We awoke early and had breakfast in our hotel.  We will we coming back to this hotel for another night after todays adventure so I didn’t have to pack up.  We got on our tour bus and headed out.

We are in a very beautiful area of Ireland that is made up of mostly farmland and mountains and it is so green.  Our destination is a 100 mile drive around the Ring of Kerry where we took in breathing taking sites of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks and the coastal views of beaches and cliffs.

Potato farmers homes

We passed some homes that the potato farmers owned during the famine.  They leased the land from rich land owners that charged them high rent.  Once the potato famine hit they could no longer afford to pay the land owners so many of them just up and left with their families and migrated to America.

Valencia Island

We crossed a small bridge to Valencia Island.  It is a quaint fishing village on the coast.  Lots of good fishing here.

Skellig Experience

Skellig Experience is two remote islands off the coast where Christian Monks made there home.  They wanted a place where they would not be disturbed.  They certainly found it out there.  Skellig Michael on the left was used in Star Wars VII.  

We paused to have lunch in a little town called Sneem.  Then it was back on the road.

Moll’s Gap

We climbed into the mountains at Moll’s Gap with it’s panoramic views.

The Ring of Kerry offered so much beautiful scenery.  It was really something to see.

Poteen

We stopped at the side of the road to stretch our legs and see what the vendors offered.  Our guide had told us that this guy sold poteen.  Poteen is the equivalent to our moonshine.  They make it in the mountains and sell it in little bottles.

He also was selling jam and honey which he had on display.  I went up to this guy and got right to the point that I wanted to buy some poteen.  Since it is illegal to make he had it hidden under all the bags in the center of the table. HA!  He pulled a small bottle out that was wrapped in a bag and I bought it for 10 Euro.  The guy in blue also bought one and is holding it in his hand.  I will try it with my brother in law when I visit in October.

Crazy painted home

This person painted the faces of all the famous Irish people.  I wonder how long that paint lasts?

Here is another home once owned by a potato farmer.

Lots of Sheep

There were lots of sheep, mostly in the mountains, in this area.  The sheep in the next pic have a red dye on their coats.  Others had blue and some had green.  Since the sheep run everywhere in the mountains the dye is used to distinguish one farmer’s sheep from another.  Pretty clever!

Sheepdog 

We stopped at a sheep farm and were able to see a demonstration of the sheepdog herding a flock of sheep.  The dog works on the master’s commands.  He is always yelling at the dog and the dog obeys his every command.  It was really neat to see how one dog can round up a whole herd of sheep and drive them into a pen.

Back to Killarney

We then drove back to our hotel in Killarney where we were on our own for dinner.  I went down to a small diner where I had a nice seafood dinner.  Then it was off to a pub a couple doors down from the hotel.  I enjoyed watching the people and of course a couple of pints as well.