Today we went on a trip to the Aran Islands. More specifically, to Inishmore, the largest of the three. The Aran Islands are three islands on the edge of Galway Bay. Inishmore, the largest, is about nine miles long and two miles wide. The islands are reachable only by ferry or a short plane ride.Once we were on the island, the school had arranged a bus tour for us. We were driven around by a local named Patrick who took us to see the sights of Inishmore and told us a bit about the island. Unfortunately, most of what he told us was about how much it cost to do anything on the island because transporting anything there was expensive.
The big attraction of Inishmore is the prehistoric fort, Dún Aengus, which is estimated to have been built around 1000 BC. And while ancient forts are exciting, the really exciting bit about this fort is that it is built on a 300 foot tall sea cliff. Some of the circular fort is thought to have collapsed into the sea with the eroding rock, but that means that what is left is a U shaped wall encompassing a nice bit of cliff. In the States I imagine this 300 foot cliff would have a railing or a sign to warn you of the danger of falling to your death, but here there is nothing. You can stroll right up to the edge and lean over. And it is quite an experience. The standard practice, however, appears to be crawling up on your stomach:
Here are a couple more photos of the cliffs. They were quite impressive.
And this is an incredibly bold girl from our group named Carrie:
After the fort, Patrick drove us around the island a bit more and then left us in the village to look at the other big attraction of the Aran Islands: Aran sweaters. Laura and I have both been feeling like we did not pack enough warm clothing for this trip, so what better time to buy something warm than on the Aran Islands? Laura bought a hat and I bought a sweater. The sweater I bought is not the traditional un-dyed wool of the Aran sweater, but it does have the intricate pattern on the front, and I was able to get it at 50% off, making it something I can afford. Here are laura and I enjoying our new wool goods:
4 comments:
I wonder if that means you can't sue people when you do stupid shit in Ireland like you can in America. I agree though, high up stuff is dope.
Looking at the photo of the boats sitting completely aground but tied up, I am guessing that the tide must be about 10-12 feet and that you were there at low tide. Beautiful place. Love the sweater and hat!e
When I was there several of us took turns sliding out onto that small outcropping and sitting a couple feet out past the edge of the cliffs. Got a pretty neat photo from that.
If you're still there I highly recommend renting bikes and biking it to the far end of the island, the opposite side from where the town and shops are. The entire ride is wonderful and the shore at the end has endless rock, boulders, and small cliffs to climb about on. It was one of my favorite places.
Unfortunately we were only there for a day. and the planned bus trip took up most of the day, so we didn't have time to rent bikes. Didn't get to climb on anything, but we did get a chance to see a lot of the island. beautiful place.
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