Aran Islands

     After we came back from our European adventures, I knew it was time to get down to business and study for my two exams.  So I planned a trip to the Aran Islands for the next weekend.
     To be fair, I did study during the week, but I knew that two weeks was more than enough time to prepare for my finals.  So I planned for a few days in the Aran Islands, a group of three islands off the west coast of Ireland.  I arrived in Galway, a nearby city, to spend the night before taking the ferry over to Inis Moir, the largest island.  I stayed with a friend, and of course, spent all night talking instead of sleeping.  Waking up was just short of torture, but I managed to pass out in the ferry for a bit.
     When I finally arrived on the islands, I whipped out my camera to take some pictures, and realized to my horror that despite bringing three extra pairs of batteries, I had somehow forgotten the memory card. Brilliant.  I sighed and dragged myself to the hostel, where I met my new roommates--a Polish girl and a Russian girl, who were very involved in making a scarf into a hat (it was pretty cold and windy outside).  Once the lopsided turban was in place, they set off, and I rented a bike to explore Inis Moir.  Inis Moir is only six miles long, so the most common  method of transportation is by bicycle.  When I first heard about this scheme, I was delighted--biking? I can do this all day long!
     I was sadly misinformed about my own fitness. While I can bike all day long on flat ground, the hills of Inis Moir are specifically designed to decimate your thighs within the first half-hour.  Nonetheless, I persevered until I stumbled upon my roommates once again.  They invited me to join them, and I gladly accepted. They brought out a film camera, telling me that they were so blonde that they brought the memory card but forgot their actual camera.  No way. NO way.  It was a match made in heaven.  This sealed the bond and ensured that we would not leave each other's sides for the next two days.
    We decided to try and conquer the "Ring of Aran," a loop that contained some of the most famous sights on the island.  While we didn't make it to all of them, what follows is a smattering of pictures from what we did manage to find.

We did not find the Wormhole, a perfectly rectangular pit in the cliffside.  We did, however, find Mickey Mouse, which we figured was just as cool.

The map advertised a seal colony. Alas, we (or the seals) were misinformed.

Sitting on the edge of the cliff!

Maria, my Russian companion.

Seaside wanderings.

Famous old graveyard.

I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha ha ha!

Just like the Cliffs of Moher, only more beautiful (and with fewer "Don't Commit Suicide" notices).

Seaweed :)

Le ladies.

    After a full day of biking, we raced back to town to return our bikes before 5pm.  I was the only successful party; the shysters who ran Maria and Karolina's place closed ten minutes early.  Thankfully, Maria put her Russian skills to the test the next morning and managed to convince the surly old man that they had been at the shop on time.
    That night, we wanted to have some midnight wanderings on the beach....after we ate dinner.  And after we hung out for a bit.  And after we cooked some more.  And after we took a nap.  By the time I woke up, it was 1am, and my feet were too immersed in sheets to ever want the sand again.  I resigned myself to spending some time at the beach the next day.
    We spent Sunday on foot, and covered the southern tip of the island. The whole place was pretty deserted, so we hopped a few cow fences and walked down towards the coast.  It was beautiful.  We spent the whole day walking along the coast, poking our heads over cliffs, and narrowly avoiding cow pies.  We ate our lunches while dangling our feet over the ocean.  We didn't see a soul for hours.

Dancing on the beach. Maria clearly has had training. I clearly have not.

She sells seashells down by the seashore. We spent so long collecting shells.

I never knew worm poops could be so pretty.

Workin' it.

I am not the only one with Top Model potential here!

Didn't see any people all day, but the donkey was enough for me :)

So glad I found two girls as silly as me.

    We made our way back to town just in time to wander around the overpriced sweater store and then catch the ferry home.  We decided to sit up top, and when it started raining we decided to tough it out.  We lasted about ten minutes until the indoor seats tempted us beyond our control.
    On the bus ride from the dock to Galway, Disney songs were on our mind, and I'll wager the whole bus knew it.  Despite all our singing, the driver did not crash, and we made it back to Galway with nary a broken part.  I parted ways with Karolina and Maria, and headed back to my friend's apartment to collapse until my train left for Dublin in the morning.



Current update: I am done with exams! I finished Monday, visited Bray (a seaside town south of Dublin) today, and am headed to London tomorrow.  Life is beautiful.