MacsTravel Blog

Vagabond, the company we are using on this 8 day tour of The Wild Atlantic Way, have what I would describe as a free range travel approach. There is a lovely place for us to sleep each night, breakfast is provided, and a loose itinerary is presented for the day. Within that structure, however, we have all sorts of choice as to the type and level of activity. So while a couple of folks headed off to kayak around Kenmare Bay, we headed into Killarney national park for a lovely morning hike.

Killarney

Killarney used to be the estate of a very wealthy Irishman who went broke trying to live the lifestyle of a lord. Fortunately, the estate has been preserved as a national park, and it is spectacular. Rivers, streams, lakes, mountains, forests and moss. Moss everywhere.

The Ring of Kerry and Derrynane

After picking up the kayak crew and grabbing lunch in Kenmare we headed deeper into Kerry, exploring what’s popularly known as the Ring of Kerry. It’s a little more densely populated than the Beara Peninsula: lots of appealing little villages. We stopped at Derrynane, the former home of the legendary Irishman Daniel O’Connell, a man who is credited with starting the modern movement to liberating the Irish people from political, economic and cultural oppression by the British. His home sits right on the coast.

The home also had some spectacular gardens with an astonishing range of beautiful hydrangeas.

For us the highlight of the estate was the namesake Derrynane Beach. Absolutely wonderful.

The Skelligs

Our last stop of the day was Portmagee, where 12 of our group of 13 were booked for a cruise out to the Skellig islands. These two rocky outcrops off the coast are a UNESCO heritage site, not because of their use in two Star Wars films as an inhospitable planet where Luke spends some quiet time, but because Skellig Michael, the larger of the two, was the site of an early Christian monastery, a fact that seems irrational if not impossible when you view the islands in person. Currently the islands are inhabited by 70, 000 nesting birds.

At this point I will confess that I was the one person in the group who decided against making the trip. These are choppy seas, with Newfoundland being the next bit of land past the Skelligs. Despite the Maritime heritage of both my parents we were not a nautical household by any stretch, and I do not have a seaworthy stomach. I wrestled with this decision for some time but it proved to be the right call as a number of folks disembarked feeling a little queasy, more in some cases than others.

Stevie had suggested that I might want to go off on a hike to the Kerry cliffs, which offered dizzying views of the Skelligs. Unfortunately, he was right at the limit of his legally allowable driving time, so we raced along a narrow country lane, periodically swerving into the ditch to allow oncoming traffic to pass (farmers in tractors, terrified French and German tourists), before depositing me at the foot of the climb up to the cliff edge. Tossing me a high vis vest to wear on the 3km walk back to the village, Stevie tore off back to the hotel so he could park the bus and clock out just under the wire. I climbed up and experienced some breathtaking views.

I put on my high vis vest and made my way back along the road to the hotel, dodging farmers in tractors and terrified French and German tourists, while thinking to myself that this was not the scenario most people imagined when planning a trip with a boutique travel company.

Meanwhile, Robin and the rest of the gang were making their way out to the Skelligs through choppy seas: “Not the best day but not the worst” proclaimed the 24 year old skipper, a comment that did not reassure those on board. She then proceeded to chastise her 16 year old unqualified brother for navigating the rolling waves incorrectly. Again, I made the right call.

However the photos were spectacular.

Robin and the crew returned from their sea voyage and I returned from my brief cameo as a wandering crossing guard to our hotel, and a late dinner as a group, which was terrific. Nice to see how the group dynamics are developing so positively.

Next stop, Dingle!