I'm in Ennis today, sleeping tonight in a converted farmhouse. The window of our high-ceilinged dormroom opens up to a cozy patio that overlooks the River Fergus. This town feels a lot like Wexford. It sure beats the heck out of Cork or Killarney.

The last three nights have been the best of my trip so far. I met a group of people on the bus who happened to be staying in the same hostel in Dingle for the same three nights. We all bonded and had Good Times out in the pubs and in the hostel living room. Last night was set dancing to fiddles in one of the pubs, followed by a late-late night game of Rummy (which, due to my skill/luck with cards, I won).

During one of the days I rented a bike and cycled the 30 mile loop around the peninsula. Green grassy grazing fields that drop dramatically into black rocky cliffs... gulls diving into the surf... the resident dolphin bow-riding the fishing boats... ruins and huts dating from 500 B.C. I swear those sheep have the most spectacular grazing fields in the world. If Dingle were Vancouver, there would be multi-million dollar mansions on those cliffs.

The pubs have been fun, but somehow I have a knack for being hit on by 30-40 year old men. The one decent 20-something I talked to turned out to be gay.

I meet up with Sarah on the 1st in Dublin. I have no doubt that my luck with boys will change as soon as I'm sitting beside a very attractive blonde girl.

I can now take off my oh-so-carefully selected travelling pants without undoing them. I just might not look so bad in a bathing suit when we make it to the beaches.