Day Five - Dingle and Dolphins

We left Valencia early this morning and headed straight across the bay to Slea Head. Last night it rained hard - our hard bivouac on an inclined slipway under a fishing boat meant that rest was scarce; so combined with the sloppy sea, poor visibility, and the easterly wind which was funnelling down the bay - all added up to make the crossing a bit arduous. 

As we drew closer to Slea Head, the sky started to brighten and the Blasket Islands revealed themselves as Harry and I made our way through the low cloud to meet the sound of big ocean swells crashing against the shoreline. Against the backdrop of the stunning emerald scenery, darting in and out of the big swells, we received a fine welcome into Kerry waters.  As we started to progress along the Dingle Peninsular we were joined by numerous schools of dolphin which stayed with us throughout the day - Harry and I were smiling a great deal today. 

We were met on the beach by Vaughan and Harold - Harry's Father, later to be joined by Harry's Ma - Betty. They whisked us away to a pub overlooking Brandon Bay, many thanks to both of you for a lovely steak supper and a Guinness or three, what an end to a magical day.  

The Dingle Peninsular has to rank as one of the finest stretches of coastline that either Harry or I have ever paddled; maybe the beauty of the place was accentuated by the presence of the Dolphins or the magnificent Atlantic rollers crashing on the cliffs, but I'm pretty sure these things only added drama to a very special place in Ireland, seen in a very special way from the seat of a kayak.

'In Ireland the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs'  Sir John Pentland Mahaffy

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