Aran Islands

Well, it has been a few weeks now. Sorry for the delay in updating, but I have been without computer for a while. But my beloved computer is now back and I am finally getting around to updating you on my adventures.

On February 12th (about two weeks ago now) I took a day trip to the Aran Islands with some friends. We walked from our apartments downtown to catch a bus to where the ferry docks. It was about a 45 minute bus ride, but it was through a pretty area on the outskirts of the city so it wasn't bad. We boarded a 10:30 ferry to take us to Inis Mor, which is the largest of the islands. We could not have picked a more beautiful day. The sky was blue and the sun was out and there was no threat of rain at all (rare for Ireland!).

View from the ferry right after we docked. The grey building in the center is the Aran Sweater shop where they sell the sweaters for which the islands are famous.

When we got to the island, we got off the ferry and went to rent the bikes which would be our transportation for the day. It was a cheap 10 euro fee to rent the bikes for the whole day and they were actually pretty nice/comfortable bikes to ride. It was quite an adventure, but it was nice to take a nice long bike ride and be outside all day! Here are a few bike-riding pictures:

Us on the bikes

action shot... I got pretty good at taking pictures while riding

This is where we rented our bikes from. They were very nice and laid back. When we went to turn them in, there was no one there and they had just left bikes out and told people they could pay when they returned. Talk about being trustworthy!!

Once we had rented our bikes, we were on our way! We got a map from the bike place and set off on our loop around the island (about an 8 mile ride). Now, many people say that the Aran Islands are the most authentically "Irish" place in Ireland, and to some extent that is true. They are most authentically Irish in terms of the stereotype that has grown to represent the Irish people. I learned in one of my classes that this stereotype of "Irish" being rural, catholic, rooted in tradition and gaelic speaking was emphasized mostly due to the opposition it posed to the English (who were urban, protestant, modern and english speaking). I also wonder how "authentic" the Aran Islands can be due to the large tourist volume. We did see some very rural (to put it lightly) people throughout our ride, however. The island reminded me a lot of an island off the coast of Portland only with a slightly irish flair. The homes were simple (and many were run down), the roads were narrow and although there were cars on the island, many people walk or ride bikes as the island is really not that big. There was one grocery-type store and a few restaurants but for the most part, it was the epitome of a rural island.

This was my FAVORITE part of the day. We came across this little salt-water lake that had at least a dozen swans swimming around in it. I could have sat and watched the swans all day. They were absolutely beautiful. (It reminded us of that scene in The Notebook when they saw all of the swans). There are a lot of swans in Ireland, actually which is something I didn't realize until I got here.

Beach! Reminds me a lot of Maine beaches. It was too cold to test the water, but it was nice to see a beach! One of my favorite parts of being on the Island was being around the ocean all day.

A main difference between Maine islands and Ireland islands: The cliffs. These clifs were another really cool part of the trip. Where there would have been fences and railings keeping people away from the edge if we were in the US, these cliffs were completely bare and we could look over the edge! It was pretty freaky!

The only word I can think of to describe these cliffs is "magestic". I can't wait to see the Cliffs of Mohr now!

Looking over the edge!

Overall, we had a great day on the island. After our long bike ride, we stopped at a little pub (it was actually American themed) and got some food. We were all starving and ate everything on our plates! Before boarding the ferry home we explored the sweater shop, got some hot chocolate and returned our bikes. It was a great (and very Irish) day!!