Ireland photos - Killarney and environs, day 1
So I had this conference in Limerick this past week, the biggest conference in the world for one of the fields I work in (in the past, only lack of money, well, and lack of an invitation to participate in a panel, had kept me from attending). There was no way that I was going across the Atlantic for a conference only - although now that I'm back on the east coast, Europe is really much closer than it used to be - so I scheduled in a few extra days for hiking and nature appreciation.
I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, and my original plan was to do a walking tour, one where they transfer your luggage from one B&B to the next and you just hike all day with your daypack, but not one of the people I contacted got back to me with real information. Given my memories of Irish driving from 1989, I was pretty sure I didn't want to rent a car, and so given the limitations of bus schedules and pedestrian nature-access requirements, I settled on Killarney, down in County Kerry. The town itself was eh, pseudo-posh and kind of plasticky Irish - definitely aimed at tourists, and a bit more pricy than I'd expected. But there was all kinds of natural magnificence in easy walking of my B&Bs, and I took full advantage.
The first place I stayed was a little further from the bus station than I'd expected - this is particularly important when you are getting in after a red-eye flight followed by a 3-hour bus ride and shlepping a backpack that's packed nearly full. But once I got in, I was adjacent to a lake-side castle and historic island with old mining ruins - archeological digs have shown that copper mining there started in the Bronze Age, about 2500 years ago. When not in view of the lake, the scenery generally looked like this [don't forget that you can click to get full-size photos] ,
with fetching little ruined buildings scattered about. 
The forests were filled with all kinds of interesting trees, 
and flowers that are only found in cultivated gardens over here seem to grow wild over there.
After navigating my way past several sets of romantically inclined Polish teens, I reached the lake, where I settled in for a snack and some rest. 
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a tiny white boat, which resolved into a rather large swan. 
Who swam closer. 
And closer.
And turned and headed right toward me. At this point I started getting kind of nervous. Ok, very nervous. Because when I'm sitting on a beach a swan on the water is basically my height. And while Google's not backing me up here, it's my understanding that swans are the most dangerous of waterfowl, and when angered, can break your neck with the single flap of a powerful wing. With this in mind, I gathered up my stuff and prepared to flee up the hill as the swan drew nearer and nearer, like a small unmanned motor boat with a bomb in it and a homing device bearing down on the beacon implanted somewhere in my hiking shoes. At the last minute, though, it veered away and headed west. 
Phew! I was free once more to enjoy the peaceful solitude of the lake.
After all that excitement, it was a relief to come across a herd of placid cows grazing in the shadow of the cathedral.
I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, and my original plan was to do a walking tour, one where they transfer your luggage from one B&B to the next and you just hike all day with your daypack, but not one of the people I contacted got back to me with real information. Given my memories of Irish driving from 1989, I was pretty sure I didn't want to rent a car, and so given the limitations of bus schedules and pedestrian nature-access requirements, I settled on Killarney, down in County Kerry. The town itself was eh, pseudo-posh and kind of plasticky Irish - definitely aimed at tourists, and a bit more pricy than I'd expected. But there was all kinds of natural magnificence in easy walking of my B&Bs, and I took full advantage.
The first place I stayed was a little further from the bus station than I'd expected - this is particularly important when you are getting in after a red-eye flight followed by a 3-hour bus ride and shlepping a backpack that's packed nearly full. But once I got in, I was adjacent to a lake-side castle and historic island with old mining ruins - archeological digs have shown that copper mining there started in the Bronze Age, about 2500 years ago. When not in view of the lake, the scenery generally looked like this [don't forget that you can click to get full-size photos] ,
with fetching little ruined buildings scattered about. 
The forests were filled with all kinds of interesting trees, 
and flowers that are only found in cultivated gardens over here seem to grow wild over there. 
After navigating my way past several sets of romantically inclined Polish teens, I reached the lake, where I settled in for a snack and some rest. 
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a tiny white boat, which resolved into a rather large swan. 
Who swam closer. 
And closer.
And turned and headed right toward me. At this point I started getting kind of nervous. Ok, very nervous. Because when I'm sitting on a beach a swan on the water is basically my height. And while Google's not backing me up here, it's my understanding that swans are the most dangerous of waterfowl, and when angered, can break your neck with the single flap of a powerful wing. With this in mind, I gathered up my stuff and prepared to flee up the hill as the swan drew nearer and nearer, like a small unmanned motor boat with a bomb in it and a homing device bearing down on the beacon implanted somewhere in my hiking shoes. At the last minute, though, it veered away and headed west. 
Phew! I was free once more to enjoy the peaceful solitude of the lake.
After all that excitement, it was a relief to come across a herd of placid cows grazing in the shadow of the cathedral.
posted by Pangea at 12:07 PM
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