Today we took the ferry from Galway to the Aran Islands. It was a 45-minute ride. When we arrived there were several drivers with minibuses ready to give tours. You could also rent bikes or ride in a pony cart, but both of those options limited the amount of the island you could see (it's about 15 kilometers long by 5 kilometers at the widest). The tour took about three hours altogether, leaving us with a little over two hours to wait for the return ferry. We found a bar in a hostel and nursed our tea (me) and whiskey (Dan) as long as we could.
The old places on the island were very old -- Dun Aengus probably dates from around 1000 B.C. The seven churches monastic center was perhaps 9th century. There are now about 750 residents, down from a high of 1400 or so at one time. The residents speak Irish (Gaelic) as their first language. It was a very interesting and informative day.
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| Goat farm |
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| Sample of rock walls -- 4000 kilometers of them on the island! |
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| Looking up at Dun Aengus -- about a kilometer |
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| Typical rocky field |
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| Dun Aengus |
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| Inside the wall |
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| The edge is the top of a high sheer cliff |
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| View across the edge |
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| Real Aran sweater shops at Dun Aengus |
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| Old house covered with ivy |
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| See the little leprechaun house! |
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| Monument to native who died elsewhere--there are many of these |
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| Old and new houses juxtaposed |
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| Part of the seven churches monastic center |
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| More at seven churches |
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| Lonely house |
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| Very old building |
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| View across the island |
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| Fuchsia along the roadside |
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| Tables in the bar were all old sewing machines |
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| Waiting for the ferry, we saw these crazy people go in the water!! |
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