Thursday…11/7/2019 The Aran Island—Group 1

Nov. 7, 2019

Dear Family and Friends,

You will notice from the title that our 70 tour members became two smaller groups today. One group,including yours truly, went by boat to the Aran Island just off the coast near Galway while group 2 went to Connemara and Cong, the site of the John Wayne-Maureen O’Hara movie “The Quiet Man” directed by John Ford. I can only tell you about our trip, but will find someone to share their experiences on a later blog.

I got up early to see a little of Galway as we will be returning after dark. These photos are of the park across the street and the Galway Cathedral.

We went by bus out to the the ferry for a one hour ride over choppy water to the largest of the Aran Island, Inishmore (Inis Mor in Gaelic) There are 800 people who live on the island and if you want to build a new house there you must not only be Irish but be from the island. The only way for an outsider to own a house on the island is to wait until one comes up for sale, about once every 10 years, or marry someone from the island.

Video:

This was one day in a million no rain, beautiful sunshine, gentle winds (I only lost my hat twice before using my hood). Mike from Hammond Tours said that this is so rare for a day in November as we did not have any rain after 6 am. It usually rains at least once a day during this month.

The highlight of the day for me was the hike up Dun Aonghasa, a 2000 year-old-stone fortress perched 275 feet above the sea with spectacular views of Galway bay, Connemara and the Burren. The rocky hike up to the fort took me so long, just because I had to stop every 100 feet to take another photo. In all I took over 250 photos today. And No I am not going to include them all.

From the top you can see the cliffs and the sea as it slams into the island with giant sprays of water. The view is not only awe inspiring but calming to the spirit. I will try to create a few collages of photo to help you imagine this experience.

AT the close of the day we were able to witness a rainbow without rain and a wonderful sunset. A perfect day from the Lord to enjoy this beauty and the blessing that is Ireland!

Rainbow photo below from John Sanabor, Thanks!

The end of another Irish day! Thanks for taking this journey with me.

Ellen