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Ireland - Day Three

 


Much like day two, day three began with a lovely breakfast at the Brehon Hotel.  Unlike day two, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and sunshine, and it could not have come on a better day!  Our guide Sean was joined today Pádraig, our bus driver for the day.  Typically, Sean would serve as both our bus driver and tour guide but there are laws in place that cap the number of consecutive days that a driver can operate a tour bus to six so we had Pádraig driving us today and Sean will take over for the remainder of our trip. 

After boarding the bus, we set off for the Dingle Peninsula.  Once described by the National Geographic Traveler as the most beautiful place on earth, and it certainly did not disappoint. 


The Peninsula stretches 30 miles into the Atlantic Ocean on the south-west coast on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and is dominated by the range of mountains that form its spine, running from the Slieve Mish range to the Conor Pass and Mount Brandon, Ireland’s second highest peak. The magnificent coastline consists of steep sea-cliffs and dramatic headlands broken by sandy beaches. The views were simply breathtaking. 


We stopped at a few locations along the way for photo opportunities and to take in the vistas.  


After our drive around the Peninsula, we made our way back to the small seaside town of Dingle, which many agreed, bears a striking resemblance to Newport, R.I.  Restaurants, shops, pubs and hotels line the streets of this town, the only town on the Peninsula, which has a population of just over 1600. 

After our visit to Dingle we boarded the bus and continued back to the Brehon Hotel.  We ended our day much like we did on day two, with ample free time to explore the town of Killarney and rest up for a busy day tomorrow.

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