Drive to Dingle on
May 2 – 12, 2010
- Updated June 26, 2010
Ten photos mainly
taken by Betty Nolan are posted at www.kodakgallery.com
in an album entitled “
By LEWIS NOLAN
May 3, 2010 – Monday –
Travel from Shannon to Dingle in
While visiting motorists are warned about the inadequacy of
Irish roadmaps and highway signage, Betty and I managed to navigate the
confusing and busy maze of detours present in
Lewis Nolan by
blooming gorse shrubs at Dingle Skellig Hotel on Ireland’s Dingle Bay in
Background
roadways through population centers
like
We made it through several Irish towns that seemed to be fairly familiar from previous trips and stopped a few times to take pictures at places like the broad surfing beach at Inch, where several hardy board riders wore full wet suits.
After driving for over 3 hours, we arrived about 11 a.m. at our favorite hotel in the area, the privately owned Dingle Skellig. It looked just as inviting as we remembered it from previous visits.
At the reception area we met Sheila O’Connor, the hotel’s manager of that function and like others we met, a thoroughly charming and helpful person. She was all smiles as she invited us to sit in an adjacent dining room and be served a snack of scones and beverage (a small glass of draft Harp beer for me and pot of fresh tea for Betty), while our room was made ready for early check-in.
It turned out that Sheila – with one of the prominent last
names on the
We were very pleasantly surprised a few minutes later when
we were shown to our room. It was a considerable step above the “standard room”
provided in the package our travel agent had arranged through CIE tours. Room
224 was on the second of three floors at the Dingle Skellig and afforded a
magnificent view of a well-planted, brick courtyard beneath and of the
Our room for eight nights was really a suite that had been freshly redecorated. It included a queen-sized bed, large couch with coffee table, comfortable chairs, a chiffarobe-style, wood closet for clothing, large cable TV and a spacious and splendid bathroom lined in white marble with a huge tub and separate shower.
Goodness, it was so good to be back in God’s Green-and-Great
paradise on Earth. The
Most of the Skellig’s clientele we’ve met are from
The hotel is adjacent to an Irish Coast Guard station and a green pasture used by young dairy cattle. It is a fairly short walk to the heart of Dingle and its many shops and gathering places including docks serving fishing boats and an attractive marina for yachts and recreational boats. A sister hotel, the Dingle Benner’s, is in the middle of town and is among the thriving businesses owned by its local entrepreneur, a Mr. Garvey.
One of the benefits at the Dingle Skellig Hotel is a special
discount for guests wanting to play golf at the nearby Cheann Sibeal course,
which is a short drive of about 20 minutes away. It is amazing how reasonable
the prices are there at the wonderful course, about $40
Exhausted by traveling all the previous day, overnight and that morning, Betty and I napped for much of the afternoon following a nice lunch at the hotel. I went for a “safe” tuna fish sandwich and a pint of Harp lager beer.
We arose about 6 p.m. and were delighted to see the Irish skies were clear blue. Being so far north, it stays bright here until after 9 p.m. and the sun doesn’t fully set until nearly 10 p.m. at this latitude and time of year.
Predictably, the food at the hotel’s Coast Guard Restaurant was excellent. I had wonderfully fresh sea bass, served in a delicious sauce. Betty went for yummy, roast duck. All dinner meals come with nice salads, Irish breads, and a side platter of boiled or steamed vegetables, including potatoes (of course) and perhaps broccoli, cabbage, carrots or varieties of green beans. For dessert, we split a very good sticky, toffee pudding swimming in a boss sauce made of chocolate.
The only thing less than perfect – but a nuisance an
American quickly learns to get used to in
After dinner, I worked on my travelogue notes over a complimentary, small glass of the French liquor Cointreau given me by one of the very nice restaurant managers.
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