day 10: Castlegregory to Tralee

location: Castlegregory to Tralee
distance: 9.55 miles
entertainment: A Wise Man's Fear, watching parishioners leave Sunday Mass in Camp while waiting for the bus
sights: a monastery, lots of caravan parks, dogs and beach goers enjoying the weather and water
lodging: Greenview House B&B
dining: blood orange and blue sports drinks from the petrol station while waiting for the bus; underwhelming dinner in the front dining room of a once noble inn located in the high street of Tralee

route: after another day of less-scenic hiking past caravan parks, along busy roads and well-traveled side roads (as well as more beach), we opted to take advantage of the fortuitously-timed bus traveling through Camp back to Tralee, rather than spending an extra several hours covering track we'd already hiked, but in reverse. we spent our time waiting along side another backpacking couple (one of whom had an identical backpack to one of us) and watching Mass conclude at the Camp church and parishioners file out and head off to Sunday lunch.

the bus was nearly full when we boarded, with us taking the last two seats available -- one a few rows behind the diver and the other a few rows from the back of the bus. this day's adventure began as we arrived in Tralee. locals asked the driver to stop near the center of town so they wouldn't have to retrace the route back from the station. Andy, near the front of the bus, figured it would be a great opportunity to avoid extra hiking with packs, as the bus stopped about two blocks up from our B&B. sitting at the back of the bus, I didn't realize he'd gotten off the bus until I saw him standing on the side of the road with our packs as we pulled away -- waaaaay to late to rush to the front of the bus and have the driver stop for me to get off. instead, I went on my merry way to the station, hoping that Andy would either stay put or go someplace that he would know that I would know to look for him. and hoping that he'd grabbed both our bags out from under the bus after I got off and my bag wasn't waiting for me.

to be safe, I retraced the bus' route which skirted the (unnavigably) narrow streets of the center of town and took the longer walk back to where Andy got off. initially I thought he might try to follow the bus, but as we got farther and farther away, it seemed a preposterous idea. but all the same, I made my way past Debenhams, narrow townhouses and local businesses, the police station, the backside of a pub that also faced the narrow streets of the center of town and advertised live music every evening, and finally past where Andy got off to the B&B where we'd stayed at the start of our hike.


a much relieved Andy & I booked into our room, thanks to the proprietor's husband who was on duty at the time. got to enjoy the room on the first floor (one up from the ground floor), cleaned up and rested a bit before heading out in search of food. the food was fine enough, eaten in the front parlor/cafe of a high street hotel with impressive history, but not much to recommend itself today. would have been better off farther from the heart of town. even a block or two. but there were scoops of ice cream from a corner shop on the walk back to make up for any other failings. particularly in light of the bustle of Dublin the following day, Tralee was a pleasant reentry point from 10 days all but off the map.