Day Trips, The Aran Islands and The Ring of Kerry

(Doorway at Dun Aengus, 3000 year old fort on Inishmore)

Over the last week and a half, I have had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling around Ireland. On Sunday, we decided to stray from the structured tour bus routes and take a day trip of our own. Mom, Dad, Kelly and I hopped in the rental car (a huge asset) and made our way along Galway Bay and up the west coast to Clifden. Along the way, we saw some spectacular views of the coast and surrounding areas. We also caught some live Gaelic football action at a local pitch. We made our return journey through the Connemara; it was even more impressive as the sunlight hit the terrain.

On Monday we headed off to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. We took the ferry over from Rossaveal, which took a little less than an hour each way. Once on the island, we decided that a horse and trap would be our best method of transportation around the island. Our tour guide was Padraig (Irish version of Patrick), a resident of the island. We traveled up to Dun Aengus, a 3000 year old stone fort. The horse and trap only took us so far and we had to walk up a sizable hill to get there. Once there, we were provided with unrestricted views of the fort and the cliffs of the island. As you can see from the pictures found via the link below, we could walk as close to the edge as we wanted.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjerichsen/SunnyDayTripAndTheAranIslands02

(Kelly next to fishery that we stumbled across driving the coast)

On Tuesday, my parents and I departed Galway without any definite plans. We headed south and stopped at the Cliffs of Moher again, but this time we actually saw the Cliffs. After this stop, which was well worth the second effort, we made our way down to Tralee. Surprisingly, we had a difficult time finding a Bed and Breakfast in this coastal town. It wasn't because there weren't any around, but the first two we tried they were painting in one and the resident's wife was gone from the second. The third time was indeed the charm, but we made a roundabout way of getting to it. For all I knew, we were roughly 10km outside of Tralee. Instead, we had circled most of the town and ended up about 1/4 of a mile from the road we entered town. The owner was extremely nice, but she was leaving for London the next morning so we weren't able to get a full Irish breakfast.

The next morning we left Tralee and headed around the Ring of Kerry. The B&B owner had recommended touring the Dingle Peninsula, but we figured the Ring of Kerry was the better choice. We were definitely not disappointed. As you can see from the pictures in the link below, we saw some impressive stuff. Despite all of the negative connotations associated with "touristy" things, there is usually a reason they are so popular. So was the case with the Ring of Kerry. There were tons of tour buses, but they weren't much of an inconvenience to us as we made our way around.

Here are the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjerichsen/TheCliffsOfMoherPtIIAndRingOfKerry

(Mom and Dad overlooking the bay in Waterville)

Unfortunately, my parents and I had to separate after our day in the southwest corner of Ireland. They took me to Killarney, where I caught in evening train back to Galway. I had to work on Thursday and thier flight left Dublin Friday morning, so we were forced to part ways. It was an awesome time having them here, one that I am sure none of us will forget anytime soon.

On a different note, there are a few random facts that I thought I would include.

• There is a 150 euro fee if you are caught spitting out your gum
• The sun is up for 17 hours a day right now
• 44 Gleann Dara is now full - a French couple, an Irish girl, a Slovakian guy, Kelly and I
• I have seniority in our house - crazy, since I've only been here four weeks