Sharon and Jaya's 2003 Trip to Ireland - Day 5

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

We were up by 8:30 AM, and in to breakfast by 9. I had porridge―it was not quite oatmeal―creamier than oatmeal. It may have been Irish oatmeal. I also had the fruit & yogurt plate. Jaya had eggs and there was tea and Irish brown bread, just like at the other houses. We spent an hour eating breakfast and writing postcards. We wrote 24 postcards, between us, but could only mail 22, due to lack of addresses (!) and still have more people to write.

We got packed by 11 AM and drove into Dingle town. We went into the Tourist Information Center, and had them book us a room for tonight near Killarney. They also called the Killarney Gap Boat Tours for us and made reservations for tomorrow. It's an all day trip through the Gap of Dunloe. Partly by boat, partly by horse and carriage. They are going to pick us up from where we are staying at 10:15 tomorrow.

I bought a map of the Ring of Kerry, and asked how to get to the post office. The girl showed me on the map. Jaya was across the street getting fish & chips to-go for lunch. I told him I would walk to the post office and mail the postcards. He was waiting for the order. The trip to the post office was longer than I thought, partly because the side walks were only big enough for one person at a time and it was rather crowded. The shops were open today, and they were all charming.

I passed a large stone church that had an interesting carving on a tree, the Trinity Tree. I took some pictures of interesting shops and the narrow street.

Streets of Dingle

I bought 30 stamps for €17.30 and mailed the postcards. On the way back I stopped in a store that said they had art supplies―and bought some tracing paper and crayons to do some rubbings. And then I stopped in a linen shop (Dingle Linens) and bought a few gifts. The brochure (pasted in my journel) was from the B&B but it may have been the same place―it was on the same street.

I spent €20 and was given a form to submit to get my tax back. Taxes for Ireland are included in the prices, and Americans can get it refunded to them.

Sales Tax (VAT) Refunds
Non-European Union residents are entitled to a refund of Value Added Tax (VAT) on purchases they bring back home with them. Be sure to obtain the tax refund documentation from the store where the item is purchased. The refund is processed at the refund agency's counter at the airport of departure. A refund service charge is payable, and the balance due to you can usually be credited to your credit card account or paid in a currency of your choice.

Jaya was playing whistle in the car when I got back.

We got on the road, and made a stop just a little ways out of town at a beautiful green valley. Vista―with the yellow flower shrubbery [see also Day 3] (which happens to be very prickly) and sheep. We climbed down the stone wall, and did our Chi Gong & took some pictures.

We drove on, stopping once more for pictures of the bay.

We got to Glenbeigh on the Ring of Kerry and stopped at a picnic table for lunch. There was one of those hedgehog shoe brushes at the entrance to the park.

I almost put my foot on it when I saw its foot coming out behind it―it was a dead hedgehog! It looked exactly like the shoe brushes―I had never seen a real one before.

By the time we got back on the road it was about 3:00. We drove on to Cahersiveen and stopped at Daniel O'Connell park. [Sharon is a decendant of Daniel O'Connell.] We took pictures of the ruins of his birthplace and walked the little park and read the signs. There was a bust of him at the entrance to the park.

Then we drove on to Derrynane National Park and Derrynane House, where Daniel O'Connell had lived. It is a museum about him―but unfortunately, it was 4:30 when we got there and they were closing. All we could do, was take pictures of the house from outside, and walk around the grounds.

There was a ruin of an old stone fort,

and an ogham stone on the grounds.

We stopped in Caherdaniel for an ice cream. All I did was ask for an ice cream, and the proprietor asked me What part of America?. A bit taken aback, I told him, California. Oh, lovely, lovely. he said. I was in New york this past year. Of course it snowed 10 feet but it was lovely. How long are you staying? Eight days. Lovely. Are you enjoying yourself then? Oh yes. It's my first time here. Oh! Lovely! I hope you'll be back. Oh yes, I'm sure I will.

The woman in the tourist information shop used the word brilliant to mean good. She must have said it 15 times while whe as on the phone booking our room and Dunloe trip. And the woman at the Plough used grand. It seems whatever word each person likes to use, they use it over and over again.

I had wanted to stop at Kenmare to view the Druidic Standing Stone Circle, but it was getting late, so we drove straight to Kilarny. We got to the Woodlands B&B about 6:15. We are settled in. There is a TV in the room ―first time for that. Tea and coffee in the hall. Jaya turned on the TV for a minute. There were 5 channels, one in gaelic. One was a travelog of Ireland.

Oh, on the way here we did stop at LadiesView to take a picture.

Jaya sat in the car. All around this area, it was quite brown. I guess the vegetation in that area turns brown very quickly. It hasn't rained in a couple of weeks, they said.

We stayed in the room and had leftover fish & chips for dinner. Then walked downtown―about a mile. I called Andrew from a pay phone―it was 2:30 in the afternoon in California! He's doing fine. I told him to call Gramma, and Erica, and I would try to call again on Friday.

We found a traditional Irish music performance at a pub, and stopped in for the end of it.

It was more like a performance than the other sessions had been, but they were still whispering to each other between sets, to figure out what to play. There was a flute player―black wooden open hole with one key, banjo, button accordion and guitar. The banjo player was an order of magnitude better that I have ever heard, sounded like he was triple picking all the notes. The guy at MacDermott's Pub in Doolin was great but this kid dwarfed him. At one point the guitar player said in the mike, We've put in hours of rehersal for this gig.―after they'd been deciding what to play for a few minutes. The guitar player was playing traditional tuning with a capo, lots of fast changes and throwing in a baseline now and then. He was quite good. He did a solo slow air and nearly quited the house except for one rude table in the corner, who took a few minutes to settle down. This pub was not crowded at all, but the music ended at 11:00.

We walked by an ATM on the way home and I got cash for the trip tomorrow. It was a pleasant quiet walk back to the B&B.

Continued on Day 6.

[Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8] [Day 9] [Day 10]

Sharon and Jaya's 2003 Trip to Ireland

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