#Dingle Dolphin

[iammyownbestfriendalways]

Dolphins and whales off the coast of Dingle peninsula

[diningwiththeasquiths]

In my other Ireland vacation post I promised a separate post about the eco marine tour we went on. So here it is.

This tour's starting point is in Ventry, on the Dingle Peninsula, and I highly recommend it. The people are very friendly and experienced, and clearly care deeply about the wildlife. (This has also been my experience during two Cornwall boat tours in 2018, passionate people who respect nature are the best tour guides imo. ❤️)

Our trip got postponed by one day, ensuring that we had the best possible conditions. And even though the waves were still a bit rough, the weather was lovely and the sightings were plentiful!

We explored the Blasket Islands, some were blanketed in clouds and others looked so dramatic they reminded us of the Jurassic Park island.

We passed a beach where a grey seal colony lives.

They were so cute!! This one says ''hello''.

Next they took us over to the bird areas of the islands. Here we saw lots of razorbills and puffins, both beautiful and amazing animals! Sadly puffins are threatened with extinction. One of our guides said that if nothing changes we will be the last generation to see puffins in the wild. 😭😭

During the tour we also saw gannets, a peregrine falcon and Manx shearwaters. As for other non-bird related wildlife, we saw a bunch of common dolphins, including little ones, some swimming along with our boat!

And I kept the most incredible encounter for last. This has been a dream of mine for many, many years... WE SAW BASKING SHARKS 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

They described this first one we saw as 'a smaller specimen'. Mind you, when they are born they are already 1,5 - 2 meters long. So it was still an impressive sight! 🤩 We encountered some more basking sharks later on, but those went under rather quickly (perhaps they heard me say 'IT'S SO BIG!' lol). I did see a giant dorsal fin up close since one of them swam close to the boat (hence my exclamation 😆).

So yeah it was one of the best and most awesome days of my life and I wish I could go on tours like these at least once a week, because I absolutely ADORE basking sharks and yearn to see them up close all the time. (It takes lots of luck to get the place and timing right though.)

Feeling so blessed 🥰🥰🥰 (And at the same time craving more boat tours *heavy breathing* Maybe next year in Scotland... 👀)

[have-you-been-here]

Fungie - The Dingle Dolphin, Dingle, Ireland

[namu-the-orca]

Here's an interesting article from Nature. The title is a bit generic and makes it seem like there's nationwide dolphin attacks happening, but in reality it's about a single male Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin that has been frequenting a bay for some years, seeking out human contact, and now there's increasing conflict.

Solitary sociable cetaceans are not a new phenomenon, they have been known for decades, and from all around the world. There's regular reports going back to the 1800's, and Pliny the younger even wrote of a solitary dolphin in 109 AD.

Wherever they go, these solitary dolphins (often bottlenoses) attract attention. In some rare cases a good, mutually beneficial relationship develops, as with Fungie the Dingle bay resident (who sadly passed away in 2020, aged over 40).

However, often things get out of hand, not in the least due to media attention and all manner of people seeking "that special bond" and "magical experience" of meeting a dolphin in the wild. They are so friendly and angelic and surely this one must love to interact with me because why else are they here?

But dolphins are wild animals, and they can and do regularly harm humans. Even when they seek out these interactions themselves, when both parties don't know how to conduct themselves around one another, injuries happen. Often, in the end, it's the dolphin that pays the price. Frequently their life is cut short by propeller blades, or they are otherwise injured by human activity. In rare cases there's a happy end, where either equilibrium is found, or the dolphin rejoins their conspecifics. I think it is an interesting observation (and perhaps 'antidote') in this time of "meeting dolphins in captivity = bad and they must hate people, meeting dolphins in the wild = amazing interaction with a free spirit that can't possibly go wrong".

For further reading, here's an interesting overview of known cases of solitary sociable cetaceans, and some of the concerns.

And if you want to read of a very interesting individual case: here is an initial report of attempts to "educate" JoJo the solitary bottlenose dolphin from the Turks and Caicos Islands, on proper human interaction etiquette. The intervention was successful as JoJo continues to live there to this day, and has been assigned a personal human guardian who is trained to provide him with the social interaction he needs. This way his aggressive and sexual interactions with other people has been mitigated.

[papiermachecat]

Helloooooo anyone who still follows me! I figured I’d better do a writeup of my pilgrimage to Slane with some notorious fellow tumblr hags because most of THEM are headed to Wembley for multiple shows which is fine and I’m not jealous at all because it’s FINE.

Amongst other things, in this writeup I will address A) my first time flying internationally (0/10 would do again but did not enjoy) B) the very flexible meaning of “5 minute walk” coming from an Irish or British person, C) the Irish weather (glorious), and D) the personal shortcomings of everyone I met on the trip (this section WILL be lengthy)*

Anyway my last day of school with students was Thursday June 8, and yesterday I had to be at work to do summer cleanup & checkout. In between I flew to Dublin???? Met my friends?? Almost died(more on that later)! And came back home! It’s insanity. So I waved goodbye to the buses on Thursday, raced home, dyed my hair (? I was not thinking clearly), packed, and was at the airport by 5:45 PM. “Wow!” you might be thinking, “She’s clearly very efficient and organized!” Unless you’ve ever spent two (2) minutes with me, then you know better. So yeah, flight was uneventful, Aer Lingus is kinda crappy but if you were seated in the first 10 rows you had a chance of getting an ice cube in your water so there’s that.

Upon arrival at Dublin, I met up with the fabulous @aggresivelyfriendly fresh from Italy and we had the loveliest taxi driver chat with us through sunny Dublin and drop us at the door of our very hip boutique hotel and I thought wow, these taxi drivers are so nice! Can’t wait to meet more of them! HAHAHAHA anyway

At the hotel we met up with fellow Americans @chasm2018 and @accidentalharrie , soon joined by the best UK/Ireland team since Harry & Niall, the delightful @cantquitu and @justharried as well as the famed, Harry-endorsed Mr. Justharried, who not only endured our company but even gave a good show of enjoying it! A fine man indeed 😘. Anyway yes, we hugged, we chatted, we ate, it was GRAND. A plan was formulated! Pop down to early merch, see a few sights, have a little lunch, shop a bit maybe, then dinner…all sounded lovely. Bit of walking, they said. Not very far, they said. Just down the road! they said.

So anyway we get to early merch—just a 10-15 minute walk with lovely weather, and there was NO LINE. None. Walked in, walked up to the counter, bought stuff, done. Blew my mind tbh. Okay great! Headed over to have snacks (the authentic Irish delicacy they call “nachos” idk if you’ve heard of them) and drinks at a church in front of a bronze bust of Arthur (I think?) Guinness, tended to by a very charming waiter who seemed accustomed to crazy Americans who want ice in their water. 10/10.

Side note: I wanted to hear some authentic Irish music. You know, walk by a pub and hear some Celtic ballad being sung while emotional old men all hold up their mugs of foamy beer, right? Well. As it turns out, their musical selections in a bar are pretty much what you’d hear here and I saw NO emotional old men swaying with their pints up as they sang along :/. But we wandered and cantquitu told us tales of her misspent youth in the thrift shops and it was lovely! 10/10

Another “”5 minute walk”” and we were at dinner, which was so lovely. No ice water, naturally, but lovely nonetheless! I had a traditional Irish salmon and tortellini with edamame. FUN FACT: 75% of the world’s supply of edamame is grown in Dingle, Ireland, famously home to Fungi (pronounced FUN-ghee) the dolphin, may he rest in peace. (Parts of that fact are actually true btw, but not the edamame part.)

A quick jaunt (45 miles or so) back to the hotel for more drinks and then off to bed to rest up for HARRYYYYYYYY!! I began to have serious regrets about my footwear choices, and rightly suspected that Saturday could be worse, but HARRY!!!!

STATS: step count: 18K // Ubers taken: 0 // successful acquisitions of a beverage with ice in it: 2 // painful blisters formed: 3

So on Saturday I switched up my shoes and hopes for the best. A quick 5 minute/6 mile walk* to the coach pickup spot and shortly we were on a stifling bus to Slane!! Expect a 20-30 minute walk to the venue, Ticketmaster told me HAHAHA anyway we get dropped off in a cow pasture (FUN FACT: Irish pastures are the lumpiest in the world*), somehow adopt two Irish teenagers who didn’t know until day of that they were supposed to have a chaperone over 25, poor things (I better never catch Lenna & Lily—cantquitu’s beloved nieces—complaining about hags in the fandom!), and off we go! Anyway after the short cow pasture walk and a bridge crossing there was a security check and I thought gosh this wasn’t bad at all! Surely security wouldn’t be set up 46 miles from the venue right? So I strolled through this wooded area, pleasant weather, good company, nice breeze…for perhaps 2-3 hours? Idk might’ve been a bit shorter but I definitely at one point said “Do you think this is some kind of prank? Like just to see how far we’ll walk?” Genuinely, it was FOREVER. My footwear choices had not been sound, my blisters from the day before were so ouchy oh and FUN FACT: the average preferred walking speed of my companions is a 5-minute mile. Which is like a 3-second kilometer, I did the math.*

ANYWAY. The first sign of civilization we saw was a stone wall with a hand-painted sign that I will post here

Please note this is not my photo and must be older as there are now 23 KILLED. SO FAR. Cantquitu told me that is one of her favorite Irish traditions* idk seemed a bit dark to me but 🤷🏻‍♀️

So we’re clearly there, right?? Hahahaha no. Another few billion miles later there’s another security check, then a ticket scan, THEN we’re at the top of a massive hill with merely 6 more miles* to walk to get to our Hollywood pod. I’ve drawn you a map of our route which I will post here.

Once we were settled, it was as you’d expect. So happy. So much fun. I ~almost forgot about the death march I had endured and tried to forget about the inevitably worse one awaiting us—though turns out there was an easier path home—still ages, and done in a sea of people, but easier!

Anyway you all probably saw the show or the best bits of it on video but here are my standout moments that wouldn’t have been captured on a livestream:

• the ADORABLE Scottish couple next to us with the guy being THE biggest harrie—knew every word, every drum fill, every 1-2-3-4…his girlfriend was a sweetheart too but just may have been the lesser into Harry between the two lol—we hugged goodbye and I hope they have a wonderful life ❤️

• the absolute shock of hurrying back from the bathrooms (such as they were 😬) while I Wanna Dance With Somebody was playing and seeing like…nobody….dancing. The disrespect!!!!

• the fact that About Damn Time and 24K Magic were the favorites from Annie Mac’s set that’s RIGHT! YAY AMERICA!!!!!! Idk some other songs played that I guess people liked or whatever but let’s be real

• if you have seen a pic of Harry in his favorite little brown leisurewear up at the castle you can thank…I want to say justharried? Might’ve been the mister who originally spotted him? but it was 1000% justharried who played Paul Revere and soon the entire crowd was staring at him. He moved his arm in a gesture that was NOT a wave but looked at the start like it possibly COULD have been a wave and literally the whole crowd started waving at him…it was so cute but needless to say he retreated soon after before re-emerging for Mitch’s set

• During Fine Line I looked at aggressively friendly and she was crying and then I of course immediately cried as I do and then we swayed and cried and it was just…a moment. Telling myself that things will be alright has become very difficult in my life these past few years and it felt both cathartic and bittersweet and just…all the things ❤️

• My entire posse collaborating to get my feet OUT of my shoes and IN to cantquitu’s extra flip-flops she’d brought along (a size too big for her but two sizes too small for me—before you start picturing me as Sasquatch or something I wear a very normal size US 8!) which genuinely felt SO much better and I don’t think I’d have made it back otherwise, thank you ❤️

And I’ve thought of so many funny things to say but tumblr crashed the first time I wrote this and I had to redo it again and I lost it so just know, it was worth every bit of blood (and yes there was blood), sweat (soooo much sweat) and tears (Tam’s fault!!) and I’d do it all over again no question!!

[stairnaheireann]

The Blasket Islands | Co Kerry

On the most western point of the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland and Europe, are The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí). This stunning archipelago of islands are renowned for their magnificent beauty and rugged wildness; literary heritage of the Great Blasket, An Blascaod Mór; magical marine life – seals, whales and dolphins; puffins and array of sea birds; the “Cathedral Rocks” of Inis na Bró; the most…

[staycations4uireland]

Whale and Dolphin Watching: To see marine life, take a boat cruise from locations like Dingle or West Cork.

National Parks: For breathtaking landscape and animals, visit locations like Connemara National Park or Glenveagh National Park.

You will absolutely love it here

[alexlynchwildlife]

Common Dolphins in Dingle

[zickmonkey]

I'm going to BC tomorrow and I still haven't packed but I'm currently getting up to maybe start and I one thing I knew I wanted to bring (though it's kind of a waste of space) is my smallest stuffed orca, Mike. Like all of my orcas he's named after a real orca, specifically he's named after a member of the J-pod, and he's always attached to the tail of my stuffed bottlenose dolphin, Fungie (Named after Fungie the Dingle Dolphin). So I see Fungie, I grab him to get Mike, and Mike is GONE?

Why does this matter? Please imagine walking by your adult daughter's bedroom and just hearing "Fungie what did you do with Mike? Where's Mike?" Over and over again.

[travelew]

Discovering the allure of Dingle, nestled on Ireland’s rugged western coast, is akin to uncovering a hidden treasure. This picturesque town, surrounded by dramatic cliffs and pristine beaches, beckons travelers seeking authenticity and natural beauty. From its colorful streets lined with quaint shops to the stunning vistas along the Slea Head Drive, every corner of Dingle enchants with its charm. Adventure awaits as visitors embark on hikes along coastal trails or set sail to encounter playful dolphins in Dingle Bay. Immerse yourself in Irish culture with traditional music sessions in cozy pubs and savor the freshest seafood in charming restaurants. Experience the magic of Dingle firsthand, and you’ll understand why travel to Dingle is an essential journey for any wanderer longing to explore Ireland’s scenic gem.

Why travel to Iceland without experiencing the charm of Dingle?

Enjoy your travel to Europe.

[nancypullen]

Delightful Dingle

I know I'm moving like a sloth getting these posts up, and I can't even promise that they'll be worth it. Still, aren't they better than me droning on about my gardens or another recipe? Besides, I have something on a back burner that just might turn things around on the ol' blog. I might be making some life changes. MIGHT. Not counting any chickens before they hatch, but I'm a little bit excited. More on that later. For now, let's talk about Dingle! Dingle. It's fun to say and even more fun to visit. Of all of the castles, incredible views, ancient sites, and islands frozen in time - our day in Dingle was my favorite. The mister and I vacation differently. He is happiest when hiking up to a scenic vista, capturing an incredible snap of a cliff, tree, waterfall (oh, how he loves a waterfall), or meadow. I also love nature in all her glory, but I can get a lot of that at home. When I visit a foreign country I want to talk to people, find out what they do, what they eat, what's playing on the radio, how they spend their time. I absolutely love striking up a conversation with a stranger and getting a taste of normal life in wherever I might be. I was able to do that with a wonderful gentleman and artist in Waterville -Leo Quinlan, retired Irish Army major. He was a cadet sent by Ireland to JFK's funeral, now he paints. You can find him on Instagram! lqart.ie

Anyway, that's what I do. I will talk to people in shops, cafes, public restrooms, train stations, you name it. I don't think I've ever received more delightful responses than I did in Ireland. The warmth and openness of the people we met was exceptional. There's a reason that you see "Cead mile failte" posted near practically every door. It's Gaelic for "100,000 welcomes". They actually mean it. Our visit to Dingle was a chance for me to talk and talk and talk to locals. It was also a chance for me to take my fingernails out of the dashboard. You see, much of what you want to see in Ireland is found along "The Wild Atlantic Way". A little two lane road, much of it perched cliffside with the Atlantic crashing against rocks below. We didn't drive the whole thing, it's something like 1600 miles, winding along the west coast of Ireland. We did enough of it. I have very few pictures and no video because I was too busy hyperventilating. Here's a taste.

My blood pressure goes up just watching that. Flashbacks. I know that Mickey is capable driver. I don't know if anyone else is. Factor in that he was driving from the right side of the car and on the left side of the road and I get jittery. In my defense, I was once a passenger in a van (driven by a high school drivers ed teacher) that rolled off the side of a mountain. I lived to tell the tale, but I've never forgotten the sensation of tipping over the edge. It was all because the driver was distracted, so when I'm in the passenger seat and I see Mickey's eyes darting all over framing photos in his mind, I get nervous. I probably should have dealt with that bit of PTSD decades ago, but you can just add that to the long list of things that make me weird interesting. I do feel sorry for Mickey when I'm along, because he loves a good, twisty drive. We've been on too many. And I did enjoy some of the views (when I opened my eyes). This was at a lower elevation, almost to Dingle.

That was a long-winded way of explaining why a day spent walking around a beautiful town and talking to friendly people was so welcome. Dingle was an oasis in the desert for me. Hello, Dingle!

Its a lovely seaside town with a very artsy vibe. There were lots of pubs and restaurants, plenty of pretty boutiques, art galleries, gift shops, book stores, and ice cream shops. Apparently, Dingle is semi-famous for their ice cream. There's also a statue near the harbor dedicated to Fungie, a local dolphin whose antics delighted fishermen and tourists. He sought out human contact and chose to live alone in the waters near Dingle, enjoying his interactions, rather than join a pod. He was first spotted in 1983 and is believed to have died in 2020. His legend lives on.

Everything about this sweet town was fun. I don't blame Fungie for staying.

I sent the mister off to snap photos and I roamed up and down the streets. Murphy's was the most popular ice cream spot.

We also ate lunch at Murphy's Pub. I'm seeing a pattern.

One of my favorite stops was this little shop.

Do you see what I see inside the shop, just past the painted cat?

Of course I had to go inside and pet her. She was a bit chunkier than when her portrait was painted. Bless her fluffy heart, I understand.

I walked and walked...

popping in and out of shops and talking to everyone. It was so much fun. Little chats, interesting tidbits, not a stranger in sight. I felt that I was actually experiencing Ireland. Not just the many, many beautiful sights, but the heartbeat of the country - her wonderful people! I had so many little sacks with me when I finally met Mickey for a late lunch, I had scattered my money in every corner of town. Irish linen sachets filled with Irish lavender, tea towels decorated with happy Irish sheep, a fascinating book on the potato famine from a charming book store, a beautiful print from a gallery, two very pretty coffee mugs for two coffee lovers I know, and even a wedge of cheese from this little shop.

We enjoyed a wedge of Wilma's Gouda. Wilma O'Connor is a Dutch woman who married an Irish fellow, and in the 1980's began making the gouda of her homeland with Irish cow's milk. It was a hit and Wilma is now famous. Tasty cheese, well-deserved fame. Bonus points for the sign in English. I knew what I was getting before I walked in. Most shops had signs I couldn't read, if the window display didn't provide enough clues, I had to go inside, right?

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. By entering every shop I experienced everything from local pottery to a tobacco shop that smelled like my Grandpa Holtz. Even better, each shop had a friendly face inside just waiting to chat with me. Delightful. I really loved Dingle.

I met up with this guy for a bite.

Then I suggested we walk off our late lunch (I wasn't ready to leave!) and before we strolled back to the harbor where our car was parked.

For the mister that also meant a stop at Murphy's for ice cream. So yes, we saw amazing castles, we visited the Hill of Tara where Irish kings have ruled for centuries, we saw natural and manmade beauty around every corner. But my day in Dingle, talking and laughing with the warm and wonderful folks of a colorful, happy town - best day of all! That said, there's more to come. I swear I'll wrap this up. I'll be back to talk about more castles, ancient sites, and snails...so many snails. Until tomorrow, stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[needtoseethisthrough]

Ghost Nets by A.E. Stallings

Pale syllables drift

through the ear, reticulate

and mercurial

as moonlight's ladder

glitching across the water:

skeletal rigging

of a doomed schooner

crewed by the damned, the phantom

lace of mermaids who

have evanesced to

bone-white spindrift, foam

scudding leeward; un-

canny descant of

whales braiding down the spiral

Fibonacci stair-

case of the hollowed

nautilus; sea dingle of

the eldritch sea witch.

her garden of stings

and fleshy polyps crisscrossed

with neon wiggles,

the trireme's open

rib cage spilling amphorae

checkered with coin light;

or do they involve,

instead, the waterlogged souls

of drowned migrants locked

in the rust bucket's

vomitous hold-mothers and

minors, cohort of

seventeen-year-olds

held for ransom by smugglers

till families paid

four thousand a head

for their sons' passage to no-

where, the deepest trench

off sandy Pylos,

to be chum, sea-worm mumbled

queasy shades thridding

wakes of superyachts

and ferryboats sardined with

red blistered tourists?

Yet they're real: frayed webs

of nylon filaments cut

loose to sleepwalk like

zombies through the seas

snaring loggerhead turtles,

dolphins, birds, squid, £ish,

claws, scales, cartilage

ghastly trash. What's ghosted is

the future: oceans

of unlife, grimed and

slimy, starved, hypoxic, bath-

water warm. Drastic

measures are needed,

they've been saying, as long as

I can remember,

making their plastic

promises. It went sour in

my lifetime, children:

something untangles

and comes undone, but not the

concatenated

undecomposing

mesh of permanent slaughter.

We watched it happen.

Stallings, A.E. “Ghost Nets.”

The New York Book

Review, Aug. 2023, p. 12.

[electricnik]

The Dingle dolphin.

It was a day of sunshine and showers. I was hoping to see more of the dolphin when I was in Dingle but we had a storm to contend with.

[helene-brennan]

2020 - A POTTED REVIEW IN PHOTOS

2020 – A POTTED REVIEW IN PHOTOS

  2020 for me started in the beautiful state of Mizoram, in North East India, where I spent Christmas and New Year.  Here is the city of Aizawl, built on mountain peaks, and with wonderful sunsets.   Back home to the Dingle Penninsula, in the South West of Ireland, to enjoy, endure, survive the winter storms and the powerful, magnetic and awe inspiring Atlantic Ocean. And experience the…

[rosetinted--clouds]

If 2020 takes fungie from us i might actually give up

[cilldaracailin]

So I took the second boat trip out into Dingle Bay to see Fungie the Dolphin and success this time. He was around in the Bay. Now looking for dolphins in Ireland is a very different experience to Florida where its warm and sunny and nice! It was windy, cold and thankfully not raining because I was soaked through the previous day but here are some photo’s I got. I take video’s first and then pause the video to get the photo’s. It’s the only way to catch a shot of a dolphin!