Connors pass

Connors Pass

For the first time on the trip (I think) we woke up early and made it out the door on time! (It's hard to get up early when your body is so well adjusted to a late sunset, and consequently, late nights!) we started driving south, attempting to make it around the ring of Kerry. I'd read a few suggestions that said Connor's Pass was the place to be, and one of Veronica's friends said the same. She also told Veronica that there was a mysterious but short hike that was 100% worth it by a pull-off. So we climbed it and saw the most amazing view. It felt like another piece of magic that we got to share. We stayed up there for a while, trying to soak all the inches, ounce and moments of our remaining time together. We finished the winding road through Connor's Pass, and while my namesake is a successful fùtbol team, I think my brother did pretty well too. It was breath taking. 

We started for the Ring of Kerry but then decided we wanted to get closer to Cork, so we compromised and tried to get to Killarney National Park. On the way, 2 backpacking ladies were hitching for a ride in the POURING rain, so we picked them up, thinking of our friend Matthieu. One was from Switzerland and the other was from Germany. They were both working at an organic farm for a week, which sparked a later conversation about living more responsibly since mr. 45 pulled out the Paris Agreement. 

We dropped off our companions and proceeded to sit in numbing traffic, made worse by the rain. It felt appropriate that our last day was filled with rain. So we skipped the park too and tried for another leg of the Atlantic Way on the way to Cork. Eventually we made it, and I, the mopiest of zoo lions that day, was so sad. We both packed our stuff properly and redistributed weight, so we wouldn't have to think about it in the morning. We took ourselves out for the nicest dinner we could find, dressed as nicely as we could manage. Dinner was great, but sadness clouded the view, since veronica was leaving the next morning. We finished up the evening with a glass of wine and a small walk around Cork before calling it a night & figuring out our next steps.

The next morning, I cried like a crocodile and waved goodbye (for now) to the love of my life, returning my wet car keys to the guy at the rental. I waved, "adios!" to the fuchsia plane from the parking lot and went downstairs for my bus ticket to Dublin. It rained the entire drive, and felt wholly appropriate.