Aran Islands

At the cliff outside Dun Aonghasa

Right now, I'm on Inishmore in the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland. Originally, I was only planning to spend a night here before returning to happenin' Galway. I get the sense that this place could be pretty popular during the summer (if such a thing exists), but right now it's very quiet- perfect place to stop and relax and catch up with the world as well as catch up with myself.

On my first day, I had some good weather (light showers) and walked most of the island. The highlight was Dún Aonghasa, a fort built in the 2nd century BC. That's B.C.! Click the wikipedia link, they explain it better than I could.

                                    Panorama video from inside Dun Aonghasa

I also was blown away by all the stone walls. I haven't done any research but it seems like they were built both for herd rotation and to clear the rocky land for crops. A fellow traveller told me that there are something like 20,000 miles of stone walls on the island, which is remarkable because it is only 9 mile long and 2 miles wide.

I took a self-timed Giordann pose photo along one of the walls for all the sibies, Greeny in particular, roughly a year after the Barcelona trip. I'm not going to explain this photo for the rest of you bc it's not possible. I couldn't explain it to the Irishman tending to his herd on the other side of the wall either, so don't feel left out.

Yesterday, I barely left the hostel. It was raining, it was pouring, the old man was snoring, it was windy and I was lazy. Around sundown, everything calmed a bit an I decided I needed to earn that frozen pizza, so I took a short walk along the sea. If I learned anything from Vrango, it was that any island, no matter how small or how often the ferries run, has a football field. I was beginning to have my doubts about Inishmore because I had already found the school and there was no sign of a pitch (nice terminology, Sam!). But sure enough, along the beach, I found it, complete with rugby goalposts and probably something for hurling too, but I don't know what hurling is yet.

Today, I set out on a wander and came upon Teampall Chiarain, an 8th/9th century church. I found myself thinking about two people I care about greatly who are in poor health-my great grandmother Gackie and my uncle Freddy. It was an incredibly peaceful place and I found it a great place for a long stop and think, which I dedicated to them.