The Dingle Peninsula

NO TIME TO LOSE!! With only a week to get to Ireland, drive to the Dingle Peninsula, shoot a travel video, edit it, and turn it in before coming home in less than a week, jet lag is NOT an option! So day one was the toughest. My wife/travel companion/photographer/production partner Romona and I arrived in Shannon at 11am from a JFK red-eye. Normally, flights to Europe arrive EARLY in the morning, which leaves an entire day to suffer deliriously through if you want to sleep soundly that first night and get on track. So by the time we picked up our rental car, drove to Limerick (just 20 minutes away), got checked in, wandered around and shot a little footage of the city centre it was time to go to bed...too bad that was only 6pm...so we forced ourselves to stay up until 10pm, took a melatonin to reset the internal clock and didn't wake up until 9 hours later...SWEET!! As far as Limerick goes, it's way better than we expected. For us it was a place to stop and get situated before leaving for Dingle, but it turned out to be a perfect day trip city. Walking along the river Shannon seeing sites like St. Munchin's CHurch (1827), King John's Castle (1200s), Civic Park, and restaurants like the Oyster House @ the Loche are simple and satisfying...we even got to see brief moments of sun! We stayed in the Strand Hotel overlooking the river...it was comfy and it's apparently a pretty popular hub seeing that when I was checking out I ran into the outrageously rude flight attendant that ignored us for the entire flight over. I guess she was getting ready to head back and do it all over again. Good luck to her, we'll head to Dingle, just about three hours southwest of us.

Woke up to some of the grayest skies I can imagine. At least it's not raining. Wait, scratch that, yes it is. No worries, this was planned as a driving day anyway and we can always hope it's clear in Dingle. After driving on the fast route we made it to Dingle town in about 2 and a half hours. I actually like driving on the left side of the road, maybe it's because I'm left handed and right brained...who knows. At this point I was looking for any positive I could seeing that the rain and low lying clouds blocked my view of pretty much everything else. We checked into the Dingle Skellig Hotel, which was definitely a positive. Right on the harbor with warm. cozy and DRY rooms!! Between rain squalls Romona and I snuck in some shooting around DIngle Town, which is WAY busier than I remember. Heavy traffic (auto & pedestrian) going through town makes it apparent that the tourists have caught on to this quaint little place, but it still has plenty of charm. We happened upon the J Conner Bar on Main Street and had a blast getting to know some of the tipsy mid-day locals. If they weren't screaming Johnny Cash at the top of their lungs, then they were softly crooning old irish songs acapella style. Either way was entertaining for us...then again, when you're having a Guiness in Ireland, entertainment is easy! Another useful discovery was the grocery store delis. The US $ isn't worth much as a Euro in Ireland and the food can get expensive, but the deli in the back of most grocery stores offer really good sandwiches for around 3 euros (about $5 US), which beats the typical 10 to 15 Euro lunch at all the restaurants. The Slea Head Drive around the DIngle Peninsula is scheduled for tomorrow, so hopefully the weather will make it possible to shoot. We'll see!

Usually when my wife and I travel, we get pretty lucky with weather. But this is Ireland, which is NOTORIOUS for rain. In fact, we were told that they haven't even seen the sun in Dingle for a couple of weeks, so we weren't holding our breath for the country drive today, but this morning, the sun was actually peaking out, so our streak continues! I have to admit, there was a sense of urgency throughout most of the morning. I felt like this was a trick and that the clouds were going to sneak in an pour rain on us at any moment so I was shooting like crazy trying to get a jump on it...luckily it never did rain...the sun actually came out in full force a few times...so we were able to see the Slea Head drive the way it was meant to be seen. The Slea Head Drive is one of the most famous day trips in Ireland. It starts and finished in Dingle Town and makes a cirlcle around the peninsula. You can do the whole route in a couple of hours, but if you want to stop and see the sights (which you will), then give yourself 5 to 7 hours. We were told that the tour buses all go counterclockwise, so you should go clockwise to avoid getting stuck behind them, but that wasn't the case at all. They all seemed to be going clockwise with us, but with so much to stop and see, I never once felt the need to get around a slow moving bus. In the seaside town of Ventry you reach the open coast. From here we first stopped at Dunbeg fort (500bc) which was historic, but fairly anti-climatic. Then the Bee Hive Huts (2000bc) which were much more interesting to see. After straddling a winding cliff road, through a little river and around a bend we reached Slea head, which is basically a pull off that overlooks the Atlantic and is marked by a crucifixion statue. From here you get great view of the Blasket Islands, the Sleeping Giant, Dunmore head, and the Three Sisters. STUNNING. After cutting through more open countryside you find options like the wine strand, and historic stops like the Gallarus Oratory, which is made out of nothing but stones and is thought to be somewhere in the 900-1200 years old. As you reach the north end of the drive, go left into Brandon Creek to see where St. Brandon shoved off to America. Centuries before Columbus did. From there you drive along the base of Mt. Brandon until you meet up with the main road back to Dingle Town. What can I say? A day well spent!!

OK, remember when I said I saw the grayest skies I could imagine back in Limerick? This morning blew that away. The clouds were so thick we couldn't see more than 300 yards in front of us. Even if we COULD see enough to shoot anything, the heavy wind and rain made sure that that wasn't an option. Luckily I think we got what we needed yesterday in order to complete a rough cut on Dingle and the Slea Head Drive. So I spent the morning finishing my rough cut that I had worked on late into last night. After submitting that, we took a walk from the hotel to a little stone tower just a kilometer or so down the harbor coast. Kind of erie not being able to even see it until we got right up on it! As we looked out in the harbor we caught a few glimpses of Fungi the local celebrity dolphin...and we didn't even have to pay for a tour!;) After lunch we took a short drive east of Dingle Town to visit the Minard Castle, which is a castle ruin right along a cobblestone beach. The dreary weather actually added to the mood and overall experience. That's the irony of Ireland...

After making a few minor changes and getting the OK on my rough cut, Romona and realize we don't have any pick up shots to gather, so we decided to check out the Ring of Kerry, which is the more heavily trafficked peninsula just below Dingle. I was told that it is much more touristy than Dingle, which is why I didn't do it the last time I was here...but the sun is shining today, so why not take a look? As it turns out, the Ring of Kerry is every bit as beautiful as Dingle. The highlight for us were the lakes of Killarney. If you're looking to get away from all the tourists and tour buses, then I suggest the Skellig Ring that shoots right off the ring of Kerry out to the western points of the peninsula. Tour buses aren't allowed, and the coastal views are beyond beautiful. These are by far the most dramatic sea cliffs you'll find in Ireland without going up to the Northwest coast. But if there's anything I've learned about Ireland, it's smaller than you think, so wherever you're going, you'll get there before you know it!

The sun is gone again today, but we've seen what we came to see and leave Dingle today completely satisfied. We have room to breathe so we take the scenic route back towards Shannon by going over the Conor Pass and along the coast North. It's worth the drive with plenty of abbeys, castles, friarys, forts and beaches along the way, but they hardly compare to the peninsulas! We pulled into the Bunratty Manor Hotel after 4 or 5 hours of driving and after a nice dinner we packed up to head home! Ultimately, Ireland was as success, bad weather and all. Even if I lived here, I don't think the weather could ever overshadow the beauty of this country....seriously, the grass is ALWAYS greener in Ireland!

After oversleeping, we frantically shoved an Irish breakfast down our throats and race to our 11:35am flight out of Shannon. US customs was done before we left so we don't have to that when we hit JFK, but with a 5 hour layover, it may have been nice to have something to do...eh, I'll be happy just to make it home safely.