Killarney Plaza Staircase Group Photo
Sunday 2nd November 2014 – Killarney, Ring of Kerry & Skellig Experience
Jaunting Cars
A beautiful cold morning in Killarney and we had a little bit of a later start for breakfast in The Plaza and then our first activity. I forgot to mention that I worked out that in the cold climate my iPhone really does not like charging properly regardless of what it is connected to. A way around this I have found is best to have a portable USB charger and warm the phone up by either putting it on the heater for a few minutes until it registers the charger, using the motel hair-dryer and pointing it at the cable connection to warm it up until it registers the charger or (as I did in England) putting it in a warm place such as inside an ugg boot. I just thought I would share those handy tips in case you come across a similar problem in colder weather. So with my phone and camera fully charged, and after we got the photo on the million euro staircase in the Plaza (not sure if the gold flecks were actually gold but it’s hard to see why it should cost that amount and we had a few missing as some slept in and of course we left others in Scotland) it was off to experience the Jaunting Cars (horse and carriage rides).
Me & Marissa up in the front
Killarney is a small country town but a nice pretty town itself and the views around are quite spectacular and so despite the cool weather we were really looking forward to this. I found a carriage with Bill, Mary and the Canadian family and joined Marissa up the front of the carriage for a ride. The driver Cal asked if I needed a hand up but as soon as he pointed out where I could step on the wheel I climbed up easily enough by myself.
In the carriage
It was at this point that they started asking who the single traveller was, and as I mentioned before I was the only one travelling by myself and the rest were pairs, four or a group of three, and that the single one had to ride with Michael as the driver. Well I figured it must have been a numbers thing and went over to join the other cart. Ron was already up the front and the others were already in the back so Ron went to move to the middle and let me sit on the outside. However this is when I then saw Michael who was on the ground getting the horse ready and he replied “No, no, Colleen you need to sit in the middle and then you will be like a rose between two thorns.” Haha okay this is the moment I then realised what they meant by ‘the single one’ as I sat in the middle and wondered if it was David the bus driver who had dobbed me in or not but was certain this was sure to be an interesting carriage ride. I chatted with the others in the cart as of course it really didn’t bother me that I had moved as I enjoyed talking to everyone on our trip and as Kevin and I finished our conversation Michael climbed up to take the reins and introduce himself. I must admit it was nice to see a man dressed in jeans and boots again and I was starting to feel a lot more at home. Now a lot of Americans, Kevin especially, and even some Australian television shows pronounce my name more ‘Carleen’ and it was through my explanation to Michael when he asked how to say and spell my name that I learned the Irish spelling for Colleen is ‘Cailín’ and I guess that is where the different pronunciation comes from. Michael was a great conversationalist from the start with his jokes and explanations and we all really enjoyed the ride while we admired the impressive view from his company car.
Killarney Golf Course
I asked Michael how long he had been at his job for and he replied that it was his first day but not to worry that we were in good hands. I believed that it was his first day but wasn’t at all worried as I knew enough about horses to know that they would all practically drive themselves and I certainly know how to make a horse stop if I needed. So then I asked what he did yesterday then if it was his first day on the job today and he laughed and replied that he was a fifth-generation driver with his family’s company and that he had been doing his job fifteen years. Haha yes I should have known better, my excuse is I was on holidays.
Driving the jaunting car
However Michael never missed a beat keeping the conversation and the jokes flowing. We stopped at one of the 9 golf courses and it was here that he explained the GOLF acronym and the 18 shots in a whiskey bottle that I mentioned in my previous blogs. You could also see the mountains in the distance (the rain hadn’t started yet) and Michael explained that if you can see the mountains that is a sign it is going to rain. “Okay. Then what does it mean if you can’t see the mountains?” I asked. “Well that means it is already raining!” Haha I take my hat off to you Michael – you got me twice! He offered to let me drive however having ridden many horses before (and knowing that was too good an excuse for a man I just met to be able to touch my hands to guide me to steer – yes mother I do listen) I passed the reins over to Ron so he could steer for a bit (however I had to guide him a little with him having no experience and Michael enjoyed watching and keeping the conversation going). We passed the reins back, but after a little while Michael offered them to be again and after I assessed that Michael was clearly a nice guy I steered the cart for a bit (not realising until the end that I was the only one offered this option – haha yes I have always been a bit slow with these kinds of hints).
We continued to drive through Killarney National Park and onto Ross Castle set on Lough Leane. Michael explained that we were in no danger of snakes in Ireland as St Patrick got rid of the snakes long ago – well except for the politicians that is! (I did tell you the Irish had a good sense of humour and poor Michael is going to have to get some more jokes now after I have revealed them all to you – sorry Michael!). He explained that politicians are like bananas…. they are green at the start and not one of them are straight! Michael kept us all laughing and the cart in front of us (the one I was first in) also broke out into laughter at times and so it seemed all the drivers were good with entertaining their passengers. It started to rain a little and get cold and Michael made sure we had blankets to stay warm as he explained that he works eight days a week (haha I think I have heard that from my family before!).
Ross Castle
Lots of flooding around in Ireland too
We stopped at the castle and the rain was a lot heavier as I got the camera out to get some photos and then quickly came back to the carriages to put it away (not worth water damage to the camera). As I came back I realised I didn’t have a photo of the horse Daisy and took a photo as Michael came over to check that I was alright and offered to take a photo of me with Daisy. I asked if I could get a photo with him as well when he cheerily replied that he would get Cal (one of the other drivers – the one I started with) to come and take the photo for us as he called out to the other two having a break huddled in the carriages they had covered up to block out the rain. Now Cal is quite an older man and he came bounding out of the carriage smiling with his false teeth and I was starting to wonder why he was so happy to take our photo. As he tried different angles and was clearly taking his time Cal said that Michael was looking for a wife and asked if Michael had told me that. I replied honestly that no he hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort and that is when Cal replied that he heard I was single! Haha and that is when everything finally made sense to me. I replied that I promised my grandmother I wouldn’t fall in love with an Englishman and we agreed that an Irishman was much different – however the concept of living on the other side of the world still applied. I must admit Cal was being a pretty good wingman but they left me be as I packed away the camera and then ran to catch up to the others to have a look at the ABC and I was glad to have the excuse to run a little as I was frozen in that rain out of the blanket. Yes I was wearing a dress but when you pack lightly there are only so many pairs of jeans you can pack and so much time you have to do washing on a short trip.
Posing with Daisy
Daisy, Michael and Me (yes that’s Michael’s hat on Daisy – I did tell you he had a good sense of humour)
Cal & Ally
We enjoyed the ride back as the rain settled down a bit and we were delivered to our bus ready for most of us to embark on the Ring of Kerry drive while the others explored Killarney at their leisure. Michael graciously gave me a hand-down although I think I shocked him a little when I used the hand he offered me to jump down (as I do from the back of utes or trucks) rather than daintily climb down and then he helped all of us cross the street after we took some photos and said goodbye to the horses. Michael also said the company Killarney Jaunting Cars was on facebook and for us to like them and rate their driver, and said that he would possibly see us later for a drink – he’d bring Daisy. As I hopped onto the bus I wondered if that would be true as I was pretty sure we had no plans for tonight and therefore I wasn’t sure where he thought he was meeting us. We started on our drive through the breathtaking sights of mountains and coastal views and so with the wi-fi back on the bus I did find the company page and write a review.
View from the bus
Irish sheep
We enjoyed looking at the countryside as we drove on the bus and were grateful to be back in the heating for a while. We went past a 350 year old cottage with the old-fashioned split door and saw oghan inscriptions (old Irish language). Now I am not sure I mentioned before but everyone in Ireland has to learn Gaelic (Irish Language) while in primary school at least and it is recognised as the first language of Ireland and anything from Europe is printed in both Gaelic and English for those in Ireland. However a lot of people forget it as if you don’t use it you lose it (such as the Japanese I used to know) and Michael mentioned that he didn’t know any so he never spoke a word of it. Cal (his wingman) on the other hand told quite a different story to his passengers. Now apparently Michael and I were quite the subject of conversation for Cal in the carriage I started with, which was proof when I was asked a few questions by the others. Mary explained that Cal was telling them that Michael would say ‘such and such’ (whatever it is in Gaelic that is) and then say that it means “You have beautiful eyes”, then he would say ‘whatever it is in Gaelic’ and then say that it means “You are a beautiful girl.” Then Cal said he would finish by telling me ‘something in Gaelic again’ but then when I asked what did it mean he would reply “I’ll tell you in the morning.” Well this was too much for my adopted grandmother Mary and she vowed then that she would keep Michael well away from me! (Poor Michael you have to remember that he never said anything in Gaelic to me nor anything like that at all, and it was only Cal who ever said anything like that but it certainly added a good element to the story and explained why a lot of the time they looked back at us before they laughed!). Now after I wrote the review Michael added me on facebook and we had a few conversations and I can tell you now that he certainly got his payback on Cal for us being the butt of a joke (but I won’t reveal how)!
350 year old cottage
Ogham (old Irish language)
King Puck
Skilleg experience
We continued on the Ring of Kells and could see Misch mountain as David called it and therefore according to Michael’s weather predictions it was going to rain soon. We stopped at a store and they served us Irish coffee while we browsed (now I don’t like coffee and not the biggest fan of whiskey but I tried it and it wasn’t bad and tasted like chocolate, coffee and a little bit of whiskey) and we were certainly grateful it was nice and warm (I enjoyed holding mine more than drinking it). We kept driving and went across a bridge to Valencia Island to visit the Skellig Experience (which is in a building made to blend into the landscape. However I could pick it miles off as the roof was just covered in grass. However the grass was a different shade to the green grass around it. Nevertheless other people found it hard to see at a distance and I am not sure if that is because they didn’t realise what they should look for or I have just had more experience at looking at grass at a distance – good long distance eyesight can certainly save you time and energy when mustering cattle).
Skilleg Monastery
The Skellig experience described the austere lives of early Christian monks on the nearby islands. In better weather you can go and visit the islands and see where these monks spent many hundreds of years living on the island away from people so they could be closer to God. They carved 400 steps and built places to live and a chapel. The monks lived mainly off what birds or an occasional seal they could kill and traded these with merchants who sailed through. We had a lovely lunch and admired the gift shop when a great downpour started (I guess the mountain weather prediction works 😉 ) that some people suffered through. The Irishman running the establishment told us it would be over in 30 seconds and to just wait so we waited and sure enough pretty much dead on 30 seconds it eased right up so I could even take some photos before hopping onto the bus again.
View from Skellig Experience
We then continued our journey around the Ring of Kells and David informed us they have an unwritten agreement with the other coaches and touring companies that they all go the one way (anticlockwise I think it was) to limit the amount of traffic that passes each other on the small roads. He also informed us that in some places there were no last names and that when there is an ‘O’ in front of a name it means ‘Of the Clan’ therefore “O’Connor” means they are from the Connor clan. We took in the views of the Lakes of Killarney and what they now refer to as ‘The Ladies’ View’ which stems from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting during their 1861 visit. We certainly were reminded that we were in Ireland by the rainbows, the green grass, the ‘Leprechaun’s crossing’ sign and the deer you could see throughout the national park.
Back over the bridge
Easily see the stone walls in the paddocks
More flooding
Back to Killarney
We got back and were on our own for dinner. I asked Michael a few places he recommended and he gave a few suggestions one being a nice Irish restaurant down the street but recommended getting reception to call first to see if they were open. I met Bill and Mary at their room and we decided to try it, after having read some good reviews online, however reception was busy when we got there so we thought we would try our luck. It was of course now pouring rain and so the walk down the street wasn’t too pleasant and when we got there we saw it was closed and the sign said they weren’t open on Sundays. So we went back and found a nice restaurant where we sat and shared some really nice pizzas that were clearly freshly made. We then decided to go and find a bar so Mary and Bill could say they experienced an Irish singing bar. As I was walking along I said “G’day” to a man walking past and realised that was the first time I had said that out of habit since leaving Australia and it was clear that I was feeling quite at home in Killarney (what made it even more strange was the man was actually in full Scottish attire including a kilt – and we were in Ireland). We didn’t hear any singing in the pubs but as we went past one we saw Kevin and Carrie sitting inside and so we joined them. As soon as we sat down and had a chat Mary and Bill decided they would go back and made me promise to stay with Kevin and Carrie (I think Mary was worried that I was going to be abducted without them and was relieved she didn’t have to stay at the bar long). There was an American grid iron game on the TV in the bar and an Irishman asked if he could join our table with the good view of the screen. He eventually mentioned something about it being a silly game and I agreed with him. I then had to explain the rules of rugby league to Kevin and Carrie, to explain that the game we were watching was called grid iron and not what every country called football. Also they had taken the free-time in Killarney option and had come across a rugby-league game but were at a total loss as to what was happening or how they were keeping score. We then had a discussion about the different sports that were popular in different countries and I found that not one of the Americans on my trip knew what netball was. I had to google it and show them that it was an Olympic sport and that they had a national organisation in America. Kevin is a huge basketball fan and he asked if high-top shoes were worn and when I replied that only the basic joggers were usually worn he stated that there must be a lot of rolled ankles. Having rolled my ankle for the first time at the start of the year when I started playing netball I had to agree with him! Kevin informs me that a player who used to be a soccer player who turned to basketball tried to wear normal running shoes and rolled his ankle playing so instead had to get used to wearing high-tops – I may just have to look into that instead of having to strap my ankle – thanks Kevin. We had a good time talking and Shamus (the Irishman) was good company and of course we bonded of our mutual dislike of how unfriendly the English are and how friendly the Irish are (as of course I had to agree that an Englishman wouldn’t normally sit down and start a conversation like that and that Ireland and Australia seemed to be quite similar in many ways. Kevin and Carrie still hadn’t anything to eat so we ended up back at the same restaurant Bill and Mary and I ate at while we swapped stories and I showed them some photos and videos of home. It was a great night and we didn’t stay out too late ready for another big day tomorrow (although I was quite sad knowing it would be my last full day in Ireland).
What could have easily been the logo for our trip!
Heading out (before the layers)
Coll's Travels 