Ring of Kerry: The Sequel

If you already didn't see the picture of my last night's campsite, you should take a look at it in yesterday's folder. I thought that the campsite in Allihies was the best ever, but I was wrong. I slept next to the beach in Ballinskelligs. The calm waves hitting the beach and the ruins of an old monastery close to my tent made the place even cozier than the one in Alliehies. The only surprising thing was that I woke up a couple of times feeling very cold. The temperature apparently dropped quite down. I don't have actual figures though. Might just as well have been the haunting ghosts of the monastery monks.

I had the toughest climb so far right in the morning. Going up the hill between Ballinskelligs and Portmagee made me pant like never before. Coming down the hill I hit a new speed record on my tour as well, 71 km/h. So the climb was worth the effort!

I had my first break right after the speed record. There was a sign saying: "See the most amazing cliffs in Kerry" and I decided to have a look. The entrance fee was four euros, but the cliffs were quite amazing and worth the fee. I had a lovely piece of caramel cake with some good coffee in the cafe next to the cliffs afterwards.

I was in Portmagee very soon and I only stopped quickly on the Valentia island bridge to take a picture of the town I'd passed. I decided against going on a boat tour to the Skellig rocks. It would have taken the whole day and I've had enough of boats for a while anyway. It would have been amazing, I'm sure, but I can't see everything.

The Valentia island has played an interesting part in the history of global communication. It was where the transatlantic telegraph cable connected the old and the new world in 1866. The first attempt failed eight years earlier, but the second attempt connected Valentia island with eastern Newfoundland.

Another interesting thing I saw on the island was the Valentia slate quarry grotto. An old quarry site has been turned into a beautiful shrine (see the pictures). The Valentia slate was very famous in the mid 19th century and it was used in many big building projects of the time. It was also known as an excellent material for making billiard table tops.

I left Valentia by a car ferry from Knightstown and had a lunch break in Cahirciveen. I found the town a bit too touristy and nothing special, so I kept going eastward.

Just before Glenbeigh I took a few nice pictures of the Dingle peninsula (tomorrow more) and of some amazing hills and their hundreds of shades of green.

Now I'm in a farm hostel just outside Killorglin. I decided to have a night in a real bed again. I feel like I'm in need of a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow I'll head to the last of the the three big peninsulas, the Dingle. What I've heard so far, it should get interesting. The bad news is, there's going to be some rain again... After a sunny day like today it feels kind of bad. I am a positive thinker though. At least I won't need any of my sticky sunscreen tomorrow!