Aran Islands

Rest day - Friday, July 6th 2018: Inish more (Aran Islands) 0 km / 1941 km, 21°C, sunny

For a while, I hesitated to go to Aran Islands. Too rocky ? Too touristy ? And finally, I don't regret visiting it. I only went on Inis Mor, the biggest of the three islands, but it was absolutely amazing. On my first afternoon, I went to see the Black Fort, as Ken told me few days before, and as advised by the hostel manager.

It's located on a short walk from Kilronan (1h) on the East part of the island. The path quickly leaves the main road and leads to an old rocky one (not suitable for biking). All around it's only dry stones walls. It's said that there is 12 000 km of these walls on the island. In some fields there are cows or sheep. But most of them just have wild grass, very dry at the moment. 

Suddenly the path ends in very high cliffs. It's the south side of the Island, the most impressive. Some big rocks fallen from the cliffs remain in the sea. The waves breaking against the cliffs make strong noise and they dig big holes. They seem so strong.

I had to cross some of the fields to get to the fort. I think it's easy to get lost here. There's nothing around apart from those walls and they all look alike. 

The fort was incredible, just to think that people chose to live here. All around, there are "chevaux de frise". It means people put a lot of rocks up all around as an anti-cavalry obstacle.

It's unbelievable to think that people here spent centuries taking stones from the ground to build forts, defense, and so many walls. 

On my second day, I chose to rent a bike to visit the west part of the island. It's been a long time since I ride a bike, but as we say, it's not something you can forget. However, apparently, my knees forgot how to do it, and the beginning was quite painful. The Aran Islands are stuck in time. It smells like horse on the road (as they are used to transport tourists in carriage now). And I saw a man picking up the hay with a fork to make a millstone.

But it was so great to ride in the morning, before all the tourists arrived by the first ferry, almost alone on the island. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, perfect! I enjoyed it so much!

I went directly to Dún Aonghasa, the most famous stones wall fort of the Aran Islands. The three big stones walls are also surrounded by chevaux de frise. And it's located just on the edge of the cliffs. Very high cliffs, with no protection. I lay down on the ground, to get close and have a look. Ok it's really high. But the view was incredible. On the East, I saw the island and the walled fields, on the West, the fort coming from a very old past, 1500 years BC, and in front of me, the blue sea with a very large horizon. And as the weather was very clear, I could see the cliffs of Moher and even Dingle Peninsula! And all of that alone, without any tourist.

When they started to arrive, I got back to the visitor center, bought the Heritage Card I should have bought seven sites ago, and had lunch. 

In the afternoon, I went more to the west to visit the seven churches. Well, there's only 2 which really remain in the middle of what's now a cemetery, but it used to be a monastery in the VIIIe century, and some tombs are said to be from that time.

Then I took the coastal road to get back to Kilronan. I walked near a beautiful beach, like a blue lagoon. And at the seal colony, I saw a seal, sunbathing on a rock until a tourist getting too close made him run away.