Killarney: A new friend and a night out

After my return from Inismor, I caught a bus down to Killarney, famed as the prettiest and most touristed region in Ireland. I arrived in the afternoon with little time to do much besides buy groceries. Buying groceries may seem like a boring detail but in cooking my own dinner (boiling water for pasta, anyway) I met a fun new friend in the form of Cathy from England.

Over dinner I found Cathy to be a high-spirited and humorous storyteller- we hit it off right away. With the night open in front of us, we did our best to fill it with fun and excitement. We wandered from pub to pub, trying to find one with good craic (lively conversation and good times). The first one had decent music but it was too drafty and cold in there. The next one was warmer but didn't have any music.

Finally, much like Goldilocks, we found the third pub (or it might have been the fourth or the fifth) to be just right. We entered to a roar of cheers, not directed at us but at the televised boxing match. This, it seemed, was where all the locals were gathered. We waded our way to the back of the pub (through ascending age groups gathered informally from youngest to oldest) and found ourselves face to face with the source of the rest of the noise in the pub- a live traditional band. It was a rollicking place, to be sure.

Things picked up when the match finished and atttention turned somewhat more toward the band. They sang old favorites, or at least what I suspect were old favorites, as virtually everyone in the pub except Cathy and I seemed to be singing along. One middle-aged Irishman began to dance in what little space there was to be found amongst the crowd, and soon the place was hoppin'. Cathy and I even danced a few times, not very Irishly but really at this point none of the locals seemed sober enough to notice. As the entire place appeared to be getting steadily drunker, Cathy and I decided to move on to get some fresh air and new scenery.

One of the locals had recommended another venue, more aimed at the "young crowd". We found a live band, trendily named "Spiderpig" (after a Simpsons reference) playing covers from the 80's, 90's, and today. Well, we made the best of what was actually a pretty good band and danced the night away right in front of the stage, amidst numerous bachelor and bachelorette parties and other enthusiastic young people.

The next morning Cathy and I took it easy and decided to join a van-tour of the Ring of Kerry, a day trip around the penisula offering some of Ireland's most beautiful scenery. This was enjoyable, especially with a new companion, but at the same time I was also getting tired of van or bus scenery tours. I was looking forward to exploring the area by bicycle and on foot in the next couple of days. How little did I know what lay ahead...