My wife and I were traveling in Colombia recently and took this very memorable and unique day-trip from the capital Bogotá with Andes EcoTours. It was low season and we booked last minute, so we ended up alone with our driver Hector and Chantelle, our expert guide.

The tour is a result of years of collaboration between Andes EcoTours and a community of coffee farmers living in the hills near Silvania, a coffee distribution town south-east of the capital. There is no way we would have been able to arrange such a trip ourselves, or even get there, since the Colombian roads are mountainous, rough, and hard to navigate. The 90-km route also took over two hours each way, mostly because Bogotá is a traffic nightmare.

So it was best to lean back and let the professionals handle things!

The Artisanal Coffee Making Process

There are two types of coffee bean: Robusto and Arabica. Colombian coffee is almost exclusively Arabica, which most people prefer because it’s a smoother taste. That type of coffee bush prefers partial shade, lots of humidity, warmth, and tons of nutrients, and elevations of between 1200 and 1800 meters above sea level. The conditions on the jungle-covered volcanic mountain slopes are perfect for them.

We visited two different farms which had slightly different techniques and equipment. I have no idea how a factory would produce coffee, but what we saw instead was the whole manual process from picking beans to roasting them. The steps are:

1. Harvest the beans
2. Peel them
3. Dry them
4. Roast them and grind them
5. Make amazingly smooth Colombian coffee!

Harvest the Beans

First you need to pick the coffee beans from the bushes and then sort the good beans from the bad (containing insects or disease).

Picking the beans is easy enough – simply walk around in the jungle from bush to bush, try not to slip down the slopes and don’t get tangled up in vines and branches. Find a coffee bush with red berries on it – those are ready for picking. Pull the berries off and put them in the little basket hanging at the front of your waist. Job done!

Once the basket is full, the farmers go home and start sorting them. The farmers have to discard berries that look diseased or with little holes in them – when peeled back there might be little grubs inside.

Peel the Beans

Next step is peeling. This involves a grinder of some kind. There are machines that are built for peeling but might cost more money than the family normally has, so if these are available it is usually because of a government grant or some kind of loan.

But either way the principle is to put the berries through a grinder which peels them and deposits the two halves of the coffee bean in a container. The peeled coffee bean halves look like little peanuts and taste sweet when you eat them.

Dry the Beans

The farmer then sets the beans aside to fully dry out. This step can take up to 15 days, varying based on the weather – the damper it is, the longer it takes.

On the two farms there were a couple of ways to dry the beans. One involves a set of “drying nets” which dries them out more quickly. Every day the farmer, Miguel Ubaque, rakes the beans to ensure uniform drying. He also hand-sorts them to remove any bad beans and separate the highest quality (which is exported internationally) from the lower quality (which is consumed domestically).

Another farmer just leaves the beans unattended in his hot attic for a couple of weeks. This is a simpler and less labour-intensive approach (but also with less quality control).

If the farmer doesn’t have fancy equipment to float the seed husks and fragments away, there is another step – put the peeled seeds in a bowl, swirl them around and blog on the side of the bowl. The light husks and fragments blow away leaving only the seeds themselves.

Roast Them and Grind Them

Now the beans need to be roasted (that’s where they get their dark black or brown colour and enhanced flavour. All that is needed is an open flame, and some patience!

And…now grind the beans, boil the coffee grinds, and drink the most deliciously smooth coffee in the world! The Colombians like to add a slice of citrus.

Coffee Distribution and Export

As mentioned before, there are two markets for the coffee. Depending on what kind of equipment the farmers have, and what kind of trouble they want to go to, they can take the dry but unroasted beans to a coffee distribution warehouse.

There beans are indiscriminately combined with those from other farms in the region, and left in a pile until ready to bag and ship to their processing destinations (usually domestic markets).

We visited such a warehouse in Silvania, the nearby coffee town. While there we watched as a farmer came in, dropped off his beans, and got his money in just a couple of minutes.

There is also the option to export the beans. This brings more money but also requires much more work and quality control. The beans are graded and marked by government experts and cannot be exported unless they achieve at least 80 out of 100 points.

One of the farmers we visited, Miguel, exports his beans. He is justifiably proud of his 85 score (which makes truly delicious coffee)!

Overall this was an amazingly informative tour, and one we could not have enjoyed without the arrangements by Andes EcoTours and their long collaboration with the coffee farming families of Tibacuy. It was a high point of our trip to Colombia and gave me a real appreciation for the hard work that goes into every cup of coffee I drink.

Salud!

The post Adventures in Coffee Making appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

Camping Griffon’s waterfall and beach

Smuggler’s Run

My wife heard a very interesting local legend from a neighbour. He told her that during the United State’s Prohibition period from 1919 to 1933, Canadian whisky was picked up from the beach which runs below what is now our house and Camping Griffon, her family’s campground. The campground is located on the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and back in the 1920s and 30s the contraband would have been picked up by fishing boats from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which are French-owned islands located elsewhere in the Gulf.

On the map below is a possible smuggling route: (1) starting from what is now our beach (below modern-day Camping Griffon), (2) to the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and then (3) to the New England ports in the United States.

Possible smuggling route during Prohibition?

The French Connection

Saint Pierre and Miquelon became major smuggling ports after the Volstead Act introduced prohibition in the United States in 1919. The islands are rife with rumours of frequent visits from Al Capone and other crime lords. They turned the islands into an important smuggling den because of their strategic location, on French territory near Canada and the United States.

During Prohibition, Canada could no longer directly export alcohol to the U.S., but it could legally ship alcohol to France. The French-owned islands were perfect legal staging grounds for alcohol including Canadian whisky, Caribbean rum, and European wines and spirits. These were all stored in warehouses on the island. Then they would be loaded aboard smuggling ships bound for U.S. ports and flood into the New England cities and towns, where they would fuel crime and violence.

Opening scene from HBO’s Prohibition-era crime drama, “Boardwalk Empire”

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, there was no more demand for black market booze and this smuggling economy collapsed.

Locally Sourced

Some of the booze (allegedly) smuggled from our beach would have been distilled locally. We often hear stories about enterprising families in nearby Douglastown (near the town of Gaspé) who distilled and sold liquour to American bootleggers. Rumours say these families even sold liquour in bulk to the Kennedy clan – purchased by President John F. Kennedy’s father, Joe Kennedy!

In order to get their supplies to the U.S. markets, the local distillers would have found it safer and easier to ship by sea from the nearby coves and beaches, than to drive it overland or ship by train and risk interception.

Why would smugglers pick this beach to anchor at?

Actually, it would have made an ideal smuggling spot.

First, on the land above the beach there is a creek which cascades over the cliff in a large waterfall. This is an excellent landmark – visible far out to sea during the day and during nights when there is any moonlight. Even on a pitch-dark or foggy night the falling water could possibly be heard by a boat carefully navigating close to shore. The bootleggers arriving from land could follow the creek to the waterfall and not miss their rendezvous in the dark.

Waterfall and stairs to Camping Griffon’s beach

As well, the beach would have been a safe landing spot day or night. There is no risk of dangerous reefs, rocks, or currents. Offshore, there is a shelf and the depth drops off quickly, allowing a boat to come in and anchor close to shore.

View of the pebble beach in l’Anse-au-Griffon, from the foot of the stairs at Camping Griffon. Our house is located near the middle of the cliff.

Finally (and most importantly for smugglers), in the 1920s and 30s our waterfall and pebble beach would have been remote from prying eyes or coast guard vessels (these days a coast guard vessel is berthed in the next village and sails by regularly).

Fact or Fiction?

It’s a local legend, and we’ll never know for sure. But the historical details seem to check out.

If you ever visit us or stay at Camping Griffon, we encourage you to take some time during your stay and walk to the waterfall. Stand on the stairs leading from the creek down to the beach and look down at the waterfall which runs beside them, and then at the beach below.

Now imagine it’s 1929 or 1930 – do you think whisky smugglers could have used this route? Would they have driven trucks or used carts to bring the liquour to the cliff-side? Would they have used ropes and tackles to lower the carefully-packed whisky crates or barrels down the cliff, to the beach below? Where would their lookouts have been posted?

What do YOU think – is the local legend true?

The post Was Canadian Whisky Smuggled to Al Capone From Our Beach in l’Anse-au-Griffon? appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

This time they have outdone themselves with a couple of inspired illusions.

First, the municipal government has commissioned a neat mural of the island of Isla Mujeres itself, next to its iconic sign which is on the Malecon by the water. Not only is the painting beautiful, but there is a neat visual trick where it appears that we are looking down through a break in the hexagonal bricks, onto the island and surrounding ocean.

It’s very cool!

They even mark the spot where you should take a photo:

Nearby is another new piece, inside an archway.

And this one beside the backpacker’s hostel.

This one is a group effort – lining the wall of a school in Las Colonias.

Near Isla 33 is a building that seems to be somewhat abandoned – but is made beautiful by the vibrant green forest and stag.

On the walkway nearby is a hammerhead shark – looking past it we can see the ocean where a live version is no doubt swimming at this moment.

This veterinary clinic has a lovely picture of a mangrove swamp complete with birds (fishers?) and a snake slithering through the branches. Right next to it is a mosaic of animal photos. For a small fee you can have a portrait of your pet commissioned, and hung on the wall. It’s a clever idea and visually appealing.

The long wall along Lopez Mateo street is transformed by vibrant colours of towns and tropical landscapes:

But I’ve saved my favourite new mural for last.

This one is not only stunningly beautiful, but it works across 3-dimensions and multiple layers of masonry, encourages environmental awareness and social responsibility, and hides unsightly garbage, all at once!

Yes, those are actual stacks of garbage waiting to be collected – and somehow they end up looking great.

Let’s zoom in and see the quality of art:

Absolutely brilliant.

Which one is your favourite?

The post More Street Art: Murals of Isla Mujeres appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

In the stygian darkness of her stone tomb, Maebh slumbers in state.

On her head is a crown, in her hands a sword, and at her feet, a war chariot. She is buried upright, facing the distant lands of her Ulster enemies, in eternal vigilance.

Or so we must imagine, because her 40-foot burial cairn, at Knocknarea near Sligo, has never been excavated. It’s possible Ireland’s famous warrior queen is not even there!

Carrowmore Megalithic Tombs

Ireland has a number of impressive stone monuments which in Neolithic times formed a “ritualistic landscape”, meaning a focal point of major religious, political, and social importance.

When we visited the town of Sligo, we explored Carrowmore, which is less than 10 minutes drive from the centre of town. Carrowmore contains at least 30 known monuments and appears to be one of the largest of these ritual landscapes. Many of its structures date back to at least 3750 BC.

The monuments themselves are called “passage tombs” but they may not always have contained bodies – instead holding cremated remains, as well as ritual offerings of food, tools, and ceremonial goods. The basic structure of a tomb has an outer wall of boulders that protects and holds in place five large standing stones which in turn surround a small inner burial chamber. The chamber is capped or covered with stone slabs or a large dolmen.

A large, partially-excavated barrow at the site demonstrates how the larger passage tombs are organized.

Excavated interior of a large barrow

Over time, many of these outer monuments have collapsed or been turned over by farmers, leaving a tumble of rocks and bare traces of what existed before. In other cases, the inner circle is intact and remains capped. Fragments of mussels, oysters, quartz fragments and other grave goods are often discovered in the ground near these stone cairns.

Unexcavated but largely-collapsed barrow

It’s not fully clear why these megalithic structures were built. They are found all over Europe and were used for thousands of years. Often they form visible parts of the landscape and would have made dramatic markers for travelers. In other cases they appear to have been on low-lying flat ground, surrounded by forests, and would only have been visible to people nearby.

Many of the structures at these sites demonstrate a sophisticated awareness of architecture, art, and the natural world, such as at New Grange where once a year the light of the Winter Solstice shines right up the passage tomb and illuminates the central chamber. Customs and religious practices may have varied from site to site, or shared similarities. Over thousands of years, local variances would have crept in. Archaeological evidence shows that sometimes sites went dormant, then were re-occupied by later generations.

Since we have no contemporary records of their exact purpose(s), we can only speculate.

The Life and Legend of Queen Maebh

From Carrowmore, we could see Maebh’s burial mound, towering over the countryside.

Carrowmore Megalithic Tomb with Maebh’s burial mound on the hill in the background

As we watched, groups of tourists toiled their way up the hillside to the outside of the mound.

Knocknarea Hill with Maebh’s burial mound

Maebh is a compelling figure in Irish myth – married to many famous and powerful kings, she refused to take second place to any of them. She took many lovers over the course of her life, and she made at least one husband promise to be without fear, meanness, or jealousy. She started the Cattle Raid of Cooley because her husband had one more stud bull than she did – so in order to attain equal wealth and status, she raided Ulster to steal their king’s prize bull. A legendary battle between her army and the hero Cuchulainn then ensued.
Maebh was finally slain by the son of a rival she had murdered. The son hit her with a slingshot while she bathed.

Her story is amazing. Netflix and the Irish Film Board should start filming – I would watch that series!  But, it’s not clear if Maebh ever really existed. Many of the legends around her are clearly tall tales.

However, the Táin Bó Cúalnge (the story of the Cattle Raid of Cooley) was analyzed by Padraig Mac Carron and Ralph Kenna, using a mathematical approach to examine the social networks in The Iliad, Beowulf, and Táin Bó Cúalnge. Tantalisingly, they found that:

in the Irish myth, the top six characters [including Maebh] are all unrealistically well connected, giving it both fictional and real characteristics. But when we remove the weakest links between [398 other characters] and the Top 6, the narrative becomes…realistic…from a social-network view. Perhaps these characters are amalgams of a number of entities that were fused as the narrative was passed down orally.

Preserving the Past

At the Carrowmore visitor centre, run by the Office of Public Works, we asked a guide why Queen Maebh’s barrow hadn’t been excavated yet. He explained to us that Ireland is awash with history and ancient artifacts, and there is relatively little money available to explore and preserve them all.

In fact, they have such an abundance of ancient structures and artifacts that the general public may not see an urgent need to protect them all. He feels that more public education is needed on the importance of preserving this heritage. He illustrated this with a joke:

An Irish farmer is visiting a museum of antiquities when he knocks over an old vase, shattering it to pieces.  The museum curator rushes over, and turns ghostly pale when he sees the irreparable damage.

“I’m very sorry, let me pay to replace it,” the farmer says.

“It’s 2000 years old!”, the curator replies indignantly.

“Ah, thank God,” says the farmer. “I was afraid it was brand new.”

The preservation of Carrowmore itself set an important legal precedent in 1989, when the Supreme Court ruled against a proposed municipal landfill that would have been placed only yards from the historic site. That judgement marked the first explicit legal protection in Ireland for the landscape surrounding a national historic monument. (“Carrowmore”; Wikipedia).

That’s good progress – because in a country awash with history and legend, there is always more to discover and protect.

Meanwhile, Warrior Queen Maebh waits in her hilltop tomb.

Or not.

The post Queen of the Stone Age appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

One of the island’s many charms is that many of its buildings are covered with beautiful murals by many different artists, and each street corner seems to reveal new artistic vistas.

A useful blog would include information on these murals. It should, for instance, note the artist’s name, the date the mural was painted, identify where it’s located (ideally on a map!). Most especially, it should attempt to describe what the art symbolizes.

I can provide exactly none of that information, but hopefully the photos speak for themselves

Enjoy!

The post Street Art: Murals of Isla Mujeres appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

I am pleased to report that the world population of maniacs has increased over the years.

Progress!

This new batch of velocity enthusiasts have been rocketing themselves down a rollercoaster of ice, during the Red Bull Ice Cross Downhill World Championship in Ottawa. Last night thousands of people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and our Mayor Jim Watson, watched as the competitors braved the track and bitterly cold weather.

Canadians Jacqueline Legere won the women’s championship and Scott Croxall came in second overall for the men’s, behind American champion Cameron Naasz.

The racetrack starting point is high up beside the Chateau Laurier hotel terrace, where it drops and loops sharply, then follows the Rideau Canal locks between Major’s Hill Park and Parliament Hill to its endpoint by the Ottawa River. It is a beautiful and dramatic route.

Chateau Laurier track

The major challenge of the event seems to have been planning permission: Because the Rideau Canal is designated a World Heritage site, managed by Parks Canada, next to privately-owned Chateau Laurier, and near Federally-owned Parliament Hill, on land managed by the National Capital Commission, approval took three years to wind through the byzantine bureaucracies. Kudos to the organizers, politicians, and public officials who made this happen!

Ottawa is no stranger to international tourist events. Every year we host the Blues Festival, Winterlude, the Tulip Festival, Race Weekend, and Canada Day, to name just some of the bigger events. What is different about Crashed Ice is the vibe. It’s much younger and edgier than we are used to.

I hope it’s a sign that Ottawa is becoming a bigger, brasher city. Last night the Byward Market bars were jam-packed, and many had a special permission to stay open until 4 am.

Yes, in Ottawa that is a Big Deal.

It’s impossible to imagine, but at the height of the lumber boom in the late 1800s, what is now downtown Ottawa was lively around-the-clock. Nobody wants to return to the violence and noise of that bygone age, but injecting some more night-life into our sleepy city is a great thing.

Bustling downtown

Crashed Ice is part of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations, and it’s a welcome boost of adrenaline to our beautiful hometown.

The post Crashed Ice Ottawa 2017 appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

So we’re walking through Cardiff, Wales on our way to dinner at the (most excellent) pub  Y Mochan Du.

Y Mochan Du restaurant

Wales is playing Moldova in soccer/football that day, and the town streets are flooded with fans. We’re not sure of the game time and think maybe it is already over since they seem to be leaving the stadium rather than heading towards it. My father asks one fan, “When did the game end?” 15 minutes ago is the response.

“And what was the final score?”

“Four zero for Wales”, said the man assertively.

Great news!

We arrive at the pub and it’s packed with Welsh fans, who seem to be waiting for the televised match which the TV says is about to start. While ordering at the bar, I ask the bartender, “is this game really Live?”

Yes, he says.

“Not a tape delay?”

No, it’s not a tape delay. Yes, he’s positive the game is Live. No, it most definitely hasn’t started yet.

“But Wales already won 4-0?” We exclaim.

He doesn’t like that – looks at us funny.

So we eat our stew and drink our pints, and watch as Wales and Moldova battle for supremacy.

Welsh lamb stew, cheese, and rarebit on toast, washed down with a locally-brewed beer

It’s anybody’s game, the patrons proclaim, and they are getting nervous. Not us though; we’re calm as cucumbers. We know how the match ends.

By dessert, Wales is up 3-0. “Wales will win 4-0”, we repeat confidently. More funny looks from the bartender and patrons.

It’s time for the final kick, in the dying seconds of the game, and Wales is poised for one last strike at goal. We don’t even bother to watch. Wales must score again to achieve their preordained karmic total.

And they do.

Deep Thought of the day: Betting would be easy if you knew the future.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

The post Betting Would Be Easy If You Knew The Future appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

Connemara

Connemara skyline

What does the donkey say? “Feed me!”

Clifden

Of all the pretty towns we visited in Ireland and Wales, we found Clifden to be amongst the most charming.

View of Clifden in the distance, returning from Sky Road loop

As its name states, it is perched on the edge of a riverside cliff, so it has a natural beauty. But what we appreciated most about the 19th century market town was its lively and welcoming artistic and musical vibe. Seemingly each pub and restaurant doorway hummed with folk singers and bands (and they are very talented musicians). The town bustled even though it was low season.

The town is visited by many French tourists, so much so that we were surprised to see the sign for the public library in French. Apparently this is a longstanding tourist destination for them. We can easily understand why!

In terms of its vibe and charm, and convenience as a travel hub, Clifden reminded us a lot of Killarney.

Connemara National Park

The rugged hilly region is popular with hikers, and we passed many on the roads.

We particularly enjoyed hiking up Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park. Each upward step is rewarded with stunning vistas.

Diamond Hill overlooks Kylemore Abbey and in fact part of the parkland used to belong to the abbey estate.

View of Kylemore Abbey from top of Diamond Hill

Although the Diamond Hill climb was strenuous it was not technically challenging since it is well marked with stone steps and posts. The weather at the bottom was decent, but the top of the hill was blustery and wet because it is exposed. It can be dangerous in bad weather. As always when hiking it is important to dress properly regardless of how nice the weather is initially. The hike can take one to three hours depending on which path you take, so it is a half day excursion if you go to the top.

The park visitor centre is located just outside Letterfrack. The centre is open in the summer although you can hike in the park year-round.

A Bog’s Life

The Connemara National Park visitor centre hosts a small but fascinating museum explaining wetland bogs including how they form, what nature and wildlife they support, and how humans affect them.

Bogs are a source of peat, a smokeless fuel that is similar to carbon. They also contain bog wood, which is wood that was swallowed up but remains intact due to the anaerobic bog conditions. Bog wood was used by locals to build their houses and tools. They could find it by going outside in the dawn light and looking for places where dew didn’t form, then digging down. Clever!

Although they can take thousands of years to form, bogs have been exploited so much, especially over the last hundred years, that only 5% of bogland remains in all of Ireland. Measures are now being taken to protect them.

Sky Road

Near Clifden, the Sky Road beckons.

It leads to beguiling views over the dark blue waters of Clifden Bay and the endless horizon of the Atlantic. The 11km loop is short (takes about 20 minutes) but provides many great photo opportunities and should not be missed if you are in the area.

Omey Island

Omey Island is a fun half-day excursion near Clifden. It was recommended to us by Sue, our friendly host at the wonderful Sharamore House, which is a very popular bed and breakfast catering to international tourists including many fishermen.

Omey Island can be reached by car over a tidal causeway. Driving over the beach at low tide through salt-water puddles is a fun little adventure.

Zoom zoom (at low tide)

The island itself, while small and craggy, makes for an interesting visit. It has great views to the nearby islands and the Atlantic.

Farmers live on the island. It seems like a bleak place to have farms but they seem to be making a successful go of it.

Omey Island farming

Have you visited Connemara? How did you like it?

Edited with BlogPad Pro

The post Wild Atlantic Way: Connemara and the Sky Road appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

Spectacular Ladies View

We spent four days in the nearby Killarney Lakes area. This was a good decision – when we first arrived the weather was unseasonably rainy and cloudy, but over the next few days it improved and we were able to explore the Ring of Kerry in very different conditions.

Depending on the time of day and the weather, the scenery changes dramatically. It is really worth being on the road at “golden hour” (just after sunrise or before sunset) and taking ample time to pull over and take photos.

Superb photo opportunities can be found all along the loop. Our favourite lookouts were at Ladies’ View, at Moll’s Gap, beside the Killarney Lakes, and on the roadside edges on the inland hillsides between Moll’s Gap and the village of Sneem.

Ladies View, near dusk

Each day we packed a lunch and snacks. When we were hungry we pulled over wherever we could safely park. It was enjoyable eating a picnic lunch on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the deep valleys, which are dotted with stone walls and sheep.

Past Moll’s Gap

Driving the Ring of Kerry

Driving around the Ring of Kerry requires close attention at all times.

It is extremely narrow and winding, with many single-lane tunnels and switchbacks. Sheep wander the roads at will. Our rental car was  wide and that made things even more challenging.

However, these are also fun conditions to drive in, especially when you can see there is no traffic in front of you and can rattle along safely.

Better get used to the curves, since it gets pretty tough on the Ring of Kerry. No chance of photo ops on the bad parts, either.

The Ring was crowded with cars, cyclists, hikers, and tour buses, even though this was low season (early September). I can only imagine what it would be like in the high season – we heard some horror stories from locals. Frankly I wouldn’t explore the area in July or August even though the weather would likely be better. The level of frustration would be too high.

Roadworks and mist just make the driving that much more fun!

Given the driving challenges and the constant desire to pull over and take a photo, we found our progress around the Ring to be pretty slow. It is only about 100 miles (almost 200km). In Canada we would calculate that distance to take two or three hours, but each time we drove the Ring (three times in four days) it took us an average of about five hours, and was very tiring.

Still, spending time in such spectacular surroundings was rewarding.

Moll’s Gap

Moll’s Gap is a natural pit stop midway between Killarney and the coastal villages. Stellar views of bogs and distant mountains stretch away on both sides.

At the Gap there is an Avoca tourist shop with restrooms, and a large parking lot for coach buses. The hills are very high and winding, and we saw lots of cyclists cooling off after their exertions.

Moll’s Gap, a good rest stop on the tour of Ring of Kerry

Coincidentally, my Irish grandmother’s married name was Moll, so there was some family interest in stopping there.

Sheep in the Mist

The Skelligs and Valentia Island

The first day after we drove through the Ring of Kerry we headed south-west to the Skellig peninsula, in the hopes of visiting Skellig Michael.

This rocky Atlantic island was originally colonized by Christian monks a thousand years ago. They carved a monastery, huts, and stairs out of the sheer rock, eking a living on the bleak and stormy promontory. The island is now home only to sea birds and seals, but it has recently become a famous film location because it appears at the end of the new Star Wars movie.

By the time we reached the village of Portmagee on Valentia Island, where the boat cruises are located, the weather was stormy with howling winds and there was no possibility of even taking a tour around the island, much less land on it.

Howling winds, rain and fog in Portmagee, as seen from the Skellig Experience centre

Instead we consoled ourselves with a visit to the Skellig Experience Centre. It has an exhibit of island artefacts, discusses bird- and marine-life, and screens a movie about the island’s history. The movie was the closest we got to viewing the island’s sensational scenery.

The centre also gave us a good overview of what the landing and climb would be like. In short: potentially dangerous and definitely uncomfortable.

To get to the island, visitors take an open-topped boat ride across the choppy Atlantic; there are no toilet facilities at any point on the trip; visitors debark from the wave-tossed boat one at a time by a narrow pier; the rough narrow stairs have few guard-rails; and tourists have died in the past by falling from the stairs (usually on descent). Therefore, proper planning and care is required to visit what looks like a very special but bleak destination.

Anyway I do plan to return and visit the island but given how dicey the weather is, I think I will have to organize a dedicated trip around it and make sure I have multiple opportunities to avoid winds or rain.

I was told by locals that some visitors spend years or even decades trying to visit Skellig Michael. From what I saw of the dramatic coastal weather I have little doubt that is true.

Rough weather in the Ring of Skellig means no boat trip to Skellig Michael

Edited with BlogPad Pro

The post Wild Atlantic Way: Ring of Kerry, Skelligs, and Valentia Island appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.

We arrived in Republic of Ireland via the Pembroke ferry from Wales. We chose Killarney in County Kerry as our first major stop in the country, due to its central proximity to some of the fabulous hills and coastal scenery in the Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, and Beara Peninsulas.

Colourful downtown Killarney

We stayed at a great airbnb rental located downtown but tucked away behind the friendly and bustling Killarney main streets. The house was reachable via a very tight bridge over the train tracks. That was a very tight fit for our large rental car (a wide and long Ford S-MAX), but we navigated without issue. Parking soon became good practice for our subsequent driving on the narrow coastal roads. Our hosts were great and the place was a perfect base for our day-tripping.

Killarney Lakes Attractions

Although we used Killarney as a hub for our daily road trips, we found it to be a completely charming and relaxing place in its own right.

Taking advantage of some rare sunlight during our stay, we took a jaunting car (pony and carriage) around part of Killarney National Park. Our very personable driver Michael, referred to as a jarvey, regaled us with area history and local legends. One tall tale recounts how a young pair of lovers, forgetting a stern admonition to put the village lid back on the well every night, got lost in each others’ arms. Meanwhile the well overflowed, creating nearby Upper Lake. I think that’s a more charming explanation of its formation than “ice age glacial action”

Don’t miss the jaunting car ride!

Halfway through the jaunting car ride we stopped at Ross Castle, an impressive 15th-century ruin.

Ross Castle in the nearby national park

Muckross House is another nearby attraction that is a great way to get a sense of daily life in the area. It is a bit like getting a tour of Downton Abbey (although it existed a century before the time period of the show).

Muckross House

The Muckross House tour guide had a lively sense of humour and was able to explain in very practical detail what the household customs were like, and what kind of technology the people used in their daily lives. For instance, in the kitchen were tools for sharpening multiple knives quickly, special plates to keep food hot while carrying it from the kitchen to the dining room, and a machine to make ice cream. He was able to make the life in the house seem very vivid and relatable.

Leaving the House, we then wandered amongst the fields and reproduction farm houses on the estate, which were very revealing of rural life. They were complete with peat fires, barn animals and beautiful views of rolling hillsides.

Nearby Torc Waterfall was in full flood due to the rains, which made it seem wild and powerful. It is only a few minutes walk or drive away from Muckross House and well worth a visit.

Road Trip Logistics

By the way, The Fáilte Hotel pub is an enjoyable place to unwind in town after a long day driving around. They make a great peppercorn beef stew and have live music (as do many of the other pubs in town).

Update 2016-10-05: Looks like Katie and Vaughan of The Explorers blog fell in love with Killarney too – check out their great post on its charms.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

The post Lakes of Killarney appeared first on Onwards and Upwards, by Nicholas Kellett.