Surprise, suprise! It rains in Ireland...a lot! They don't call it the Emerald Isle for nothing. And it didn't become the Emerald Isle because its hot and dry. No, in order to get green like that, you have to endure the rain. But, in spite of the rain, the Irish are very friendly, happy folks. It's a little surprising, considering how much rain they have. But I digress...yet again.
So, I suppose you can't win them all. Most of my day trips were really nice, all things considered. But not the day we went to Aran Islands. No, the day we get out on a boat, it not only rains, it pours, and it not only pours, it gusts. It was windy and cold and quite frankly, a little miserable. I'm actually shocked that I didn't get sea-sick. Usually a rocking boat on white caps will do me in. But I survived it. However, I didn't love the island. Sure, it was interesting. But we were stuck there for about six hours when all we really needed was two - three max. To top it off, almost everything was closed on the island because there was a power outage. No lie. So when we went into a restaurant for food, the choices were limited. And later, when we went to a pub to wait for our boat (and get out of the rain), most of them were closed. Still, I'm going to chalk it up to one of my truly Irish experiences...
The island is famous for forts that were built centuries ago. This was part of the trail leading up to the fort. it really gives you an idea of how wet we got.
A cemetery near a church. Keep in mind that only a little over 700 people inhabit this particular island.
Me, in front of the fort, trying to be a good sport in spite of the weather.
Another thing about this area of Ireland...it is really rocky. So what did they do? They took the rocks, built walls, and farmed the ground. I'm telling you, they must have worked for years just to get a little plot ready to farm. No joke. There are so so so so so so many rocks! I decided to help out a little!
A view of the sea from the fort. A little like the Cliffs of Moher, but less impressive.
A little shelter inside the fort.
The sea below the fort.
An unobstructed view of the fort.
2 comments:
I am a little curious between all of the places you went, when exactly you studied.
haha! i was one of the few who actually did all the reading, too! i'll be honest, it wasn't as stressful as i thought it would be...
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