Dingle Dangle

Today we have a day off…….well that being said, if you know Jutta and Sibylle…………you know that never happens. Plans are discussed, and as Jutta and I always do in situations like this, we select a target…………we planned to explore the Dingle Peninsula today anyway, with our primary target being the town of Dingle, but low and behold, as we are exploring the map, we find the name Sybil popping up her and there. I know it is not the correct spelling, but at the extreme end of the peninsula is Sibyl’s Head…..+…..Sibyl’s Point which is above that on high ground and was the site of an ancient signal tower…..ruins remain. Further investigation reveals an 18 hole golf course…..Gaelic spelling introduced……Ceann Sibeal…….target identified, confirmed, and locked in……..we are GO.

It is a little bit of a drive from Killarney, but not that bad, travelling familiar roads up towards Tralee, then heading west towards the Dingle peninsula. We opt for the southern approach which runs along the water, and figure we might take the northern route over Conor Pass on the way home. First on the agenda…..the mountain goats need to get some miles in………I see there is a large protrusion into Dingle Bay, known as the Inch Strand………I thought it was at least six myself, but perhaps my map was not to scale……….great spot for a stop to let the goats out. A huge, long, wide, beautiful beach, stretches way out into the bay…….tide is out, and the weather is favourable, so off they go. I remain in the car……this is a day off after all, and go for a spin on the beach in the Jogger. That done, we are back on track.
Approaching the main access road to Dingle we run into a backlog of traffic, snarled with some construction up ahead, and I remember passing a road about 1km back which had an arrow sign with Dingle on it……….turn around, and 1km later we are on our new route. This turns out to be the turn of the century road into Dingle, and is up and over the hills, single track and skinny most of the way and has J&S crapping themselves at every turn. We only encountered a couple of oncoming cars, and we were both polite and orchestrated the passes no problem. Very scenic up here, and we can see the main road down in the valley below……..probably now moving at 100km/hr following the backup, but they are not having nearly as much fun as we are. Just after a little hairpin turn we can see the ocean rolling into a small bay, with the ruins of a castle perched on a hill above it. This is Minard Castle….1600’s….The strength of this castle was demonstrated when in 1650 Cromwell’s Army detonated charges at each of it’s corners yet the castle still stood. However, all occupants of the castle were subsequently killed and the structural damage done made the building uninhabitable………….There are a few parking spots, so we grab one and go for a look see. Big rocks guard the road from the sea, and climbing up we find a small beach down below. A little compact car pulls into the parking and six young guys get out of it……..it was like a scene from those college movies where you try to get as many people as possible into a VW Bug………one by one they get out……big guys…… and make a B-line for the water………Going for a swim? I ask……..of course they are. We have discovered that ocean swimming is a thing over here…….people of all ages swim in the ocean year round………I mean daily!…….it is not that warm out today, but these guys are gung ho, and in the water in seconds. Snapped some castle pictures and we are back on our way, driving straight through Dingle, in search of the promised land.

It is not 100% clear where this golf course is, but we have a general location punched into the NAV, and pretty soon we are getting directional signs to the “Golf Links”………there can’t be more than one out here……it is desolate. Hold on, we have spotted a golfer…….yes, we have target acquired………switching to manual control…..fall in behind me Maverick……..lock and load. What a scream…….we found it. Obviously we head directly to the pro shop to see what kind of Sybil gear we can find……….the hats are pretty much all J&S are willing to buy, because apparently the sizing on other garments is just totally wrong…….if you go small, you would have to be a toothpick, and moving up to medium gives you more room, but also tons more length…….can you say mini dress! It is pissing rain outside and we can’t believe people are actually heading out…..keeners. Beers and lunch upstairs before jumping back in the car…….Dingle town is next.

Cute little seaside town with a nice harbour, but this is tourist central…….Wool…..we want Irish Wool…….I dunno, it all feels itchy to me, but apparently this is the best. Ice cream, jewellery, pubs, etc.. Couldn’t get out of here fast enough. We boogie it back to Killarney with a couple of hours in the hotel before we head out for dinner………really nice spot down in town…….quick trip next door for some tunes and signing before calling it a night.

Tomorrow is Ballybunion…….Question?…….what the hell happened in Ireland in the 1890’s………most of the courses we have played were established during this decade, and I am sure there are a ton more…….it was as though every town in the country decided they needed a golf course at the same time. Check it out.

A little Sibylleism……..she checks into her room……finds it is on the first floor at the end of the hall……it is quite spacious with plenty of room around the bed, desk, side table……..checks the washroom and finds it is also very big, and seems to have an abundance of handrails around the room/tub/shower……..there is an odd red string hanging from the ceiling just above the toilet so Sibylle gives it a pull……..phone rings……..”Front desk here, is everything ok down there?”