Today we went on an adventure to the Aran Islands, specifically Inis Mór.
A ferry ride from Rossaveal got us to the island.
Leaving Rossaveal.
Little houses along the shore.
Boats!
I was told this is a local taxi to get around the bay here.
First glimpses of Kilronan.
It's so cute.
I'm not sure which Orleans this is. It might be Massachusetts or France.
We were really hungry by the time the ferry got to Inis Mór, but being small (there are about 1,200 people total on all three islands) there weren't many options and several of them were closed.
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We found the local pub and we stuck out like sore thumbs. The food was good though.
The landscape here is fascinating. So, I had the brilliant idea that the best way to see a lot of the island would be to rent bikes and cycle around. I quickly learned that I am HORRIBLY out of shape. We found a small grocer and got snacks and water for the day before setting off.
Someone has a very picturesque grave.
Stone walls! STONE WALLS EVERYWHERE!
I found a scarecrow.
And a really nice garden.
Doesn't everyone have cows hanging out in the front yard?
Mooooooo!
Did I mention the stone walls?
This is the Liam O'Flaherty Commemorative Garden.
Info about Mr. O'Flaherty.
A view from the garden.
One of many times that I walked my bike. The island was hilly.
And as mentioned, I am out of shape.
Dan trying to figure out where the Worm Hole is. We may have taken a wrong turn at the cows.
Who needs fences when you can have stone walls?
Inis Mór is the largest of the three Aran Islands. The other two are Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr.
Turns out we went the wrong way and it was totally unnecessary for us to have come up this ridiculous hill. At least the view was nice.
Dan took a panorama from the hill.
We were there!
This is a road. Most of them were paved; this one is not. We had to leave our bikes here and walk the rest of the way out to the Worm Hole. We turned right at the red spray paint.
This is the way to the Worm Hole.
As was this.
And then it became this.
The sea!
Woo! We're going the right way!
You wouldn't know it from this side, but the islands actually have the longest growing season in Ireland and Britain. There's a very temperate climate here ranging from 6-15 C (43-59 F).
I think I was taking pictures of the moss.
I can hold up HUGE rocks!
Yup! Moss.
Enhance!
The population of the Aran Islands has been decreasing steadily since 1841.
At most the islands had about 3,500 residents.
There are some really cool geological formations around here.
I don't know what caused these.
Salt deposits?
It's so cool!
Dan insisted I stand on this rock so he could take a photo.
We found it! We found the Worm Hole!
These two were enjoying their lunch.
Squiggle rocks.
The Worm Hole is a naturally occurring rectangular pool.
Watching the waves crash here was mesmerizing.
Wooooooosh!
We decided to hang out here and have some of our snacks. It was quite enjoyable.
In 2014 Red Bull had its Cliff Diving World Series here.
Rocks!
Apparently it's mostly karst limestone, whatever that is.
All right, time to go back and find our bikes and see what else we can see.
And then we found this beautiful beach.
Kilmurvey Beach is 50% Irish 50% tropical beach.
I feel like I need a Corona and a palm tree.
A sign! In Gaelic. Uh...old cellar pier something.
Oh! Maybe this is the pier.
Dan looks very nice in Ireland. Maybe we should stay here.
This is where the Irish bit beats out the tropical beach bit.
And some sea plants.
We biked a, thankfully, mostly down hill trek back to Kilronan. We returned the bikes and returned to the pub for a beer. We then went shopping. The Aran Islands are known for their sweaters and knitted items. There were so many things! Dan and I each got a sweater. I love mine. It's SUPER warm. You can learn more about them and the Aran Islands here.
We got the ferry back to Rossaveal and drove back to Galway.
This concludes our adventures for today.
