May 29th Bantry to Kenmare

Shop side of the Square with market vendors

It was market day in Bantry and through out the city, particularly in the square there were vendors of all kinds of things. Produce, food, clothes, machines, tools, plants and so much more. The square is where much of the activity centered but it did stretch down the main street as well. The square is sided on one side by churches and organizations, another with the court house and tourist office, another with all kinds of shops and lots of pubs and finally by the marina.

The main street

It actually a beautiful town but it is better to leave the car if you can because N71 runs right through it and the combination of town and thru traffic makes it interesting to navigate.














The Marina side of the Square

The N71 runs along the left side of the Marina heading out of town which we had followed yesterday.















Today we were headed over the Healy Pass on our way to Kenmare. First though we ran along the water of Bantry Bay through the town of Glengarriff with some neat tourist shops. It was then out through the Beara Peninsula again for a new adventure.










This trip has been to the western portion of the province of Munster which comprises the counties ofClare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tiperary and Waterford. Bantry is in Cork and we were headed to Kenmare in Kerry by way of the Healy Pass. While we didn't see much car traffic, cars are not the only ones on the roads.

On several occasions, both the guys and I encountered sheep who had decide this was their road. But like most slower travelers of Irish roads, they had the good manners to pull off to the side so the faster traffic could go by.

The Cork side of the Healy Pass is fairly desolate. It is a fairly steep uphill ride with very curvy. Once again, I was happy I was in a car, not a bike.




















Along the way, I encountered what I am calling the Doorway to No Where. There was a stone wall among the rocks. In the center, there was a doorway that you could walk through, but there was nothing on the other side.


When you reach the top, there is a gift shop with a tiny amount of parking so you could get out and take a picture of the valley you had just climbed and read a plaque that gave the history of the pass. It was built in 1847 during the famine to help prevent starvation. The politician who was responsible for it was Timothy Michael Healy and the pass was dedicated to him a month after he died in 1931.









As you walk to the other side of the pass, the change is remarkable. It is green and you see the waterways below you.





























I found the way down a bit scary since you are again on a one lane road but this time, we are going down a steep curving hill with a lot of vegetation so you can't see oncoming traffic in advance. And they are the ones who have to move over since the downhill side has nowhere to go, and very few guard rails.

The further down we went, the worst the roads got. I took a wrong turn and when I went to turn around I hit a rock. By the time I got to the right intersection, I realized something was wrong, and yep, I had a flat tire. This is becoming an unhappy ritual in Ireland. Every time I rent a car, I end up with a flat. I am learning I have a lot of company among the Irish in this although most tourists don't drive the roads I do following the bikes. Mike, being a normal brother, says it's the driver. Of course, the fact that I haven't had a flat in the states in 20 years, doesn't count. So this picture is Mike's, as are some of the above.

And anywhere we go, Scott is always on the outlook for Vets to trade notes with. So far this trip, he has only found ones that are not open during the hours we are there.

The guys did have some comments about a vet and dentist sharing an office.