This drive, pronounced like “sleigh”, was similar to The Ring of Kerry which you’ll remember from Killarney a few posts back. The Ring of Kerry seems to get top billing on the Island but everyone with whom we spoke said Slea was better and we agreed.
We had originally planned to drive this one ourselves, but after the stress of the last drive Sarah kindly scrambled and found us the last two spots on an 8-person van so that we could both just sit back and relax. After seeing a few of the roads, turns, and steep parking lot our cut-up of a tour guide Mike (a retired local with an excess of hutzpah, as the Jewish say) I was glad for my newfound temporary passenger status.
I’m not sure I have location names for all of the stops below nor did I take pictures at all of the stops on the… four hour tour? Three? I suppose had it been a three hour tour we’d still be there. 😉 Still, I’m going to break them into a couple galleries.
Feeding Baby Sheep and Beehive Structures
Mike, as it turned out, had lots of interesting stuff to say at each stop and seemed incredulous about tourists’ aversion to making this drive on their own. He was more of a guide than a businessman. I read it as local pride. Anyhow, you’ll see him in the photos explaining stuff that I no longer remember but remember enjoying. He was a hoot.
More Vistas
In one of the photos, in the distance over water, you can see a landform they call The Sleeping Giant, because well, it looks like a sleeping giant. I do recall him saying that the strait around the land in that photo was some of the most dangerous in the world because of the currents. Many people had lost their lives there, their bodies never found because of how far the current would take them. I’m not sure what it says about me to have that be the fact that stuck. Hey, look – pretty pictures!
Those were not all taken at the same location 👆. I did get, at one of those stops, what was described as “the best brownie you’ll ever have”. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it is the best brownie I had at that location. Oddly enough, our van was full of two older couples from Pittsburgh, a younger couple from southern California, and us. I’m remembering that now because several of them wanted to know how the brownie held up and a smaller subset took me up on sharing a bite. It was a good group that felt weirdly autobiographical for me.
Another Historical Building
The last stop (of probably 8-10 🤷♂️) was of another very old church-like structure made of stacked stone. Mike, our guide, was very proud of the way the Irish “stacked the stone they had”, meaning they didn’t cut them into bricks but instead made structures out of whatever the found, however they found it. I’d have to agree with his love for that kind of honesty in design. I believe they sometimes cleaned up the edges, once stacked, to get nice clean lines but they never seemed to cut the stone to force them into place. There’s a certain zen about that kind of surrender… or maybe it was just laziness. Who’s to say?
I don’t recall the name of the flower in the first photo, but I thought they were neat because they looked like earrings. Remember that about me instead of the death stuff above. Thanks.
On our final of 5 roundtrips walking the road into Dingle, we passed the town dog (whose name I’m sad to say I’ve forgotten) one last time. Everyone in town knew him. He spent what seemed like all day chilling just outside his home (the door to which remained perpetually cracked) with an old pot of water and a friendly smile. He got a few scritches from us as we passed. What a good boy.
The following morning we would have to depart Pax Guest House and say goodbye to John and Jules (😢) for Doolin, stopping at Bunratty Castle and Folks Park on the way.
