i'm a creature of habit. i like to do things the way i do things. it's a vice and a way of survival for me. case in point-- it's gorgeous out, but my creature of habit has taken over-- an internet cafe and a cup of tea beats out a walk around dingle, at least for the time being. maybe because i'm alone i need to be linked up, maybe because i need me time in this huge amount of me time i'm having in ireland. i need time to focus and see what's happening in the world through the news, my email, my blog.
so where to start? kinsale was lovely. i really enjoyed talking to the women who worked at my b&b. we met nearly every day for tea and biscuits and conversation. it made my time there really special and i finally felt like i'd made a connection with someone. so that's cool. monday morning i came down to breakfast and met a mother and son traveling together-- T and K-- he's a student in dublin and she was here for a visit. they had a car and invited me for a drive and i said yes. it was wonderful! i saw places i normally wouldn't have seen on the bus or even on a tour. we went to courtmacsherry, clonakilty, timoleague-- places i'd never heard of. it was a treat tooting around in a car and having new company to trade stories. i've developed a love for irish pottery and we stopped at a tiny shop and bought some. they reminded me of myself and dad traveling together-- adventurous, appreciative, fun-- the kind of people who say, let's turn down this road, who knows where it will lead? we saw an ancient stone circle at drombeg and it didn't rain. cool all around.
yesterday-- tuesday-- i caught a bus from kinsale to cork, then cork to tralee, then tralee to here (dingle). it took about five hours total and luckily i didn't have to wait at any station for more than 10 minutes (although that meant i missed lunch which always throws me off mood-wise). the ride from tralee to dingle was one of the most breathtaking sights i've seen in my life. it's up there with a drive from salerno to positano on the amalfi coast with my dad four years ago, and up there with the train ride i took from verona to salzberg-- the kind of drive where you're glued to the window and wish you had your camera and think holy shit how is it possible for there to be so much beauty in the world? it was hill after rolling hill in the most fabulous shade of green; grazing sheep, a bluff overlooking the atlantic, a windy narrow road with no guard rail and barely enough room for one car let alone two. that drive was worth my trip to ireland.
when i arrived in dingle i was wiped-- the bus is fun and all but being on one nonstop for five hours does get a little tiring. the woman from the b&b picked me up at the bus stop, which was nice. when i called for rooms a couple of weeks ago, i was passed around from b&b to b&b-- every place was full and gave me another number to call and say, tell 'em mary told ya to call! i finally got a room at one. it's not in my guide book so i realized i had no idea what to expect and hoped for the best.
well. it's ... interesting. wood paneling and damp and with a flick of a switch the illuminated fireplace came on. a million trophies line a wall-- mostly boxing and track-- and a photo of two ginger-haired lads in the corner. her sons, now in their 30s, who won all the trophies. a puppy in the back of the house-- harvey. my room is hot pink and the bathroom was added a couple years ago-- it's not really a bathroom per se but more of a toilet-portable-shower-dealie- thingee. tv is broken but that's no biggie. we had some tea. she's darling but has the gift of gab.
then J arrived. she's from pittsburg, just flew into town, a second grade teacher, all energy, with a car. i went off with her and we scored tickets to a folk music concert tonight. J's been to this area bunches of times and knows a whole lot of things to do which she suggested to me at speed rates. my head was spinning. we had pizza. she tried to call home. she was in search of pub music. i said (creature of habit that i am), i need to chill out for an hour, take off my shoes, look in my guidebook, read a newspaper, have some tea.
it was the solstice last night-- the night when the door between the fairy world and the human world gets blurry. i had to get out and walk. it was a lovely breezy spooky night but i saw no fairies. i probably would have freaked out if i did. i met up with J at about 11 and we headed home. i slept like shit. it was so cold in my room that i slept with my hat on. everything feels so damp. the sun's out today so i'll dry out. a trail is calling my name. tea is almost done. and i booked another b&b for friday and saturday nights so i'm only in wood paneling for two more nights.
i can taste the atlantic.