Ireland Day 6 - Dingle via Dunloe

Another fantastic day! Blue skies, empty roads, and Sarah only got us lost twice! But you never really get lost here, you merely experience the road less travelled and thats never a bad thing.

Although our destination was to the NW of Killarney, we wanted to drive the precarious 'Gap of Dunloe' despite the road being, in effect, one lane of steep incline with hairpin turns and small gravely shoulders every few hundred meters to pull over and let someone else pass (ie, the locals). We missed the initial route through the pass and took a secondary road - and I use the word road liberally here - up the mountains and back on track, and getting a real sense of the Kerry highland along the way. When the main road is two semi-paved tire tracks with grass running down the middle, you know you're doing it right.

We finished the loop and took a breath before heading towards Dingle. Dingle is ... amazingly perfect. Its a small seaside town with a lot to offer. Everything we couldn't find in other towns, is here with open arms. Not fifteen minutes after arriving we were pulling out on a boat to visit Fungie, the local dolphin who's been living in the harbour for 25 years. He swam alongside the boat while we toured around, although snapping a good photo proved challenging. We took the rest of the afternoon to walk the town and find a place to stay. We ended up with a fantastic room overlooking the harbour for less than we've been spending so far, and there is so much to do here that we've booked two nights.

Our dinner was the best yet, with local slow braised lamb shank and steak. We spent the rest of this perfect day in a pub a few doors down from the hotel, where two locals with acoustic guitars played traditional folk songs alongside renditions of all sorts of music, from Neil Young's Harvest Moon to Lady Gaga's Poker Face and everything in between. We stayed until the last song of the night and are now settling in for a well deserved sleep.

Lots planned for tomorrow! Breakfast bright and early~

PS Sarah maintains that we were never in fact lost, and that she knew exactly WHERE we were lost at all times. Also it is not her fault that the roads have no signs, and you're never quite sure which way is the road, and which is a driveway in the mountains :)