For my final excursion of this adventure, I hopped on the Aran Islands shuttle from Galway City to the ferry, about an hour away, in Rossaveel.  On the ferry, I was in for a wild ride!  Today’s weather was the best it’s been in quite some time (thanks to Storm Kathleen!); I wonder how bumpy the ride is usually out to the Aran Islands!

I visited the largest of the islands, Inis Mór, touring around the sites on a rented e-bike.  What a cool way to see the island!  Upon turning in my bike, I walked to the little village and sat in a pub with four locals for some lunch and a pint.  No need for my book or cellphone to keep me occupied while eating – these four gentlemen were quite entertaining!  I learned a couple very important lessons.  First, pick a grey horse to place, especially if it’s wearing the number 5.  Also, in Ireland a pint is 20 ozs, a shot is 1.2 ozs, and a glass of wine is 6 ozs.  🤣

My first view of the island from the ferry dock

I saw horses, donkeys, and cattle on my bike ride

This time, I leap-frogged with two couples from Toronto so we traded photo taking

Cairns!

A mix of old and new houses on the island

Old home

I parked my bike and hiked up to Dún Aonghasa, the largest of the prehistoric stone forts of the Aran Islands. Perilously perched on a sheer sea-cliff, Dún Aonghasa defiantly faces the Atlantic Ocean.

Sitting safely away from the cliff’s edge for this photo op

Two young women from a group of college-aged students from South Africa decided to cool off a bit

While waiting for the ferry to return us to Galway, a man pulled out his accordion and this couple danced (click on the photo for a short video)

A few minutes later, the man changed his shoes and treated us to Irish dancing (click on photo for the video)