After essentially waking up at one o’clock, I had no time to spare exploring Dingle and the surrounding area.
Located on the southwestern edge of Ireland, Dingle is a historic fishing town, about three hours from Galway, known for its seafood, wool/knitted goods, and Fungie, an escaped aquarium dolphin, according to some stories, that has taken solitary refuge here for approximately thirty years! He often pops up to see cruise shippers.
Dingle is a great place to go hiking, ride horses, and sea kayak. Far less cosmopolitan than Dublin and Galway, it is a destination for adventurous travelers, seeking micro-bursts of transcendentalist experience on the Irish coastline.
(Photo credits by PintsizedPioneer)
I wanted to see the multitude of ruins scattered around County Kerry today, but as it turns out, navigating through Dingle can be a little difficult. I tried to get to the town of Ventry, but once you get out of the main town center, unless you know what the street signs mean and/or have a map (both of which I did not understand or possess) it can get confusing.
As a result, I hiked aimlessly through the countryside, which in retrospect was not that negative of an experience at all even though I did not reach my desired destination.
Once again, everyone here is quite friendly; though, I am getting a few stares, which may be a result of my race. But, who really knows? Hiking through the hills I was greeted with waves and hellos even though I am pretty sure I was trespassing on private properties … At least I wasn’t hit by any vehicles.
If you are walking around the hills, be careful – the roads are often very skinny despite being two ways and lack sidewalks. Sorry for the shortness (¿and spacing?) of this post – the internet is quite slow here.
Next, we are off to Kilkenny for a spell, and then I am heading to Paris, France. Quite the change from this place! I’ll be there for about 48 hours before taking a train to Amsterdam. Can’t wait!