This morning when we opened our patio door, we were greeted by the three chickens of the yard who decided to hang out at our room. We also had a visit from Rue the very intelligent resident dog, who brought rocks into our room for us to throw for him to fetch.

After a great Pax Guest House breakfast, we took what’s called the Slea Head drive around the Dingle Peninsula. Our first stop was Dunbeg Fort, a ring fort similar to the ones we visited the day before. This one dates back as early as 500 BC, and its location on a cliff overlooking the ocean was stunning. It’s so close to the cliff edge that part of the wall on one side of the fort had previously collapsed into the ocean.

Just a few hundred feet down the road was the Famine Cottage, a house dating back to the great Irish famine in the mid 1800′s. The structures were decorated with rustic furnishings presented in a raw, undisturbed (dirty) condition that to me added an ambience that would typically be missing from more polished displays. The rooms included several mannequins that seemed a bit creepy, but added to the quirkiness of the place that made it interesting. The views of the ocean from its hilltop location were great as well. Michelle made some friends along the walk up, a white horse (Michelle says it was her unicorn) and a donkey.

Another short drive took us to some beehive huts, stone houses that look similar to igloos. You could go inside, and it felt weird imagining the heavy stone dome above your head crashing down.

Next we stopped at Riasc Monastic Settlement, with ruins dating back to the 5th or 6th century. The most impressive thing about these ruins were the cross-inscribed stone slabs with spiral designs. Not far down the road was Galarus Oratory, an early Christian church in remarkably excellent condition. We noticed a bird entering and leaving a nest in the stone wall (see gallery).

Our last stop was at Kilmalkedar Church. Besides the beautiful ruins of the 12th century church, the cemetery included a holed ogham stone, a sun dial, and a large stone cross. There was a tree next to a grave with a statue of Mary that was full of bees, producing an eery hum.

When we returned to Dingle, we had dinner at An Canteen Restaurant, run by two brothers from the area. The food and service was excellent. Michelle had rack of lamb, and was just a little bit sad when one of the brothers told us it had come from their farm fresh that morning. We had previously in the week seen a lamb in the field that we thought was dead, lying still on its side with its legs sprawled out. The brother informed us that the sheep was probably just sleeping, as he had even seen sheep sleep on their backs with their legs straight up in the air. This made Michelle feel a little bit better, but I don’t think we’ll be ordering any more lamb dishes this trip.