Killarney

This is an early and short update on my trip and you will learn why in a quick minute.

After saying goodbye to Cork and all the amazing people I met and that housed me while I was there, I took a bus to Killarney. I arrived in Killarney slightly fearful that I wouldn’t have a place to stay because I hadn’t heard anything from my host in a few days. So I spent roughly four hours waiting at the bus station for an email; but, when it finally came and I made my way to Murphy’s Icecream to meet my host, I was eager for my journey through the west of Ireland to start. I had heard it was the most beautiful and has the potential to suck you in and keep you there, and let me tell you, it certainly has that effect.

I met my host Brian and we immediately connected. He is a twenty-something with a lot of energy and a free spirit. He shared a little bit about the town and how he came to be there, and then we made our way to his home. His house is at the top of a rather large hill, but the view is absolutely breathtaking and later on had the opportunity to take a pretty cool shot of a double rainbow.

My plan was to simply spend a few days at his house preparing for the next part of my trip, but because we hit it off so well, I ended up staying for a third night. Each day we cycled different parts of Killarney, he showed me cool places around the park, a weird circular ritual like shrine in some artistic guy’s back yard and the third day was spent cycling and hiking up some massive mountains so I could see some one of a kind views of the lakes below. Each night was spent cooking, chatting about everything from books to faith and sharing each other’s life stories. I kid you not; Brian is probably one of the most intelligent and coolest people I have ever met. God has truly blessed me along the way.

I am posting this blog a little early because I will be out of reach for at least six days and possibly a few days more. I will be cycling through what is called The Ring of Kerry. It is roughly 200 kilometers and goes along one of the many peninsulas of Ireland. If you are interested, you can go to this website, www.discoverireland.ie or just go to google and type in The Ring of Kerry. It will give a breakdown of what I’ll be doing and what is involved. I plan to take it slow and spend a lot of time continuing to reflect on life. When I’m finished I’ll get back to Killarney and spend another day with Brian and his friends before I make my way to the Cliffs of Moher (one of my most anticipated trips), and hopefully by then I’ll have a full update and details about my trip around the Ring. 

My thoughts and prayers are with you!