Ireland surprised me a lot today. With the exception of the cliffs on the west coast, I had a mental image of the country as pastoral, relatively flat, and rather green. Today I saw mountains (or giant hills with lots of goats, sheep, and cows), coastal areas along the Atlantic Ocean that reminded me of California's famous Highway 1, the beautiful and heavily wooded Killarney National Park, numerous lakes (all flooding their boundaries--the most rainfall in 20 years!), and a healthy number of rainbows.
This area, a circular drive called the Ring of Kerry, is gorgeous!
Reminding me of the USA before the 60's litter campaign, I must say I am dismayed that the Irish seem to lack the concept of litter. They seem quick to discard their trash, without any hesitation at all, from the window of their cars along the roadsides or in the water ways, even in the most gorgeous areas. I didn't see any trash receptacles (not even one) anywhere. Ireland needs a very aggressive national litter campaign and a funded systematic roadside trash disposal system. To spoil such beautiful land and water is so sad. (And this is the off season for tourists!)
The weather was a bit of a challenge. Rarely was the sun actually lighting the vistas before me, and at times is was raining intensely. But I managed to shoot over 150 pictures today. Here is just a small sample.
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