The Rings of Ireland

Sometimes I struggle writing these because I don't know how to make a semi uneventful day seem exciting. Sometimes I struggle because I don't know how to put amazing thing into words when pictures don't do it justice. Today, the unexpected intersection of these struggles have met. 

The morning began quietly. Stef wanted to work on some writings and Florian wasn't hungry. So I enjoyed a quiet breakfast looking at the sunrise awaken the green hills. It was pretty much the ultimate peaceful morning. 

When the boys rallied, we headed to the car. Our plan for the day was to drive the Ring of Kerry. This is a coastal road along the southwest edge of Ireland. While beautiful and amazing, hard to write stories about. 

Florian predicted it would take us a while considering how Stef and I view scenery. Sure enough the squeals of excitement constantly urged Florian to pull over. One side of the car had water lapping at cliffs and beaches. The other side showed sheep and stone walls decorating the hillsides. The stone walls were the fencing for the farms. They weren't quite effective any more. But back in the day, farmers would take rocks from their land and use it to make a fence. Time has eroded them and it is now a useless defense against sheep. Which means we got some visitors on our drive. 

(That's not blood. It's paint for finding your sheep.)

We also saw wild horses. Or so we thought. Tonight while reading the news, we discovered the drastic increase of horses being released into the wild because the can't be financially supported anymore. Or instead of paying for a vet bill, owners will just release the sick horse to the wild to let nature take its course. We watched the horses for a bit. I saw one horse had a lame foot and was barely moving. Being a bit of an emotional horse person right now, I made Florian continue on. A sad situation to say the least. 

As we drove along, Stef and I would ask Florian to stop often. Florian would oblige- even if it meant stopping for seconds in the middle of the road so we could get the shot. We would find beaches, run around for a bit, then keep driving till we found another cool spot. We even found a castle ruin named McCarthy Castle! 

As the road continued, we passed a small sign that said "Holy Well." I excited exclaimed "Holy Well!" Florian sternly told me to watch my mouth. Once I explained, Stef told Florian to turn around. We parked and walked down the narrow path. We had no idea what we would find! What could it be? Little signs led us down the muddy path, through the green dense forest. I enjoyed the forest most of all because as we arrived at the "Holy Well" I was a bit disappointed. It was a little tiny spring of water. Around it people had hung pictures of deceased loved ones. People had also hung any personal items from hairbands to masks to necklaces. I'm not sure what the idea was behind it. I searched online for information on it but found none. If anyone knows anything about this concept, I'd love to know! But as for then, I enjoyed the picturesque walk through the forest. 

We continued our drive. The sunset was nonexistent as the clouds had set in over the ocean. The three musketeers settled into the hotel room in Tralee. I went downstairs to the pub to enjoy a Guiness as the boys worked upstairs. I talked with the bartender for a while. He is a born and raised Irish. He advised on jet lag, storms in Ireland, and best times to visit what. A great conversation to end a great  day!