Sunday, November 4 – The Best Day Yet?

Last night I slept for almost 10 hours, feeling almost groggy as I went to breakfast at 8:45. As usual, I was the first to show up. Breakfast was fine, but a bit more “canned” than previous days. Tomorrow I’ll be sure to order the pancakes. Again, I ate as a voyeur on a French family, though this one was much cuter and better behaved. It was one of the children’s birthday, so the song was sang and the gift was opened.

After breakfast I lounged around a bit, but finally realized I should do something. I drove to town to see if the famed “Mountain Man” shop was open for directions to a hike, but found them closed. Still, Angela gave me directions to walk out to the lighthouse and see Fungi, the famous friendly dolphin that lives in Dingle harbor, greeting the boats that go in and out. The walk was wonderful. Next to the sea, the wind seemed to drive the land right into me. The textures appeared more vivid than ever, especially as the rocks of the beach seemed to change every 100 yards. I sat on a natural peat bench and ate a snack as I waited for Fungi to appear. The first boat went by and…nothing. After about another 30 minutes, a sailboat went through the narrow channel and…there he was! He crested a few times, followed the boat a ways out into the ocean, and disappeared. Thinking he was done, I walked further down the shore towards some amazing cliffs. While I was walking back to town, the Fungi tour boats appeared. Right on cue, as if he were on contract, he appeared again. Circling the boats for more than half an hour. He jumped, he blew, he breached, he did it all. He was still going when I left. Fungi really is the friendliest dolphin I’ve ever seen.

I went back to the B&B for a bit to relax, but began to get hungry. I headed back to town to a small seafood shack I had noticed earlier called, “Out of the Blue.” The place only serves what was caught that day, and the menus are written on large chalkboards. If there is a storm and the fishermen can’t out, the restaurant is closed. I had a large bowl of clams and mussels in a garlic, butter, white wine sauce. They were, without a doubt, the best mussels and clams I’ve ever had. I had a pot of tea and reveled in my success. Also, the place is small enough that I don’t feel weird eating alone. In fact, lunch was so good that I made a reservation for tonight as well. Hopefully they have a shellfish offering, otherwise I’m screwed…though lobster appears to be a regular item.

I felt so great after lunch that I walked to Murphy’s ice cream shop. There I had what was, without a doubt, the best ice cream of my life. It was caramel, honey comb crunch. I can’t even describe how superb it was. While I was eating my ice cream, I ran into a jack russell puppy behind a gate that rivaled the deliciousness of my ice cream with her cuteness. What could be better that ice cream and puppies? Probably nothing. I walked around town some more feeling very satisfied with my successes.

I stopped by the local grocery store to buy some sensodyne toothpaste. For some reason my teeth have been hurting constantly on this trip, despite my almost perfect dental hygiene. I was successful in finding the stuff, but while I was checking out a familiar song came on the radio in the store: Toad the Wet Sprocket’s: “Walk on the Ocean.” Some relationships have a song associated with them. Some people have a song. This song is clearly meant to be the anthem of my trip to Ireland. If I can figure out a way to post it on the blog, I will.

To top off my town excursion, I went into the local wool shop and purchased the coolest and warmest hat ever. Totally sweet. Again, I returned to the B&B where I changed into running attire and drove down to Ventry Beach. I would have run there, but have little desire to be killed on a narrow, windy road with cars doing 100 kph. I had a wonderful run on the hard, packed sand of the beach. I also saw a dead sheep half absorbed into the sand. It was a perfect embodiment of the land here. It is so old and beat, yet seems so actively alive, even in its reabsorbtion of the dead. After my run I did some squats to preserve some of my cycling strength, though the battle is really hopeless.

Finally, I returned back to the B&B again where I turned on the TV to see the ending of “Short Circuit 2,” during which the famous Johnny 5 robot receives his US citizenship. That’s one thing I love about the Irish. They are not afraid to openly acknowledge their love for all crappy American movies and music. In fact, I heard an extensive discussion about “GI Jane” on one of the five radio stations here.

I’m soon headed off to dinner. As always, much love to everyone back at home, and thanks for all of the blog comments! Keep them coming.