Camino Iveragh 2022

Day 17: Shannon, Ireland Date Aug 30, 2022 (Tuesday) Total Ireland: 136 miles. Total All Caminos: 1756 miles Lodging:  Treacys Oakwood Hotel @ $ 86 / night Total Lodging: $ 1165 Total Buses / Trains: $ 266 Food: $ 15 Total Food: $ 389 Meaningful Moment When I was in Dublin about 9 days ago, I had this feeling of being hemmed in and crowded out.  Today I'm at a medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle which promises to be a great evening of fun. But there must be seventy people in the banquet hall. All I want is to stand away from them all. I am very sociable but after all this time on the Kerry Way, alone - without others at my side, I find it hard to be among people, in a crowd. Would it seem strange to want to be at a banquet of one?  I don't want to mingle; I don't want to talk. I just want to be in my own skin, but all the milling about  from all the folk is keeping me from that state of sensory deprivation. That state which I felt last night when I w...

Day 16: From Kenmare to Killarney and Shannon Date Aug 29, 2022 (Minday) Today's Distance: 11 miles / 18 km Route and Stats Route Video Total Ireland: 136 miles. Total All Caminos: 1755 miles Lodging:  Treacys Oakwood @ $ 86 Total Lodging: $ 1061 Buses / Trains: $ 20 Total Buses / Trains: $ 265 Food: $ 30 Total Food: $ 374 Meaningful Moments  Crazy finish! Missed my turn for Galway's Bridge and added five freaking miles to the hike.  Planned to be done by noon. Finished after 2:00 p.m. Called for a cab. Dispatcher said 15 minutes. But I wasn't at the pickup point yet. So I promised I'd be there. I ran over 10 minutes to get to the pickup point. That was after 11 miles of mountains and rocky terrain. Random Thought of the Day I've already mentioned that I missed my turning point and added extensive mileage to the day. As the mileage continued adding up, and climbing yet another unplanned mountain, I had my first...

Day 15: From Tahilla to Kenmare Date Aug 28, 2022 (Sunday) Today's Distance: 16 miles / 26 km Route and Stats Route Video Total Ireland: 125 miles. Total All Caminos: 1745 miles Lodging:  Druid Cottage @ $ 70 Total Lodging: $ 975 Total Buses / Trains: $ 245 Food: $ 20 Total Food: $ 344 Meaningful Moment This is my third time hiking in Ireland and it's amazing how alone I am on the trails.  I rarely, and I mean rarely see other hikers. Today I saw a couple of hikers but they were headed in the opposite direction of me. But we stopped to chat for a minute. I'm not speaking of the "Did you have a nice walk", "Nice weather out", "Did you sleep good?" kind of conversations with people. I'm talking about being with people with whom you can share things because it's appropriate to do so.  This is the biggest difference between hiking in Ireland and in Switzerland, versus my experiences on the Camino de Santiago where it was easy for othe...

Day 14: From Caherdaniel to Tahilla Date Aug 27, 2022 (Saturday) Today's Distance: 14 miles / 23 km Route and Stats Route Video Total Ireland: 109 miles. Total All Caminos: 1729 miles Lodging: An Glaisin B&B @ $ 60 Total Lodging: $ 905 Total Buses / Trains: $ 245 Food: $ 40 Total Food: $ 324 Meaningful Moment Walked with my first fellow Kerry Way thru hiker this morning.  I met Luic on top of the first mountain out of Caherdaniel. We exchanged hellos and I pressed on. Later he caught up to me, and we walked for maybe 90 minutes or so, talking about all the things thru hikers talk about. For example, clothes, tents, routes, places seen and places wanting to see. He is from French New Caledonia in the South Pacific, but now lives in Paris. Interesting backstory. He veered left to go see a sight, but I have a long day so I'm pressing on. We ran across each other in town. I was having my salmon lunch and he was looking for a place where he could pitch his tent. Random Thou...