Ireland, Day 3 Cont'd - Bantry via Old Head & Skibbereen

THE PLAN: We intended to take a leisurely drive by semi-costal route down from Kinsale toward our final destination of Bantry. Perhaps stopping around Skibbereen for a late lunch. We were to be in Bantry by early evening, so as to have time to change and get unpacked before we hopped on buses for the start of the wedding festivities.

THE REALITY: Those of you who have driven in County Cork (or in most of Ireland, we'd bet) will understand when we say that no matter how much you study the map, plot your course and feel assured that you can navigate what the roads have in store, about once an hour you take a bend that suddenly unfolds into a mysterious and unmarked fork in your route. And/or you suddenly realize you are far, far away from where you thought you were on the map!

The drive to Bantry was filled with such instances. Seemingly at every junction, we had to make an uneducated choice - no signs, nothing on the map to indicate there could be potential turn. We (at Sarah's insistance) drove up wrong roads and turned around in people's driveways. We'd start down one road, then go only a few yards and turn around (or back up!) and take the other turn. There were additional pratfalls along the way, like when we went to a gas station and Sarah asked where she could get a "top off" instead of "top up" (for the Irish cell phone) --> much to the amusement of the station attendant!

This being said, David blossomed into a brilliant navigator on this trip, showing a fairly keen sense of direction that, despite of all the potential hazards, led to us merrily poking along and enjoying tons of "happy accidents".

One such occasion was our "discovery" of a route that took us down to Old Head peninsula. We had guessed and taken a left turn at one of those pop up forks ~ we did a lot of well, it seems to be going leftish on the map kind of stuff . Sarah being nervous to keep driving as David studied the map explaining that while it seemed we had gotten off our route, this should just take us on a long detour & otherwise making "hmm, yeah, this should work"-type comments. Then we hit the top of a hill, and saw the narrow peninsula stretched out not only before us, but on either side as well. Going as fast as we were, combined with the scenery, it truly took our breath away. The car seemed to stop in mid-air for a moment as we turned to each other with a collective WOW!

Obviously, we had to stop. Sarah was desperate to get out of the car and take photos; the sky was so blue, the day so clear and bright and mild, that she drove the car off when we found this little turnoff to the beach.

When we first got out of the car on this side of the peninsula, we were surprised by just how mild it was. The high sun seemed to quickly warm everything, and with only a slight breeze coming off the water, there were folks out in full swimwear - walking and laying out on the beach. Finally we got back into the car and drove around the edge of Old Head to the other side where there were more open beaches.
It may not be apparent in the pics, but it was so windy! So chilly that the sun seemed to not to be able to penetrate the breeze. We pulled off the road into a parking area, and when David rolled down his window sand blew in all over him!

Not to be deterred, Sarah got out of the car and spent about 10 minutes taking photos; lying on the grassy side of this little hill, hoping to keep sand from blowing into the camera lens.

Having satisfied the photo jones, Sarah got back into the car and off we drove - connecting back to the original road we had been on, just as David had predicted.

We did stop in Skibbereen for lunch at a pub (the best Roast Beef sandwich Sarah has ever had!) & so Sarah could get another 1g memory card for the camera.