Southwest of Ireland

Day 7: We continued on the Ring of Beara towards its tip, Lambs Head, with the island of Dursey. There is a cable car that is the only connection between the mainland and the island. It is used by both the few island locals, including their animals, and tourists. We decided not to use the cable car and instead take a small hike around the mountain. Along the way, we encountered various difficulties, from sheep to their droppings to gusts of wind that almost taught us how to fly.

After conquering the stormy mountain and moving through pastures, we encountered a new obstacle in our path. Five escaped sheep were standing in the middle of a small dirt road lined with stone walls. As soon as we took a step towards them, the sheep ran away from us. Despite appealing to the sheep's common sense (in multiple languages), we unintentionally herded them in front of us for several hundred meters until we could finally pass them at the next fork in the road.

After the hike, it was time for a shower again. But where? Campground, golf course, ocean? Thanks to the app, we found a public shower and felt like real wild campers, as there was only cold, very cold water.

Continuing along the Wild Atlantic Way, we left the Beara Peninsula and headed towards Killarney National Park, where we found a parking spot on the edge of the park. Despite the current storm, we had a relatively peaceful night.

Day 8: The next morning, we drove to a parking lot directly in the National Park. From there, three circular hiking trails start. Of course, we chose the longest and most promising of the hiking trails and were not disappointed. After halfway, we climbed a steep stone staircase into the mysterious Magic Forest. However, the length of the stairs suggested that we were following in the footsteps of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum on our way to Mount Doom.

The view of the Lough Leane lakes made us forget about the hardships.

Back at the bus, it was time for a snack, and behold, who came around the corner again, the green VW bus. Together with Sonja and Christian, we visited the Torc Waterfall and then decided to spend the rest of the day together. With short detours to Muckross House and Ross Castle, we headed to the other side of the national park to Kate Kearney's Cottage at the entrance of the Gap of Dunloe. We spent the afternoon comfortably in our camping chairs in the parking lot until the beer called us to the mentioned pub in the evening. The delicious food there was accompanied by Irish live music and step dancing. It was just great!!

Day 9: As the night was stormy and rainy, and the storm had not yet subsided the next morning, we spontaneously decided to deviate from our planned hiking route over the ridge. Instead, we walked through the gorge on the paved path, which turned out to be just as beautiful due to our early start, as we could still enjoy the pure idyll of the landscape. The rocky mountains, lakes, and rivers impressed us very much! It was only on the way back that tourism awakened, and we encountered several hikers, cyclists, and horse-drawn carriages.

Afterwards, we resumed the Wild Atlantic Way, which led us to the northernmost finger, Dingle. After a short detour to Inch Beach, we continued to our overnight spot at Ceann Tra Beach. The parking spot is secluded and right behind the dunes, and so far no other campers in sight!