Dingle

Eric and I were in rough shape so we decided to skip hiking and spend the day in Dingle.  It turned out to be a rare full sun day, so all the locals were wearing shorts & sunbathing along the dock.  I bought pottery then shortly broke it in a grocery store because my gut reaction to tripping was to save the loaf of bread instead of the breakables.  Lunch was fish & chips from Reel Dingle Take Away (a little odd-tasting as they left skin on the fish before frying) and ice cream cones at Murphy’s.  Two things we noticed in Dingle:  most of the doors were painted bright colors AND the tourist shops had a lot of t-shirts with puffer birds wielding light sabers.  We never got a good answer for the doors, but we did learn that the new Star Wars franchise had filmed recently in the area and the locals were crazy fans at the moment.

Dingle is a music paradise, so of course we spent our evening listening to live music.

Annascaul to Dingle (20km/13.5mi)

This route was the second prettiest hike of the trip, with light rain off & on and a long stop at the rocky cliffs surrounding Minard Castle.  I could easily envision a Count of Monte Christo scene here or at the very least some smugglers bringing in French wine.  This was our third day straight of walking 10+miles, which we had NEVER done and these flat-landers were pretty sore early on that morning.  Dining options along our route were limited so when we stumbled on Kate’s Cross, a VERY tiny gas station/convenience store, we were thrilled with their simple offerings.  A table, some chairs, a toilet, and toasted ham & cheese sandwich with coleslaw — bliss!

At some point we reached a field where the instructions said walk across the field, but the entrance to this field had a large “beware bull” sign.  Needless to say, we moved quickly.  The last two miles before Dingle were beautiful, with hills full of sheep and rapidly moving rivers.  The road into Dingle, however, was a nightmare vertical walk straight down that seemed to last forever.

I had shin splints at this point & was so miserable that Eric claims I started muttering to myself and castigating the local livestock.

Camp to Annascaul (17km/11.5mi)

Hard rain on day 3 of our Dingle Way walk but it didn’t last all day & certainly made for gorgeous photos.  We went through a lot of farmland & river terrain and the hike downhill into Annascaul was hell on my ankles & Eric’s knees.  But again, we never really noticed the discomfort until the end.

We stopped at Sammy’s on Inch Beach for fish & chips w/mushy peas, Irish coffee, & hot cocoa with pink & white marshmallows.

For some reason, all the marshmallows in Ireland seem to be pink & white — anyone know why?

Once we arrived at our lodging we were beat so we took an afternoon snooze & missed dinner (unknown to us, the town stops serving dinner @ 8:30pm).  Yet again, our mistake turned into a gem.  Bedraggled & starving, we walked into Hannafin’s Bar just hoping for peanuts, & the bartender John immediately welcomed us & made us sit at the bar.