I may only be 25% Irish but its the best ethnicity in me Part 3

So, we wake up about 8:00 AM for another day of fun in Ireland. We get to breakfast which was hearty and Irish and I end up sharing my meal with a girl named Vanessa who is a "Kiwi" or as someone in the US would recognize her as a New Zealander. It was fun, I met a few of her friends who would come to be my own in a days time from South Africa, and we ended up enjoying our meal while the girls where back getting ready for the day. (You realize the maintenance American women have in comparison to the rest of the world when you meet other English speakers). We get into the bus and "EL CAPITAN" lets us know that this is one of the most exciting days that we will have during our tour. Boy, he sure turned out to be 100% right.

We end up driving past Galway into the country known as Carrantoohill. The highest mountain range in Ireland. I make a wish at the oldest wishing well in the country.... (I'm not telling you what it was). And then through some of the most scenic and beautiful countryside I've ever seen. Water, rocks, green grass all were stunning to me an Indiana boy w/ Irish ties. I took a great deal of pictures at some small cliffs that dove directly into the ocean, and sat there contemplating where I was in my life, who I was and who I missed back home, and excuse my French, "how the hell I could describe such a place to anyone." I was thinking, yes this is the most breathtaking view in Ireland, and was lucky to be sitting on the side of cliff looking out at the mist and crashing waves coming into the shore... but Ireland is an amazing place.

We stopped into another small town for lunch. It was too expensive so I ended up with a can of Pringles and some water and sat out by the road watching the cars go by. Our next stop was the Cliffs of Moher, and I had no idea what to expect. We rolled up in our lime green touring bus to the cliffs. And if you can image a 700 foot straight drop into the ocean that is basically what these rolling cliffs are. I walked aroud with my new South African "mates" Rory and Greg, and my Kiwi busmate Vanessa and watched as crazy people dangled their legs off of the cliff and took thousands of pictures. I really can't describe this view and the cliffs and seeing people over half a mile away enjoying the view that I had. This stop was one of the most exhilarating and beautiful places I have ever seen. We stayed there for an hour and half and then got back in the bus to keep on with our tour.

Eventually, we cut back towards the river and had to take Shannon Ferry across it in order to get to the tourist center of Killarney. We ended up stopping right outside of town to a beautiful lake region of Ireland, and with the stories "El Capitan" told and the pictures of the lake we had a brilliant time. A dog actually hopped aboard our bus, sat next to me, growled and refused to depart. Our driver then opened up the back and forced the local Irish dog out of the bus. Happy Days though. We got to Killarney and had ourselves an amazing dinner and then went to our first authentic Irish pub. I listened to the folk songs of my ancestors, dad they even sung, (You gotta know when to hold em', know when to fold em', know when to walk away.) So basically, it was awesome. I hung out w/ my South African mates all night and drank Guinness and Harp until the wee hours of the morning. Eventually, I ended up getting back to the hostel, falling asleep and waking up early in the morning around 8 to the sound of a horse carriage.

This is really only a brief account of my Saturday in Ireland... many amazing things happened and I can't wait to just tell stories over a pint with all of you back in the states. I wish words could do it justice, but I'm no poet or author... so pictures, stories, and a brief description is the best I can do for all of you. Happy Dayz, good craic.