Tuesday morning we got up early and drove to Doolin to catch a ferry ride to Inis Mór (also known as Inishmore), the largest of the Aran Islands. The rain was pouring, and I was worried about what our day would look like. I wanted to rent bikes and ride around the island. If the rain continued, that wouldn't be possible.
We found out that the weather had been so bad the day prior that they canceled all the ferries. Again, we had a tender mercy as the rain stopped moments before it was time to board the ferry. As the kids and I were walking toward the boat, a man from the ticket office stopped me. He asked if I would allow him to refund me the cost of David's ticket. Even though David is five (the minimum age for a full-paying passenger), he felt he was too small to have to pay. Of course I agreed to the refund. It was so thoughtful.
The ride was much longer than we had anticipated. The waves were huge, and the ferry was tiny. We were rocking incessantly. TJ and the girls loved the waves. They stood on deck to try to balance without falling over. David, on the other hand, started to turn green. Eventually his breakfast made a reappearance. Luckily the crew had recognized his greenish hue and handed me a barf bag.
Still feeling good. I'm a fish. David is a hooked fish. TJ is a dead fish.
Huge waves had crashed over the sides of the ferry causing the three older kids to have cold wet feet. With David feeling sick, and the other kids soaked through, and the temperature on the island very cold, we decided to skip the bike ride. Instead we hopped on a little tour bus with some French, German, and Canadian friends. We sat at the back.
Our first stop was this charming cafe. Our tour bus driver claimed that it was voted best cafe in all of Ireland for 2016. We loved it! We had some delicious warm soup and homemade bread. We even enjoyed a fire in the fireplace. It warmed us up and helped my little green David to feel much better.
After we ate, we picked up some wool socks at a little shop across the street. I had the kids with wet feet put on the warm socks. I truly believe it made the rest of our day pleasant.
From there we hiked up to Dún Aonghasa (also called Dún Aengus). Portions of this fortress date back to before 500 BC, though much of what we can see was built in medieval times. It is in ruins now, but the location offers breathtaking views.
After the fort, we rode the bus around the rest of the island.
We saw Na Seacht Teampaill (in English, The Seven Churches). It was the site of an old monastery and despite the name consists of only two churches: Teampall Bhreacain, which was built in the 8th Century, and Teampall an Phoill, built in the 15th Century.
We saw men gathering seaweed from a bay. They sell it to spas around the world. Historically, the Irish would try to remove the loose rocks from their land. Then they would layer seaweed on the land about six inches thick. They would plant their crops in this shallow seaweed/soil mix. Western Ireland was too rocky to plant crops otherwise.
We saw seals. They are right along the shoreline. I zoomed in on the second photo. Can you see them?
We ended our tour at a goat cheese farm. The goats tried to eat our hair, our shoe-laces, TJ's coat, my camera strap, Joey's sweater, and anything else they could find to nibble upon. I think this was the highlight of the day for the kids. Well, all the kids except David, who freaked out pretty quickly and bolted out of the building.
The ferry ride back was much more smooth.
