Day 63: Inis Mor

Go to the Aran Islands. Live there as if you were one of the people themselves; express a life that has never found expression.
-W.B. Yeats

I fell in love with Inis Mor.

I already have plans underway for a Bed and Breakfast/Tea Parlor/Alpaca Farm/Craft Store that I'll run somewhere along the coast. There's plenty of room and old buildings to choose from.

Inis Mor is what you think of when you think of Ireland. Also what you think of when you think of paradise. I'm pretty sure if the ferry would have shut down for a few days I wouldn't have complained, maybe would have moved in with some of the locals I met at the pubs. All I can think is when am I going to get to go back?


Gen on the morning ferry over to the island. Pumped! We drove through Connemara to the dock and it was beautiful.


The best, easiest, and cheapest way to see the island is on bike, even if you are as out of shape as me! I only had to walk up one hill, although I was hurting a little bit the next day.


Hey ponies! More horses than people on this island it seems! There are definitely more sheep than people. The horses are extremely social and very excited to taste your clothing, bike handles, purses, whatever's in reach.


Outside of St. Enda's monastery. The church was blocked off, but as you can see in the Cliffs of Moher posts barriers are made to be broken in Ireland. The sign on the church says its from the 7-8th century.


Hanging in the monastery.


Genevieve and Abby making their way down the rocks to the coast. This was right by a seal colony, I'll try to get a couple pictures from my friend paige of the seals. There were also tide pools full of mussels, clams, all kinds of delicious sea life.


So many horses!


Look at this precious angel. He was scared to come out from behind his mom.


Graveyard on the way to Dun Aengus. Most of the graves belonged to the Hernon family, members of which I met at a pub later that night. Two of their sons were playing the banjo and the accordian, they're a very old island family apparently.


This is me in front of the outer wall of Dun Aengus. We road our bikes a few miles from the village and then hiked up this rocky hill until we reached the fort. The cliffs here are just as breathtaking as the cliffs of Moher, its no wonder prehistoric people built this fort almost 3,000 years ago! I thought St. Enda's was old! Inside the interior wall is a large stone altar on the very edge of the cliff that may have been used for sacrifice or other pagan ceremonies.


Cliffs by Dun Aengus


Again, too close?


This beach at the foot of the cliffs received a clean beach award! From who? I have no idea.


Me and Abby at the shore, quite a bit different than Jersey!


Gen's pretty happy to be on Inis Mor.


Breakfast for dinner! We saved money by going to the one grocery store on all three islands and picking up some breakfast food including rashers! Better than Taylor Ham!


This is the view I got to wake up to after a night at Joe Watty's pub on Inis Mor. "The Hernons and Padraic" played some great Irish songs, including the crowd favorite "Galway Girl," but also threw in some Bon Jovi. Nice. I took my tea on the hostel deck and enjoyed this beautiful morning.


Kilronan hostel, great people, great location, happy days as they say!