30 June: Day Nine
Aran Islands: Inishmore
After a relaxing boat ride over, Declan arranged our group into vans to explore the island. While the island doesn't have lots of huge sites, the stone walls, green grass, and backdrop of blue water made it charming to see. I adored the fairy houses that decorated the yards. Many of them matched the human houses, but these little dollhouse-like structures were for the magical only! They take their fairies seriously.
We had another beautiful day to enjoy the Dun Aenghus fort. It is quite a walk to the fort and while it starts out fairly flat on a gravel path, as you approach the fort it turns to a steeper staircase of uneven stones without any handrails. So we felt like we had accomplished a task once we made it to the actual fort. Once again the views were amazing with sheer cliff drop-offs. (AND once again there are no barriers to keep anyone away from the edge...so if you feel like dangling your feet over the side you can!) Just being within 10 feet of the edge felt daring enough for me. We had a little bit of free time at the end of our day to shop the HUGE sweater store. When I packed my one carryon for this trip, I made sure to leave just enough room so I could take an Irish sweater home with me! |
Our experiences coming full circle...
We are lucky to live near NYC. Before our travels to Ireland we saw the play The Cripple of Inishmaan on Broadway. It starred Daniel Radcliff (aka Harry Potter) as a disabled young man who lived on the Aran Island of Inishmaan. It was a fantastic play that featured Irish humor and provided a glimpse into the desolate life on the island. Because we had seen the play, we felt an instant connection to the island. We enjoyed our inside jokes about staring at cows, sweeties, and peas as we explored the island! I love how all our experiences become connected.
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