DAY 20

9:00 am Nothing in Ireland is ever planned. People here live by the seat of their pants. They must firmly believe life is what happens while you are busy planning. So I too wake up this morning without a clue how I will fill the day.

11:00 am It is finally decided the Spaniards want to go into Galway. I go with, hoping to catch a tour to Connemara, an area just north of Galway with beautiful landscape. Once at the visitor center we are informed the last bus left at 10:45. So, now what. Luckily the kind tourist lady informs us the last bus to the Aran Island ferry leaves in 10 minutes. This turns out to be one of the biggest best breaks of my trip. The bus ride out was spectacular. You drive along the coast and see an old school links golf course. Then, half way there the terrain turns to something peculiar and rarely found anywhere in the world. It is a world of rocks, except there is grass growing on and around these rocks. This proves that even if you planted grass seed on your car in Ireland, by the next day your car would be green.

12:00 pm The 40 minute ferry ride is filled with interactions with my first real Americans. They are from Illinois and, not surprisingly, 3 of the 4 are teachers. Who else can have a decently paying career so that you can afford and have the time to gallivant all over the world.

1:00 pm On the island you can either walk, “hire” a bike or “hire” a car. Since I love biking and love having the freedom to have a self guided tour and love only spending five euro, the bike was a no brainer. The bike was a solid 10-speed and I headed out on the ancient Irish speaking island. It’s about 10 miles long by two miles wide. Cycling along the coast was geourgous, with the blue Atlantic and the small mountains of the other Aran islands in the background. Then I went up the mountain a piece. All of a sudden I am walking around terrain I have never experienced. Slabs and slabs of rock, with of course grass in between them. Back on the bike and I pedaled ferociously to reach the highest point on the island, where the locals wisely placed a light house and signal tower.
After the tower, I headed down a path to an ancient monument. The last 100 feet have to be done on feet. I turn the corner and two massive horses are just eating grass on my path. After the horse bucked and made me think it was ready to attack, they both ran off quickly. The monument was neat, a stone igloo. Don’t know if you are supposed to go in it and it is creepy to think there is no mortar holding the rocks, but I went in thinking, “if its held for 4000 years I think it will hold another two minutes.”

Then some ancient churches and the really breathtaking Celtic fort. Some poor German broke his ankle on the way up, probably Karma for that jerk I met in Cork- see Day 13. At the top you are surrounded by these incredible stone walls and looking down steep cliffs into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s like the Pacific Coast Highway meets Robin Hood. It is incredible that they built these forts. I picked up a stone on the island that was one foot by one foot and it weighed easily 80 pounds. So these other stones that are sometimes three feet by three feet has to weigh at least 720 pounds. Met a girl from Slovenia at the top and she asked, “You know where it is?” I replied with a description of where Slovakia exists and she went on to inform me it is not Slovakia.

After the fort I saw hundreds of dolphins swimming right off the coast. It is like today is a charmed day. On the ride back to the ferry it is a totally different experience, because now the haze has cleared and the view is even more spectacular.
Right before reaching the ferry I witnessed a man driving his car with his hand out the window. Connected to that hand out the window is a horse. He is leading a horse down the road in his Renault whatever. Just the amazing juxtaposition of ancient and modern.

5:30 pm Made the ferry by two minutes. Chatted with three more Americans (Clevelanders) on the bus ride home, of course one was a teacher.

7:00 pm Once in Galway, killed time waiting for my ride by watching a really good magic show and other random street theatre. Had some dinner and a glass of wine and slept well.