Inishmor

THE THING ABOUT A BOUTIQUE HOTEL, apparently, is that it is small.

Five things we never expected, however, were:
1. A hotel so obscure that it didn't actually have its name on the front, due to heritage restrictions etc etc
2. A hotel keeper who rang to tell us where it was, when we were clear we must be both lost and confused.
3. A hotel keeper who was Australian.
4. A hotel keeper who was so apologetic about the size of the room -- yes, Peter the bed was good, even though Don's feet hung off the end and went out the window if he got out the side -- and thanked us for being such good sports, so understanding etc.
5. Leaving the (literal) keys when Don went to shift the car and had to wait outside for half an hour calling for Sue to let down her hair from the third floor ....

So, after a rather sleepless night ( 21st party below until about 2), we grabbed takeaway coffees and sped along Galway bay to get the 10.30 ferry to the largest of the Aran Islands, Inishmore.







Don decided to ride around the island while I took the bus.









Others took a pony trap.




There is so much rock. The farmers made drystone walls to enclose their fields and to clear them of rock.










There is so little soil they need to bring seaweed, sand and whatever mud they can up to their fields. I saw the ruin of an ecclesiastical study centre from the 7-8th century.







These are three memorial stones of Romans who died here. The fort Dún Aonghasa is built right on the cliff.










Sorry, sideways viewing only here.




There are four seals hidden in this picture. They looked like slugs on rocks.

Then motorway driving off and on to Ennis.


- Posted as we pack up