The Aran Islands

What a day! It's hard to believe how much we have been fitting into these days as we have been out and about. The hotel we are staying at (Glenlo Abbey) has the most amazing breakfasts and the hardest beds we've had the whole trip. So while we were all a bit tired this morning - both from the hard beds and from having to get up early to catch the ferry - we had quite the spread for breakfast. It's going to be hard to go back to quinoa after all these full Irish breakfasts. I've had more eggs in the last week than I have had in the last 3 months!

Breakfast set up at Glenlo Abbey

After breakfast, we set out to catch a ferry to the Aran Islands. Money Penny was a bit temperamental this morning and we couldn't get her to find the ferry location. We had to be at the dock by 10:00 and we were still trying to figure it out at about 9am. The ferry dock was reported to be about 38km away, so after chatting with the hotel receptionist, we headed out. We saw the sign she mentioned, but the road looked like an alley, so I ended up driving right by it. Can I just say that almost every road here looks like an alley? It soon became clear that we had gone too far. But then I looked down at the gas tank and saw we were empty! Empty?! This crazy gas guage has kept me constantly guessing. When we drove from Dublin to Cootehill it had gone from full to a 1/4 tank. Seemed strange since it wasn't that far. But then we got in the car the next day and it was 1/2 full and the last two days between 1/2 and 3/4 tank.

Sooo...Moneypenny finally came back online and directed us down another alley. To say that driving here is hair raising is an understatement. We all hold our breath everytime we pass a car. You add the pedestrians, bikers, buses and trucks and it feels like that game Frogger when the frog is trying to get across the streen without getting smooshed. After driving like a bat out of he-- over hill and dale (and Brendan and Cassie can tell you it's hill and dale), we pulled up to the ferry dock with minutes to spare and frankly nerves a bit on edge.

40 minutes later we arrived to Inishmor (the biggest of the Aran Islands). Brendan and Cassie hussled their buns to the bike rentals and sucessfully snagged 4. 

After pondering the map of the island a bit, we were off. For some reason here they get you all worked up about how gorgeous and cool these places are and forget to mention the near impossible ride there! They reel you in with a gorgeous picture and then an easy beginning. But soon you are huffing and puffing and pushing those pedals against the wind. As we got close to the Lighthouse, we had to walk our bikes.

I tell ya we were in no shape to be biking up those big hills or on roads of rocks the size of baseballs. But one way or another we soaked up the scenery and made it to a few points of interest on the island. First was the lighthouse at the highest point on the island. It was more a pile of a rubble than somewhere to explore, but we took a few pictures and were on our way down the hill.

 

There were 10 stops on the map, all on a 9 mile long, 2 mile wide island. But the trip to the lighthouse was so tiring that we decided that we really only cared about seeing the cliffs. So it was with definite enthusiasm that we sailed back down the hill to find a pub and some grub (as JK says).

After soaking up some sun and enjoying the gorgeous weather we were lucky to have, we headed to the cliffs on the other side of the island. And let me tell you it was certainly NOT an easy trek over there. We biked around the little bay and then it was all uphill rocky terrain from there. We must have missed the memo cause we were the only crazy stubborn fools to stumble all the way to the top, but once we made it, we sat down for a bit and it was beautiful.  It's quite amazing to think the locals on the island have this in their backyards!

As we were getting ready to go, we were joined by someone else. Tto our amazement, he was was from Arlington, WA! He has been riding his Harley all around Ireland and had been visting friends in London.

Of course JK chatted up a storm with the guy, which was fine because we needed to rest! We decided to call it a day and head home. It's amazing the difference in scenery on the coast versus the countryside drive to and from Cavan/Cootehill. Today it is all rocky and there's barely any green. The whole land is sectioned off into these square pieces of land surrounded by piles-of-stone walls with holes in them so that the 100mph wind they get here doesn't blow them over.

Finally Money Penny guided us home without any temper tantrums. She says "recalculating" when she gets annoyed with us.  It was a good day with a few ups and downs and we were quite happy to get back to the hotel and relax.  

Tomorrow is our last full day here in Ireland. We've got all sorts of plans, but after a day of biking we'll have to see what we can handle! The less sitting the better, that's for sure!

-Deb & Cassie