Driving Along the Narrow Lanes

This was taken as we left the South-Western point, the day was sunny and beautiful, a perfect beach day for the Irish.

Drive to Waterford

We stopped to check the route, it was a bit late in the day and our arrival ETA was half seven.  We decided to take a more direct road and try for half six.

Always interesting drives through the villages and along the walled lanes.

Jameson Distillery Tour

We were really looking forward to this tour since the Jack Daniel's tour in Lynchburg Tennessee was one of the most memorable on our Memphis trip.

                 

Jameson's is not a functioning distillery, it lacked ambiance.  Our tour guide wasn't even Irish and seemed to lack true passion for Irish Whiskey.

If you ever have the opportunity, don't pay for the guided tour, walking through is enough.

The Enchanted Garden of Blarney

A highlight of the Blarney Castle visit was the walk through the enchanted fairy/witch's garden.  No line-ups and we squeezed in about 1km of walking.  We posed in the magical stone circle...

... and under an ancient tree.

  

Finally, we all made wishes on the "Wishing Stairs".  This requires going down backwards then returning back up with eyes closed while concentrating on your wish.  More difficult than it sounds.

Blarney Castle

We arrived at the famous Blarney Castle and we were preparing ourselves for the standard 10 Euro entrance and 2km walk.

Luckily no 2km walk... instead we had a one hour line-up to climb to the top of the castle.  The line continues inside and all the way up four floors of spiral staircases.  Marc's not good with waiting in line, he thought the group of Swedish chefs behind us were getting a little to close. 

The stairs were incredibly narrow, the rope is the hand-rail and it's completely vertical.

Marc's kissing of the stone will give him the gift of gab!  By the way, there was no process to clean the stones between kissers, but so far he has not shown any symptoms of communicable diseases.

Mary at the top of the castle, not at all tired from her 99 step climb!

Clonakilty

Arriving in Clonakilty we stayed at the Glendine Irish Home B&B.  Mari and Mick were wonderful hosts and fellow bikers.

Walking into town we weren't quite to sure what to expect, it's always difficult to judge the quality of the restaurants.  Our first choice in Clonakilty appeared a little bit dodgy.  The lack of patrons at dinnertime was somewhat suspicious.  The waiter was definitely not Irish and was heard saying to another table, "You can stay longer, but you pay now!"

As polite Canadians, we order 4 beers and one appetizer to share.  Our waiter was not pleased and muttered under his breath as we walked away thus heightening our discomfort.  As we finished, 3 of us dashed for the door, leaving Joe to take one for the team.  Thanks Joe.

We found an acceptable establishment to eat and then headed to O'Donovan's for the Tuesday night "Trad Session" where traditional music is performed by local musicians.  The session is usually improvised as the night goes on with each performer offering a solo and others joining in as appropriate.

Have a listen:

Check-in/OK message from JoeSpot SPOT

Latitude:53.01107
Longitude:-6.32642
GPS location Date/Time:07/14/2011 09:15:51 EDT

Message:Just having tea & hotdogs at Glendalough Monastery

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/5MYb4/53.01107N/6.32642W

Mizen Head - South Western Most Point

Having done the northern-most point, we then went to the southwestern-most point.  Again incredible views, rugged landscape and lots of walking and stairs...

This point functioned as a lighthouse and also had a long list of ships sunk off the coast during WWI by German U-Boats, including the British passenger ship The Lusitania.

We found the weather much nicer in the south than in the north, no rain!   Mary and Joe were a bit warm for the walk.

Healy Pass after Leaving Kenmare

A beautiful riding day.  Shortly after we started the day we went across the Beara Peninsula using Healy Pass.  The views were incredible.

We always keep an eye out for sheep on the road and we still get surprised when we come upon them. Cars and motorcycles don't phase them at all.

The climb was a road of gentle curves but the descent was full of 'S'-curves and switchbacks.  Can you see Joe on the curve?  Oh, and did I mention Mary was low on fuel adding to the stress of the ride.

Enjoy the ride.

Cromwell's Bridge

After a short trek through the woods we finally found Cromwell's bridge.  We were quite impressed with the engineering design and construction all in stone and leveraging gravity and weight.  But, we were more impressed with Joe's ability to scale the sharp stones and beat the camera timer which has a maximum setting of 10 seconds!

Kenmare - A Day of Rest

We're really enjoying the village of Kenmare, it's very quaint.  Lots of interesting shopping, we tried some Scumpy Jack cider - more on that later.  We always need to watch when we cross the street, although we're OK riding, walking is a bit dangerous.  Note the box of beer (and cider) for more birthday celebrations.

Massy Ferguson is doing better than John Deere on tractor sales in Kenmare.

We visited a local historical site - a ring of standing stones.  With an entrance fee based on the honour system, no 2km hike and completely unobscured views (we were the only visitors), the 2 euro fee seemed worth it.

Jeff and Dani from Wisconsin

We finally parted ways with Jeff and Dani, a fantastic couple from Wisconsin who were also on the Irishbike tour. Jeff and Dani are both teachers and seem to have a wonderful sense of adventure, we will miss them. Go Packers Go!

Happy Birthday Mary

Mary's Birthday is July 10th and we raised a glass (or two) with her at O'Donnabahain in Kenmare.

We're still trying to keep up with all our toast obligations... so many of you have asked and we'll keep working on those requests.  Here's to Jean!

A Day at the Beach - Inch Beach

The sign should have read ' Motorcyclists Beware of Soft Sand'

After the recent stressful events of the morning we needed to 'chill-ax' at the beach. Despite the temperate weather the Irish enjoy their beach time probably even in the rain.

Jan even took some time out for surfing 'cowabunga dude'!!!