After arriving at Inishmore, we checked into our hostel. We had two rooms since there were seven of us. After chatting with an American worker at the hostel, we found out some things about the island and where are the best places to hit up (like the seal colony where she told me there would definitely be seals…) We rented bikes and set off for the rest of the day.
We headed first for the seal colony, but not surprisingly, there were none present. I was once again pretty bummed about this because I really was looking forward to finally seeing a wild seal. After that we headed to Dun Aenghus which is a stone fortress on the edge of a cliff. It is unknown if it was actually built on a side of a cliff, or if erosion just caused it to become U-shaped instead of a full circle. I should also mention that there is nothing actually protecting the edge of the cliff (no guardrails or anything) which in itself made the trip worth it. We all crawled up to the side of the cliff and peered over which was terrifying but so cool. It was creepy to think about how you could just jump over or fall over the ledge at any moment. ( I should add that it was a very windy day which made it even more scary.)
We then walked along the coast in search for a landmark entitled The Worm Hole. The picture I had seen looked like a giant whirlpool of some sort, so I was really wanting to find it. It ended up not really being a whirlpool at all but this giant square rock formation. Too hard to describe, so you’ll just have to see the picture below. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere searching for it with no one else around. We did run into a man walking by himself who did help us find it. Turns out (as we found out the following day), he is a photographer for a postcard company, and I’ve bought several of his postcards!! His name is Liam Blake. He was very friendly. Some of the other girls had him sign one of their postcards. I think it made his day J
So after that, we headed back to the hostel to make some much needed dinner. Everyone was starving at this point and just ready to relax. We had our bike rentals until the following day, but I was so happy to be off that bike, and I definitely wasn’t riding it anymore.
The hostel ended up being so uncomfortable, and I didn’t really get a good nights sleep. It was one of those nights where I just kept hoping for morning, so I didn’t have to lay there anymore. We ate breakfast the next morning, returned our bikes, and then set off to see the last sight we wanted to on the island, the stone lighthouse which was at the highest point of the island. It was about a 45 minute walk, but the view from the top was stunning. Pictures really just can’t capture it and they didn’t turn out too great, so I guess you all will just have to go there someday and see for yourselves J We had a little time to shop at the the gift shop before getting on the ferry. My mom had given me some birthday money to spend on something I really wanted, and I finally saw something that I just had to have….an Irish wool throw blanket! It’s croqueted and so cozy! It was a little expensive, but I love that I will have it for the rest of my life to always remind me of my time here in Ireland. It’s perfect.
Our ferry left at noon, so we arrived back in Galway around 2 oclock. We shopped around a little and grabbed some late lunch before heading back to Cork. As much as I love weekend trips, it always feels great to be back “home”.
Things I learned on this trip:
THIS IS LISA SPEAKING: stunning, how are you going to get that home? Looks quite large too.
ReplyDeleteHaha, just like Aunt Lisa: her only comment is regarding the wool blanket, not the beautiful landscapes.
ReplyDeletefavorite part of this post is what you learned, hahaha. that was the worst night of sleep I got in a hostel. except in dublin when I "perched"...
ReplyDelete