Aran Islands

After enjoying a homemade Irish breakfast sans the sketchy pudding, we set out for the Aran Islands, Inis Mór the largest island to be specific.  You have to take a bus from the city at 9:30.  The ride takes an hour which can put some people to sleep.  Then you take a ferry which takes another 40 minutes.

someone got sleepy on the bus

someone else fell asleep on the ferry

When you get to the island, there are a bunch of carriages and minibuses operated by locals to give you tours of the island.  We took a carriage around the island.  It was stony and gorgeous, and perfectly Irish.

Our guide (his name was Christopher or Thomas, but I think Thomas; I feel awful for forgetting to ask) drove us around and called up his horses to show us.  Apparently he takes them swimming with him? It was just so cold outside, it's hard to imagine.  But there was a guy with no shirt or shoes sitting outside getting his hair cut there.  I had on both of my coats and a sweater and was still a little chilly.

Our horse was named W.B. Yeats!  Our carriage was covered, but it didn't rain.

It was really nice to be someplace that was just quiet.  It was empty and really peaceful.

Leprechaun house!

The island has a really old fort on it called Dun Aonghasa.  It's a prehistoric fort that is essentially falling into the sea.  The trek up there is equivalent to Ireland's Great Wall of China. It had phenomenal views off the cliffs and you went right up to the ledge.

The long journey there, again definitely not the 10-15 minute walk it was billed to be.

At the gate

the amazing view

at the edge

Over the edge, holding out my camera.  I am so afraid of heights!

It was a very beautiful and quaint place.  And everyone speaks Gaelic and learns English, among other languages, in school.  I had fresh fish and chips straight from the harbor and we packed in a solid day.

Dance hall!

Again it was incredibly pastoral and idyllic.  We also stopped at a church and went inside.  The hymnals(?) were written in Gaelic and it smelled churchy too.  It was my favorite church here so far, simply because it actually felt like a church.