asleep in the Ring of Kerry
On another bus to Killarney, I spoke with an English bloke about our respective travels. In the station, I found out that only two busses drive around the Ring of Kerry and both had already gone. While pondering my options, I located the toilets only to exit unrelieved. Not a single stall had paper, but serendipity prevailed as I left the room and found an attendant with several rolls in hand.
The only remaining bus route along any part of the ring from which I had be able to make a connection to Tralee was the one to Killorglin, so that was the one I took. Through Killarney, the important sights interlaced among the tourist traps.
My journey drew long and I nodded off a few times in my seat. Finally realizing that far more time had passed than should have, I asked the passenger behind me if we had reached Killorglin yet. In response, he said something to me in German, so I pointed out my destination on a map and he pointed out where we were - well beyond Killorglin, heading to Waterville! I discussed my overshot with the driver, explaining that I intended to be in Tralee for the night, and he confirmed that no buses would return my way until morning. Teasingly he remarked, “It seems your plans have changed, haven’t they?” and asked if I was “good with hitchhiking.” After joking with me for a bit, he very kindly offered to bring me back to Killorglin in his own car after he dropped off the bus. The Ring of Kerry, I learned, was not his usual route; he had covered the sift for a friend who was out sick.
