Day 14 - Sheep's Head

Today we took one of the most beautiful walks of our life on Sheep's Head, the small, mostly undeveloped peninsula bordering Dingle Bay to the south.  The Hiking In Ireland book that we borrowed from Shane mentioned a short hike near Bantry Bay to Sheep's Head Lighthouse that we decided choose for our daily activity.  After enjoying a nice breakfast at our hotel, we packed a lunch and drove about 30 minutes out to the tip of the peninsula.  With every minute passed, the scenery got more and more spectacular.  More sheep covered rolling green hills and colorful views than you can imagine.  It's almost painful to recall how crystal clear and gorgeous the landscapes were that day.

To our surprise, the weather was PERFECT!  A clear, sunny day in Ireland?  Yes!!!!!!  We were beaming in our glow!  As we pulled up to the parking lot at the trail head, we heard the lovely sounds of sheep nearby (a mere 20 ft. away, just hanging out), "Baaaaahhh, baaaaahhhh".  We laughed and giggled at their silly welcome and got on with the hike, passing a sheep here and there and practicing our own, "baaaaaaaah".  Carmen has quite perfected hers.  

After walking through fields covered in thick moss, up, down and around narrow paths that followed streams we stumbled upon the most magnificent views of the ocean.  Glorious!!!!  We kept following the trail along dramatic cliffs perched above the vibrant, electric blue Atlantic ocean.  It just got better and better!  Soon, we walked up to the sweet little lighthouse.  We had it all to ourselves!  How special!  As we walked up to the lighthouse, we stopped to take a few photos in the middle of a ring of stones.  

We shared a lunch of fruit, crackers and cheeses leftover from Dunkeld and Edinburgh.  To our surprise, the cheese had become even more delicious after sitting in Gavin's bag, aging properly over the last couple of days.  As we looked around and marveled in our luck in this life and in our love with each other, we discussed how at this time a week from today-we would be back at work on a Monday morning.  We made a conscious decision to remember this moment and to carry it with us forever. 

As we walked back to the car we passed a few hikers, a few lakes and more sheep- always more sheep!  We were just strolling along, minding our business when SUDDENLY a small animal jumped out of nowhere!  Carmen was frightfully startled!  Gavin was bravely oblivious.  It was the local house cat and it wanted pets.  Who were we to say no?  

Back at the parking lot, we popped our head into a wee shop with the best ocean views, shared a slice of carrot cake and an orange soda and reflected on a fine hike. While we wanted to linger, we had to be back at 4 pm for a couples massage that we had arranged at the hotel. Poor us! We had a lovely drive back, showered, and went down stairs for our massages, then out to dinner in town at a funky restaurant with lots of shipping decorations. What a great day!