Waterville to Caherdaniel

Actually, today’s hike started in Caherdaniel.  Normally, today’s leg of the hike would have ended in Caherdaniel, but the B&B there is closed right now. So, Abby, our innkeeper in Waterville, drove us to what would have been the end of today’s hike and we walked back to Waterville for our second night there.

This was a shorter leg - around eight miles. It started with a long uphill out of Caherdaniel, through woods, around a lot of rock outcroppings, and across fields.  The higher we got, the better the views got. The views are of the small harbor outside of Caherdaniel, the bay, and the ocean beyond.

Changeable would be the best description of the weather today. Within the first twenty minutes we’d put on and taken off our rain gear three times.

Near the top of this first climb, the trail crosses the ring road, the route that most tourists take when driving around the peninsula.   A lot of tour buses take the route. The tour buses are asked to  travel the route counterclockwise, because the roads are too narrow for two buses to pass each other.

The Scariff Inn is at the point where the trail crosses the ring road. It claims to have the “best known view in Ireland.” I can’t say whether it’s the best known, but it’s got to be among the best period. We stopped for Diet Cokes, orange juice, and a chance at the view.

Later, we stopped for lunch (crackers, power bar, trail mix) at a spot looking over a valley with ancient stone buildings below, and the ocean in the distance. We could watch the next storm working its way toward us across the valley. So we put on the rain gear again and headed out.

The rest of the walk took us across the side of a long valley several miles and back into Waterville. Just outside Waterville we passed a pretty nice golf course. According to our innkeeper, this course is where  “the famous Tiger Woods” comes to practice before the Irish open.

Before dinner we went back to the Fisherman’s Inn for a bit of refreshment. There was a TV on in the bar, tuned to “Master Chef - Australia“.  We got there at a moment of high tension -  they were about to tell the dozen or so would be chefs what the theme of the next dish would be. You could see the stress on the faces. You could hear the music building in the background. You could hear the tremor in the voice of the announcer. Then, a commercial break. After the commercial they built up the tension again, and announced that the theme of the next dish would be: OMG!!! Chinese!!!.  The audience gasped. And the contestants groaned.  All except one. Her name was Hsu. Hsu Kan Kuk. I think she was a ringer.

Turns out Hsu didn’t win, but she did ok. The winner made a dish out of mushrooms, chicken, and Chinese vinegar. It actually sounded pretty good.

But there were a couple of contestants eliminated. Their dishes were both variations using tofu. It’s fitting they were eliminated. Anyone trying to make a tasty dish out of tofu shouldn’t be allowed near a hot oven in the first place.

So it was fitting that after listening to this, we left the Fisherman’s Inn and went down the street to the Huntsman Lodge for dinner. You see, the Huntsman Lodge has the best Thai restaurant in town. Actually, it’s the only Thai restaurant in town. Actually, it’s a pretty solid bet that it’s the only Thai restaurant in a hundred miles.

It looked like we were taking a big risk when we walked in and the only people in the restaurant were two very non-Thai looking guys playing solitare on a laptop. Together. But sometimes first impressions are deceiving. What followed was the best Thai meal I’ve had in forever.
John had Thai oysters (caught just a little earlier in the day in the next  bay over from Waterville). Marty and I had duck spring rolls as appetizers. Marty’s main was a baked hake with a basil compote and vegetables that he said was outstanding. I had red Thai curried chicken. Outstanding.  And the dinners came with a chocolate fondant dessert.
All of this was accompanied by appropriate amounts of Guinness and a nice French Bordeaux. And closed out with Jameson’s.

Finally, feeling well prepared for another day of hiking, we found our way down the street to our B&B.