very nice celtic music show. The sun sets very late here this time of year, but by the time we left the show, it was already dark. We have another long day tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it. The trip is already going by really quickly.