'Tis Official!!!

Well, then, 'tis official. I'm walking all 135 miles of The Kerry Way solo. Yep, it's true. I'm pretty gull dang excited about it, too.

I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon booking quaint accommodations for each of the ten nights it'll take me to complete the circuit. One of them, the Druid Cottage, dates back to the 1800s. Its name refers to the bronze age druid stone circle found on the edge of Kenmare, which I plan to visit on my way through the village. The heavy stone walls and the traditional half front door are charming and I suspect I won't want to leave once I've spent a night there. There are other accommodations that have just as much charm and others with far less. Since I won't have my trusty walking companion with me, I don't feel the need to stay in the nicer places along the trail. I'm saving euros for evening pints by staying at a couple borderline dumps. In fact, at one of them, I have to rent my bath towel! What do you expect for 18 euro a night?!

Once the accommodations were well in hand, I set to finding the least expensive airfare. Not easy. Although there are four airports closer to the Kerry Way than the one in Dublin (Kerry, Shannon, Waterford, and Cork), Dublin is slightly-to-significantly less expensive, depending on the carrier. Not to mention that the layovers through an airport like Shannon can be as long as eight or nine hours! It's only a four hour train ride from Dublin to Killarney where the Kerry Way begins and I look forward to the trip. Watching the countryside slowly morph from bustling city to the suburbs to farmland to mountains is stunning. And exciting. I truly savor traveling by train.

I booked a flight from Fort Lauderdale (20 mins north of Miami and far less crowded) to Dublin on Aer Lingus. Because you probably won't find this information on your Word of the Day Calendar, I'll tell you that the airline's name is an anglicisation of the Irish Aer Loingeas, which means Air Fleet. Try to work that into a conversation today and leave those around you absolutely unimpressed. I leave FL at a leisurely 3:45pm, which means I don't have to force myself from bed before dawn to fight traffic into Miami. Arriving at JFK just three hours later, I'll have a three hour layover before heading to the Motherland for the second time in my life. I'll hole up in a bar while going over maps and route plans for the umpteenth time. On the return flight, I sprang for the airline's private lounge, because after spending nearly two weeks alone on the trial, I won't be able to tolerate American tourists. I frequently pretend to be British while traveling abroad (something Lauren originally found endearing but now finds annoying) just to avoid being characterized as American. They're loud, rude, and ignorant. Yes, I know that's a generalization and unfair, but it's also true so there you have it. American tourists in Europe are total dicks. Except me. Duh.

I land in Dublin at 8:40am, leaving plenty of daylight for a pre-trail adventure. I plan to catch the first train to Killarney that I can connect with and once I arrive, I'll walk to my inn. It's not far from the station. (This is, of course, suspect. The Irish are notorious for being terrible at measurements. Never trust an Irishman who tells you something is a "short walk" or "just beyond the ridge". Likely as not, it's miles away.) Regardless of the distance, once I check in and leave my bags behind, I'll set off on foot to find Ross Castle, which is two km from town. It's a 15th century tower house on the edge of Lough Leane. I love castles and can't wait to step inside and press myself against it's stone walls. I wonder what it will tell me. From there, I'll set off to find St. Mary's Cathedral, which was built in the early 1800s. Its a neo-Gothic revival cathedral and is certainly worth a visit. After I've satisfied my curiosity about those two sites, I'll find a pub, enjoy a meal, and get to bed early. My first day's walk will be 15 miles and I want to allow time to stop and check out the ruins of the Muckross Abbey along the way. I can't pass up the chance to wander among ruins, even if it adds another hour onto an already long day.

Although it seems like I've got a good start, there's much to be done:
  -  I have to buy real maps. I've never used real maps on a walk; I relied on the good navigation sense of my girl or her dwarf. Since I will be alone, I would be foolish not to invest in real maps.

  - I need to learn to use a compass. It's not as easy as one would think. Maps are fairly useless if one can't use a compass.

 - I need to start training. I'll be faced with two twenty-mile days. (The trail actually has three, but I was told about a small pub with a few rooms for rent on the outskirts of a town almost halfway between Glenbeigh and Cahversiveen.) The shortest day is 8 miles, but most are 15 or 16....and they won't be flat like Islamorada. I'll be crossing mountains and farmland and moors. I need to be ready.

 - I need to practice drinking Guinness. It's an important skill. Ordering a Smithwick's or a Peroni would be an insult to my Irish ancestors. I've gotta drink the black stuff.

Let's start with the Guinness. That sounds like the perfect place to begin.