This past weekend we made a getaway from Galway City to the largest of the Aran Islands, Inis Mór. The island is a remote and beautiful place, especially in the off-season when many of the tourists are still busy planning their trips. We took advantage of this opportunity to save a little money by braving the cooler weather during the slow season and it was well worth it.

(don’t miss the slide show at the end of the post!)

We set out from Galway City on Friday afternoon by catching the shuttle bus to Ros a’ Mhíl (Rossaveal) where we hopped on the 6:00 pm ferry. By this time it was dark and the wind was picking up. The uncovered upper deck of the ferry was off limits, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it much in the dark anyway. The ferry set a course for Cill Rónáin (Kilronan) and wow, was the sea choppy! We landed on Inis Mór about 45 minutes later and hopped into a mini bus to Ard Einne, our bed and breakfast for the weekend. Clodagh, the innkeeper, showed us to our room and we relaxed in the comfortable lounge downstairs before heading to bed.

In the morning, we were treated with a wonderful view of the bay and lighthouse of Kilronan from our window. The beds were comfortable and the bathroom fixtures were all new. The room had a kettle for tea and coffee along with milk and sugar in order to get the first morning buzz before breakfast. Downstairs, there awaited 3 glasses of juice and a full selection of cereals, fruit and milk. We had a nice chat with Clodagh and she asked if we liked a full Irish breakfast (eggs, bacon, tomatoes, brown bread) and either tea or French press coffee. Clodagh was most accommodating and she offered to ring the bike shop for us so we could hire a few bikes in order to explore the island. The B&Bs were running off-season rates, therefore we paid €40 (normally €50) for each adult. This was well worth it. The entire weekend was stress free since Clodagh helped us with all the little details such as phoning taxis and suggesting routes and sites to visit.

We headed off to town on our bikes and made our way along the coast road towards the seal colony near a beach on the northeast side. The road was sparsely traveled and offered spectacular views of Galway Bay, even on a cloudy Irish day. A horse greeted us and almost chewed up my hand. I really needed an apple for him, but ended up disappointing him instead. He put on a show for us, running up and down his stone wall surround. When we reached the seal colony, there were none to be found, but the view was spectacular nonetheless.

Just beyond the beach, the road forks to either the tiny village of Cil Mhuirbhigh or Dún Aonghasa (one of seven forts {map} on the Aran Islands) so we chose the latter in order to beat the rain. The road follows uphill to a base area of a few shops and a cafe about 2km up. We parked our bikes and headed to the Visitor’s Center. I have a Heritage Card, which offers free admission for one year to several historic sites in Ireland. I highly recommend getting one if you plan to see more than a few sites. It’s well worth it and supports the preservation of many cultural sites. The Visitor’s Center has information about the excavation and preservation of this prehistoric ringfort with activity dating back as early as 1500 BC. The hike to the fort from the Visitor’s Center is steep but manageable. It is possible to see both sides of the island as you near the top. The fort is essentially three rings forming a D-shape on the edge of a roughly 100m cliff that drops down into the Atlantic Ocean. As you can imagine, the view from the top is spectacular. At this moment, I was able to realize how far away North America was as I stared into the massively empty skyline.

We made our way back down to the ‘base camp’ and visited some really cool shops full of handicrafts from the island. One shopkeeper reminded me of my grandmother and was very close to selling me one of her hand knit authentic Aran Island sweaters (beware of imitations!). I took down her info and might place an order when I get some spare cash. I did purchase a really cool t-shirt depicting a Celtic druid. We had some lunch in a thatched-roof cafe and headed back out just as it started to rain.

The rest of the bike trek took us along a tiny old farm road on the West coast of the island. We aimed to see the wormhole, a geologic formation, by following a sign but never spotted it. We continued along the road that climbed a huge slope to near the highest point on the island. We spotted the signal tower, the highest point, but never found the road leading up to it. The bike ride was amazing. It was a bit challenging in spots with 35 pounds of weight on the back tire (my son was in a child carrier) but so peaceful in the light rain with the mist off the Atlantic ocean to our right. We rode along the seemingly ancient stone walls that followed the road and discovered another unmarked ringfort before making our way back to town.

We arrived back in Kilronan village and decided to warm up a bit at the American Bar with a couple of pints of Guinness and a bucket of chips. On the TV were Wales v. Scotland in the 6 Nations Rugby tournament match and a couple of locals enjoying the match at the bar. It was a great spot to unwind after who-knows-how many kilometers racked up on the bikes that day. The Guinness never tasted better and the chips were perfectly salty. What a treat! Apparently Scotland won the match, but we had to make our way back to the B&B before dark.

We had hot showers (electric showers are awesome, no waiting for hot water to come out) and got ready for dinner at the Aran Islands Hotel restaurant. The mini bus arrived at Ard Einne with a load of American students on holiday that were staying down the road at Tigh Fitz and heading to the same restaurant. All the girls in the group kept admiring our son who was charming them with his ornery-ness.

Dinner was a long affair but it was nice to relax after a big day of biking. We had a bottle of Valpolicella and some seafood chowder for starters. The chowder was lukewarm and lacking in salt. It wasn’t nearly as good as the creamy tomato stuff at The King’s Head but it did have a nice lemon flavor between the chunks of fish. Erin’s was much better since it was a more appropriate temperature. The service was lacking and we felt overlooked as the wait staff seemingly tended to the larger group by a margin of 3 to 1, though we didn’t let it bother us much. For the main course, I had a penne pasta with creamy tomato sauce and roasted vegetables. The veggies were perfectly crunchy and the sauce was subtle and could have used a bit more garlic. Erin had a half-lobster with steamed vegetables and a crispy cucumber-tomato salad. The lobster was a bit chewy but fun to crack into. We decided to let our son run his natural course of 3 yr old behavior during dinner as long as he didn’t run up and down the restaurant. This tactic worked for the most part and made for an enjoyable evening. The other guests didn’t seem to be bothered so everyone was happy.

I spotted a sign for the “Friends of Ted Festival 2007″ which is a brand new festival this year honoring Ireland’s favorite Aran Islands ‘residents’, Father Ted, Dougal, and Fr. Jack. I couldn’t resist, so I swiped it off the door for a cheap souvenir. The festival takes place in a few weeks and is a fundraiser complete with a contest that should settle a ‘dispute’ over which Island, Inis Mór or Inis Oirr, may claim the title of “Craggy Island,” the fictitious island inspired by the real Aran Islands. The dispute will be settled with a friendly 5-a-side football match. I predict this to become a popular annual event, especially since the 100 tickets available were sold out in a few days. Clodagh, the innkeeper, explained that the B&B owners were caught off guard by this year’s event and they should be better prepared if given proper advance notice of next year’s festival. It’s a great idea to promote tourism in this way, even if the title of “Craggy Island” is never resolved.

We had a well-deserved rest that night and woke up to another great breakfast and some amazing views from the front of Ard Einne, then headed back to the ferry. What a fantastic weekend! I highly recommend it and look forward to visiting the other two islands, Inis Meáin and Inis Oirr.

And now, the long awaited slideshow, or high-res flickr set

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