Dingle (Pt 1)

Dingle Peninsula tides and winds roll in like thunder. I've never heard such loud beaches. It's magnificent.

The trick to Dingle is getting there. You have to go through Limerick, an especially tortuous proposition when one of the main roads is closed, causing a traffic snarl across the entire town. Dingle itself, about 200 miles from Westport as the Irish roads twist and turn, lies nestled at the foot of the Conor Pass, on of the three ways in and out of the peninsula. The pass reduces down to a single lane at times, but also affords magnificent views:

Upon arrival, we shopped a bit and had dinner at a recommended seafood restaurant called Out of the Blue, the elegant bistro interior of which belied its wharfside shack facade:

As did the menu. While T. went for the whole sea bass, I started with six of the best oysters-on-the-half-shell I've ever had. From there, I went on to a "duo" of mackerel and sea bass fillets prepared in a lime-butter sauce. Regrettably, neither of us had room for dessert!

We toured the peninsula the next day, driving around Slea Head and beginning with stops at various viewpoints and the magnificent strand above.

Ring Fort.

Note the path, which starts from about where I took this picture. Less traveled thought it may be, we did not take it.

T. has more here...

The First Line is from Strumpet City, James Plunkett's fine novel centered on the 1913 general strike in Dublin. (Confidential to RE: Don't miss this one)...

Clifton writes about Common's The Corner on Just A Song:

When I was growing up the corners around my house were reserved for the older men to share a drink and discuss the good and bad aspects of life's journey. They wouldn't do anything but stand out there, talk loud, and yell at the children when they saw them doing something wrong...

Elysian Fields overpass...