On Saturday we went to the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland. To date, its been one of my favorite days while abroad. The weather (always a hot topic) was impressively nice out, too. If I had to choose between nice weather during the weekend trip to Kerry or Inishmore, I'd go with Inishmore.
The largest of the three islands, Inishmore, is known best for its tourism and wool industries. You have to take a ferry to get out to the islands, unless you're able and willing to take an aerial tour (which looks really cool, but given my aversion to flights and bank account, makes it implausible) So, bundled up and expecting cold wet weather, we boarded the ferry only to realize the nice weather in Galway was going to follow us to the Islands.
At which point we were advised to rent a bike.
I had mixed feelings about biking around all day, but couldn't see any major hills we'd have to go up. There was a total of 14 of us from the college, so we were able to get a group rate on the bikes. So far, so good. My roommate had mentioned she didn't know how to ride a bike, and there was a discussion about just walking around and seeing what we could on foot.
Then, we saw a tandem bike.
We went and both got a ticket for the bike rentals, and were told we could choose any bike we wanted. The tandem bikes were locked up. And when I say "bikes" I mean the one adult, and the adult-child tandem bike. We were willing to pay a bit extra for the tandem, but were told that they weren't renting out any tandem bikes for the groups. We could only rent one if someone couldn't ride. We fit the bill.
We decided it might be a good idea to practice in the parking lot, before going out on the road. I'm in the front, in charge of steering and balance, and my partner was the "power house" later in the day when we needed an extra push to get up a hill.
It worked out surprisingly well, aside from a few close encounters, until we got the hang of it. Because the bike was an older model, the frame is heavier than the single bikes, and the positioning of seat and handles meant i was leaning forward more than everyone else in out group. This translates as: going downhill, we were a juggernaut, but if we had to stop, we HAD to do so at the top of a hill. It took more energy to get that bike started forward than it did cycling uphill. The one time we had to push it was up a steep muddy incline, and everyone quickly passed us.
At the end of the day, I was complemented on my graceful dismount in front of the rental building, and upon finding out we were Americans, was called a cowboy. Close enough.
We stopped for breaks and photo-stops throughout the day, which included petting a pair of donkeys after my sister called them over to the wall. She also petted a cow at one point, I think. Halfway through the day we spent some time on the beach, drawing pictures in the sand, picking up sea shells, and enjoying the sun as much as one can in the middle of March.
The photo above was taken just a few minutes after our large group photo, and front & center is me with my with my jeans rolled up, strangely off balance looking at sea shells on the sand. The beach was the warmest I felt outside so far in Ireland. The nice weather was somewhat short-lived. Although still nice enough to not need a jacket, by the time we reached Oun Aonghasa (an old Celtic fort), the chilly weather was returning.
The second highest point on the Island, the hike up to Oun Aonghasa gave us a break from riding the bikes, which was sorely needed. From the fort, you can look out west, and know that the next land mass you'd encounter (if you were lucky enough to make it across the ocean) is Newfoundland.
Above is Oun Aonghasa, the stone fort atop the hill. We saw a few more sites, and some early Irish churches, but this stone fort was the most impressive. Eventually, we made it back into town. The clouds covered the sun, and I think most of us left the island with a warm woolen hat or scarf of some sort. Gorgeous day.
The cherry on top though? My boyfriend was able to catch his flight out of the country despite the blizzard, and I had a message waiting when I got back that he'd be here the next morning.
Perfect day.
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