Aran Islands (Days 23-24)

The Aran Islands are the most quiet and secluded place I’ve ever visited. We stayed on the island of Inishmor (as in Lieutenant of Inishmor, the play), a tiny island that is about a half hour bike ride from one end to the other with one restaurant, one coffee shop, two pubs, and one hotel. After moving in to our hotel (the hotel, I should say), a few friends and I went out for some lunch before I made one of the greatest decisions I’ve made in my almost 21 years… I decided to go on a bike ride.
To be honest, it was not actually my idea to rent bikes and set off on this epic bike ride, it was Clare’s, but the great decision I made was to join her (along with friends Kenzie and Caroline)!

This bike ride was pure magic! It was a glorious day, and Inishmor is an island of rolling hills and unbelievable sights. I remember coming up over that first hill and looking out over the incredible view of the ocean around me and the rest of the island, with its unique rock fences created fantastic patterns on the land, below me.

We made several stops on our gorgeous journey. One stop was at a rocky cove where we climbed over mossy boulders to get as close as we could to the sunbathing seals in the ocean. 

Another required us to hop a stone fence to rest on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. The last stop was at a white-sand beach where the sky seemed bluer than ever before and the water was crystal clear. We sat on the soft sand and sang songs about Ireland and beaches and friendship until it was time to return our bikes.  

We visited the much smaller island of Inishmaan the next day to see John Millington Synge’s cottage. I had no idea what an influential playwright Synge was until I visited his cottage, the place where he stayed after completing his education and where he found the inspiration for many of his plays. The woman who is in charge of the upkeep of the cottage today is incredibly passionate about Synge, his work, and what he stood for, and it was such a treat to learn about the man from someone who cared so much and is such an expert. She really got me excited about reading more of Synge’s work, and I feel like I will appreciate it more now that I’ve been to the Aran Islands and Synge’s cottage and have seen them myself. 

The Aran Islands were breathtakingly beautiful and very relaxing. A much needed chill weekend in what has been a crazy busy but fantastic schedule!