Dunquin to Feonaugh -

Aw feck and shit, too.  I spent over an hour writing this post only to have it disappear in a puff of smoke as I was proof-reading.  No explanation.  It just disappeared, leaving nothing but the letter "d" and I'm ready to choke the living shit out of someone...but then I looked out the huge window of the sitting room of the B&B in which we're staying and I realize I've nothing to complain about.

"The first draft of anything is shit."  That's what Hemingway said and hopefully, it;s true, because in this case, what I wrote is forever gone.  Argh.

To my left, Lauren is asleep on what appears to be a ginormous dog bed.  We're in the upstairs lounge/sitting room of a B&B.  The windows facing the sea are open and the room is chilly - the first cool weather we've had in over a week.  I have my laptop on my lap and pint on my right.  What more could a girl ask for?

Back to the task at hand.  You are waiting to hear about the walk from Dunquin to Feonaugh and here it is.

After two days rest, I was exited to be back on the trail!  My girl woke a bit grumpy and her sun burn still bothered her; she was a reluctant participant.  After a short breakfast (the food was tasteless, so why bother?), we packed up and set off to walk to the quarter mile or so to Owen's hostel.

For the record, I'd like to point out that dwarfs have an in-bred dislike of following directions.  They always know a better, shorter way...or so they say.

This day was no exception.  Although the Dingle Way markers clearly pointed the route, the Dwarf suggested a shortcut.  I bit my tongue.  Every time we go off trail with the Dwarf it ends in a pile of shit, but I was happy to be walking and Lauren's mood seemed to be improving, so I shut my pie hole and followed blindly. His short cut involved climbing the very mountain that had been looking in our window for the previous two nights and the same one on which the Dwarf had gotten lost in 2008.  Can you guess where this is headed?

After an hour or so of climbing - the views were spectacular - the Dwarf began to pick a path down the other side.  The mountain wasn't having it.  After a bit, it became apparent that wasn't going to work, so guess what we did?  Went back?  No!  We climbed higher.  Of course we did.

After another thirty or forty minutes, it became clear that we had two choices.  We could either throw ourselves down the mountain and hope to live or turn around and go back the way we came.

The very fact that you're reading this is a solid indication of our choice.  I'd guess we spent two and half hours climbing up and down a mountain for no reason other than to enjoy the view.  Back where started from, we set off once again.  I kept a safe distance so I could curse and swear at the Dwarf without him hearing me.  His intentions are always in the right place and he tries very hard to keep us safe, but he's so damn stubborn that sometimes I just want to rattle him hard enough to shake the stink off him.

Road walking is not our favorite, but sometimes it's necessary - at least on this particular walk.  We went single file because the locals are involved in some sort of Dingle 500 and race around corners without a care, forcing us to jump into the thicket to save our skins.  After a few miles, we dropped off onto a smaller, less-used road and were instantly rewarded by a paddock full of steers.  They were all very handsome devils. No sooner had I gone to the gate, when one very pretty boy sauntered over and began to lick my hand, shirt and shorts while I told him how cute he was.  It was love at first sight.  He slobbered all over me and my clothes and I loved every minute of it.  He was black and curly and smelled sweet.  Eventually, Lauren joined me and he tasted her clothing, too.  A few other handsome boys came over as well and we had a grand time until the Dwarf sighed loudly a few times to signal that it was time to go.  We said our goodbyes - reluctantly - and headed on down the road.

At the end of the road was a cove of surprisingly beautifully turquoise water.  Never in a million years did I expect to find water like that in Ireland.  It was reminiscent our our Islamorada variety.  We took another short cut and within a few minutes, the cliffs, the sea and endless pastures were ours.  Isolation never looked so delicious.  Lauren was in her glory, walking a very narrow cliff-side dirt path.  On our right was an electric fence and to our left was a steep ledge with a very, very long fall to the rocks below.  If I said, "Please be careful" once, I said it ten thousand times.

Abruptly, our path ended, forcing us to duck under the electric fence and trespass onto a farmer's land while searching for the Dingle Way.  We eventually made our way back to it, but not before apologizing to a very nice man and his wife for walking without permission on their land.  They said they didn't mind at all - it wasn't their land!

Many, many miles later, we finally found ourselves at Murhpy's Pub.  I'll spare you the details, lest you think I'm a complainer.  The temps were very high and the midges were biting.  I'll leave it at that.  Murphy's was an oasis to be sure.  I'm not sure we'd have been able to go any further when it finally came into view.  After two pints and a grilled cheese with tomato and red onion, as well as hot chips, we were refreshed and able to navigate the last few miles to our B&B.

We were booked at the Old Pier House and our room's bay window opened right onto the sea.  We could have spit into it had we taken the notion.  After a shower and fresh clothes (actually, the same ones we've been wearing after walking/showing for a week, so how's that for fresh?) we had a decadent and relaxing dinner.  Lauren had soup followed by fish and chips.  I had seafood mornay, a dish that had two large stone crab claws for bookends.  I was so surprised to see stone crabs in Ireland!  It was rich and delicious and just what I needed after a hard day.

We crawled into bed very tired, but happy.  Falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves is a gift and one that I never take for granted.  I tried to fight the sleep, but the physical activity of the day topped by a heavy meal had the upper hand.  I drifted off to the sounds of the sea, hoping I never have to leave Ireland.  I am a happy girl.