This would be my last day before Dingle Town where I continued on my previously planned route. I had to cancel other B&Bs because they could only be reached by walking; buses only ran one day per week (giving a good idea of how isolated were the locations.) Today was the first "Irish weather" day of rain & wind, but I, of course, loved it.
So
after leaving Camp Junction, I took the bus to Annascaul where I spent
the day hiking to Annascaul Lake. This is a "wee town" as the Irish
would say, but which is famous for one of its past residents, Tom Crean,
an Irish seaman who was a member of three major expeditions to
Antartica including Scott's Terra Nova Expedition (ending in the death
of Scott and his polar party) as well as Shackleton's
Endurance expedition. After Shackleton's ship became stuck in the ice
and sank, the crew spent months adrift on the ice and undertook a
journey in lifeboats to Elephant Island. Upon reaching South Georgia,
Crean was one of three who made the first land crossing without maps or
proper mountaineering equipment. After these perilous voyages, he
returned to his native town of Annascaul where he and his wife opened
the South Pole Inn pub (photos to follow.)
I took comparatively short hike out to Annascaul Lake while enjoying the mist and listening to medieval music from the Camino. Now eating pizza & maybe pub music later. Life is good.
Photo of the explorer seen all over Dingle Peninsula. There was also an entire exhibit dedicated to him at the Kerry County History Museum in Tralee, but I did not visit it. Not enough time.
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