Céad míle fáilte ~ A hundred thousand welcomes…to Ireland.

Credit for this masterpiece in green must go to ra’ajli and his newly discovered genius in photography. Nobody puts the camera to “landscape mode” like ra’ajli. It should be noted, and indeed it will later be in evidence, that he has also mastered “pet mode”, “food mode”, and several others.

At the beginning of September, I embarked on a journey that I have been dreaming of from the years of my childhood. The mystical emerald isle has always held special fascination for me; I suppose it could be an instinctual feeling of kinship with people of green, wet places. So, off I went to Kerry County, in the southwest of Ireland. I stayed in the town of Killarney – a lovely, extremely popular tourist stop for Irish and international parties alike.

Ross Castle in Killarney National Park.

Shortly following my arrival in Killarney, I was joined by a tall American, my hiking companion of old, who will be around for the remainder of my time abroad. His photographic endeavors will occasionally find their way here, and maybe even some of his misadventures as well. We chose Killarney because of the enticing Killarney National Park, which lies adjacent to the town, and because the tallest mountain in Ireland, Carrauntoohil Mountain in the MacGillicuddy Reeks, is not far off.

Killarney is a very pleasant town. It is filled with charming old pubs and shopfronts. There are two tourist centers in which the weary traveler can trust him/herself to the energetic creativity and free maps of the employees. It was truly extraordinary the cheerful, extensive consultation you can depend on in these organizations – all free of charge. We came away with an entire pack of waterproof map cards of various hikes throughout the Kerry region. The smaller of the two offices has a resident black Labrador named Boo, who will complacently accept your caresses, but is much too occupied with his rest to lick. I made do, and showered him with unreciprocated affection.

There are several entrances to the Killarney National Park from the edges of town. The best way to enter is through that entrance that sits near the cathedral – there is another small, stone church by the smaller of the two offices, which we originally took to be the cathedral, but the true specimen sits outside the immediate shopping streets of the town. Our first adventures took us to the castle pictured above. There is a nice hike in the woods surrounding the castle, but we were unable to hike directly to the southern region of the park and so took a pleasant route, through large fields and groves of trees, back to the cathedral gate.

I found myself captivated by the most beautiful, velvety black cows I have ever seen. They were all too reminiscent of my beloved Ronald - the black lab newfie.

We had heard tell of the mysterious red deer who turned out to be more plentiful than the cows.

The landscape.

The spire of the cathedral, emerging magnificently through thick borders of trees.

Just look casual...

and don't look at the camera. In fact, look quite determined not to take notice of it at all.

The ruins of Muckross Abbey.

A second hike took us to the southern region of Killarney National Park. It is necessary to take a taxi to Muckross House and from that point there is a lovely hike that proceeds around Muckross lake in a loop that passes Torc Waterfall and eventually returns you right back to Muckross House. I do believe that the distance was some 15km, or around 9 miles. The weather oscillated wildly from wind and rain to clear skies. Located just around halfway is Dinish Cottage, where we stopped and enjoyed chocolate cake and coffee before continuing on.

The "meeting of the waters" - supposedly of Muckross lake and Lough Leane lake.

Trees.

Torc Waterfall.

Muckross House

We had been very attached to the idea of ascending the highest mountain in Ireland, however the logistics of much hiking in Ireland makes ground transportation quite necessary. Thus instead we spent an afternoon hiking through the Gap of Dunloe, rather in the same region as the mountains, but generally more accessible to those without private automobiles.

The road we walked down in the Gap of Dunloe.

Winds whipped through the hills, causing the grassy valley to undulate like the ocean.

More lakes...

Discovering strange, new creatures of the twisted horn.

After several hours hiking in, we chose our endpoint.

At various intervals amidst all this strolling was a selection of pleasing foods. Food was incredibly expensive in Killarney, but it was also generally very pleasing and for those meals when we could not face the bills, there was always the supermarket with 1 Euro rounds of goat cheese. One of our favorite meals was at “Pay as You Please,” a quirky little place that functioned as its name advertises. Our waiter was a groovy, Irish guy who had visited Oregon at some point in his life (naturally) and when the power went out took up the guitar and played some Johnny Cash. It was a fabulous place and a fabulous meal.

The menu. I forgot to take photos of the food. It was wonderful. We enjoyed the carrot-cumin soup and the spinach pizza.

But, I did get photos of the drinks. Orange juice and the most nostalgic, swiss-miss hot chocolate served with twisty marshmallows!

And then, on to Blarney Castle.

Our distinguished guide for the day will be a certain erudite high school teacher of the past.

Inside the castle.

The view from the top of the castle toward Blarney House.

Visiting Blarney is about far more than just the castle and kissing the Blarney stone - there are also extensive gardens in the complex. This is the poison garden.

The star of the show was, sadly, absent.

And, of course, I found more cows to admire.

Other wildlife.

The fern gardens.

There were all sorts of little folk sites scattered about the complex. A cave in which a fire is kept burning for the local witch, stairs which will grant you a wish if you walk up and down them backwards with your eyes closed, and this - the alter of sacrifice.

Hmmm.

Getting to Blarney from Killarney is an easy day-trip. We took a bus from Killarney to Cork (RT for one person some 30 Euros) and then took another short bus ride to Blarney.

Such were the highlights of Ireland. I could probably live quite happily there.