Ring of Kerry

Today I left Kenmare around half nine (that's Irish for 9.30). The sun wasn't shining, but that didn't bother me a bit. I got a bit sunburned yesterday, so I welcomed the clouds.

My first stop along the Ring of Kerry was a town called Sneem. There was a family festival starting today. I saw a sign saying "Wife carrying" there as well. Maybe it was the Irish qualification for the world championships in Finland. I didn't investigate further. I had a nice breakfast in the Village Kitchen restaurant and continued on my way.

I saw two really nice beaches on the way. The first one was a quiet one in Castlecove and the other a busy and commercial looking one closer to Caherdaniel. I didn't stop to swim. It was a nicer weather for cycling than it was for swimming. I have to do that at some point still. I just heard from two guys sitting next to me that there are many more amazing beaches to come on the north coast of the ring.

I saw some Celtic history today. I visited the Staigue stone fort. It was an impressive sight and worth climbing the four kilometers of small road off my route. It's a 30 meter diameter, 6 meter high circular fort made of stone only. No mortar used at all and it's still standing after at least 2000 years. That's what I call skilled building.

After leaving the fort, I had a long climb ahead of me. The view from the top after Caherdaniel was one of the best so far on my tour. I hope the photos came out good.

Now I'm sitting in a pub in Waterville charging (electricity for my mobile and Guinness for me). There's a statue of Charlie Chaplin here in town, because he used to spend a lot of time here. I can understand why, it's not the worst possible place to go to...

I'll continue for a while still, but I'm waiting for the photos to upload first. The wifi in this pub seems to be a bit on the slow side and today there's more to upload than yesterday. I'm heading toward Ballinskelligs, but after another hour or so of cycling I'll start looking for a suitable spot for my tent.

Tomorrow the sequel: The north of the Ring of Kerry.