Day 8 Evening: The Cliffs of Moher were awesome! We have heard this place talked up so much since arriving in Ireland that it started to sound like a tourist trap, but we were gladly mistaken! This has to be one of the most incredible natural things I have ever seen, and easily gets a top 10 spot for the trip log. We went out that night to hear some of the live music that the nearby town of Doolin is known for, but found the 2 pubs to be packed to the gills with anyone and everyone but the Irish...it turns out that Irish people don't really like Irish music. We listened for a while in one of the pubs, and then went outside to enjoy the sunset and a nice Irish evening. There was a pizza box on our table, and after the standard and acceptable length of time, we found it to be very tasty...we wondered to ourselves over this delicious meal just how fine the line is between backpacking and homelessness. We wound up chatting with a New York Fireman and his wife, who bought us each a pint of Guinness upon leaving, which put the icing on a very nice and cheap night.
Day 9: We walk our bikes up a considerable hill to leave town; we cursed it today but had praised it in the other direction 2 days ago....We had a goal in mind today to reach Listowel (about 100 K), where we had a couchsurf waiting for us. The weather was nice and we got to ride a ferryboat over the Shannon! Marshmallow dolphins on board only 40 cents! Ann, our host, showed us amazing hospitality with a warm meal and a great night out at the pub. Possibly the best Irish music listening we've had so far. Listowel is not well known, and yet again it turns out the best experiences are off the beaten path.
Day 10: We hang around in Listowel and get a private free tour of the castle, rested our cycling bums and took advantage of the cheap grocery store in town to provision for the next few days.
Day 11: We made it to Tralee in no time after the day of rest, and continued on to the Dingle Peninsula via the coastal road to avoid the mountains. We found the Inch Peninsula (Peninsula on a Peninsula) on recommendation from Rachel and John, (hi guys) and pitched our tent in the dunes behind the peninsular beach. Luckily, just before we started to set up camp, we were kindly told by one of the other campers that we could not camp here. He was here camping "for a reason, I can't tell you the reason, but here for a reason." He was surprised when we sweet talked the farmer into letting us stay the night...disaster averted. Peninsula!
Day 12 -14: The weather turned for the worse, as it often does here. We got some sweet sweet internet in the cafe and saw that it was to be very wet for the next several days. The memory of the last downpour still fresh in our minds, we grudgingly changed course and headed away from the Ring of Kerry to Killarney. Renowned as the ring is for scenery, we knew better than to try and see it in the pouring rain with soggy spirits. So anyhow, we are here in Killarney, toured another castle during a brief dry patch, and are hiding from the rain in the tent. It should be over tomorrow and we'll be headed for Cork!
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