vegetarian in a leather jacket: Iveragh Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland

Upper Lake, Killarney National Park. Panorama by Joshua Albers, May 28, 2013.

After leaving Dingle, we made our way down Iveragh Peninsula towards the ports we hoped would take us to Skellig Michael and its resident puffins. We eventually settled in for the night at the lovely Final Furlong B&B, where we watched horses graze in the backyard while the sun set over the lake.

We knew that getting to the Skelligs would be something of a gamble, as boats don't go out in poor weather and weather in Ireland is unpredictable. I was relieved the next morning to find the sky overcast but not rainy, and we hurried on to find a ship to take us to this much anticipated destination. What we didn't realize was that even though the weather on land seemed fine, the wind was making the sea too choppy for safe passage. No ships were making the journey to the Skellig rocks that day, nor were they expected to go out in the near future. Eventually, we admitted defeat and journeyed on.

With much of the day suddenly open ahead of us, we decided to take our time along the Ring of Kerry and made multiple stops within Killarney National Park.