Ireland: Ring of Kerry

Have you noticed that I've stopped labeling my posts with the day number?  I have.  It's easier.  I'm just pulling things from my travel journal so that you can enjoy the journey with me.

The Ring of Kerry.

I'm sad to say that we were a week late and had just missed out on seeing the filming of the new Star Wars movie.  Being a gal who loves Star Wars, this was sad news.  But I can now watch the new Star Wars and know that I was soooo close to where they filmed a portion of this movie.

Oh - the movie was filmed on Skellig Rocks.

The Ring of Kerry is 112 miles around.

Charter buses must travel counter clockwise - no exceptions.  The road was narrow and 2 charter buses cannot pass.

We learned Ireland does not have a deer hunting season.  I found this interesting and let the hunter in my life know that when the deer population is out of control, they give the park rangers permission to "Seek A Deer."  One of the rules for this "Seek A Deer" is the rangers are not allowed to remove the deceased deer.  The deceased is left for the eagles to dine on.  Interesting.

They have 2 fishing seasons.  Salmon which is from January 17th to September 30th.  And trout season which is February 12th through October 12th.

We had the most amazing fish while in Ireland but more on that later...

You cannot cut down and remove trees.  The part district wants the trees to fall and rot and regenerate the earth.  

On the day we did the Ring of Kerry tour, mom and I also did a boat trip.  We rode on a 36 ton iron boat.  It took us around a smallish lake which was located adjacent to the Ring of Kerry.  

While on the boat trip, we learned there was an abandoned coal mine.  The ground in the area is full of limestone and sandstone.  The mine collapsed due to the abundance of limestone which lended to instability of the walls.