M's Adventures in Austria: “Between salt water and the sea strand…” (Ireland, April 10: Dingle Peninsula)

We decided to visit more of the coast by exploring the Dingle Peninsula. The westernmost end is a “Gaeltacht” – an area where Irish is the predominant language. According to our host, many children come to be tutored in Gaelic here. (Click pictures to enlarge.)

On our way out of the Killarney area, we stopped to see a group of standing stones engraved with Ogham – a form of writing consisting of lines and strokes which was present in Ireland when Christianity came in the 5^th century. Each stone has a name inscribed on it, and may have been used as a grave marker.

Our next stop was Inch Strand. A “strand” is a beach, which soon became pretty clear to all our native German speakers, because it’s the same word in German! It’s a pretty long beach, and some people even drove their cars out to park on the sand! When we arrived it was raining sporadically, but by the time we got out, the clouds had rolled back and we actually got a bit of sun.

P was the first to take off his socks and shoes, and Tiny was quick to follow. After getting lots of shots of the two of them running into the water, I figured it was time to get my feet wet too. J The water was so much warmer than I expected! (We found out later that it was an inlet.) A and I then started hunting for shells, and found quite a few with a lovely dark blue colour. Oyster shells?

"Hold this!"

Tiny preparing to enter the icy April water...

"Hey, not so bad!"

"Race ya!"

M joins. (Photo: E)

Shoes abandoned! (Photo: A)

Never a case of cold feet. :-)

Tiny in the sun!

We drove to Dingle and stopped for lunch. We wandered around the town, exploring the shops (many selling wool sweaters) and walking out to the harbour. There are all sorts of sea creatures in right in the harbour itself, including dolphins, seals, and herons – though we weren’t lucky enough to see any that day.

Close to Dingle.

The harbour.

Brrr.....;-)

Little windy? ;-)

Dingle.

Dingle's own Mad Hatters!
Remember those tiny hats the British Royals
wore to Willian & Kate's wedding? ;-)

Tea!

Coffee!

Driving further west, we stopped to see the beehive huts. They date back to the early Middle Ages at least, but many archaeologists believe these kinds of round stone houses were built as early as the Bronze Age. Further along the road, we got a glimpse of the Blasket Islands, which until the ‘50s were occupied by an entirely Irish-speaking population. (Emigration from the island diminished the community, and in 1953 the last 22 inhabitants abandoned the island.)