Since 2019 (when I got my UK driving licence and my first motor bike here) we have been exploring Ireland in a clockwise direction starting from Belfast. We've gotten as far as the cliffs of Moher so far, so I looked for something in the vicinity. The Aran Islands caught my eye. I remember seeing advertisements for boat rides to see the cliffs from the sea, and also visit the islands for a day trip. Back then, I was in much better shape but it still struck me as a rather hectic proposition. This time seemed perfect. Being so close to the date and on a long weekend, I wasn't sure if things would work out - but it did. Snagged the last room at a BnB... not on the main island (Inis Mor) but the smallest one (Inis Oirr). No problem - there's probably a ferry running between the islands, right?
Turns out the ferry for the Easter weekend is still on its winter schedule - so the last ferry to the island is at 3pm! And on the way back, we could only get a ferry at 8am or 2pm. So we booked the last ferry out and last ferry back.
The only other preparation I did for the trip was fix the second folding cycle so we could take them both along. The ferry rules clearly state that cycles are not allowed for day passengers (probably so that the islands' cycle rentals have a chance at running their businesses!).
We packed light, and left at the crack of dawn - the first time in months I've been up at 6am! It was going to be a tiring journey as we would reach at 12:30pm without breaks if it all went as per Google maps' plan (which it never does!). I noted the entire route as per Google maps and Waze (which differed for certain sections of the route) the previous night, and Shruti navigated based on them, manually. For once, we were not let down by either, although for the last hour I ignored Waze and just followed street signs!
We got to the ferry terminal, but watching the weather (and the prediction for the weekend) we abandoned the plan of taking our cycles to the island. The ferry folks also said that as the weather is predicted to be so bad, there will be no inter-island ferry for the entire Easter weekend.
It looked all set to be 3 days on a tiny island with nothing to do.
30 minutes of very rough seas later, we set foot on Inis Oirr (also spelled Inisheer). Walked 15 minutes to our BnB (Google maps said 7 minutes, but we actually got lost despite following it!), checked in and literally collapsed in bed. I was in agony, my feet were sore, and I was exhausted from the early start and the long drive with very few and short breaks. The view was magnificent though, and I can't believe they saved the best room for the lucky last!
I was so sore, I actually thought I might take all 3 days to recover only to head straight back! Thankfully though, I was much better by 6pm when we set off for one of the two restaurants on the island - the one that just reopened this weekend for Easter!
The folks at Tigh Ruairi welcomed us with a menu on a whiteboard - a sign of proper good food! We were ravenous, having not eaten properly all day and it was a proper 3 courses, with a pint to wash it down! Back to base, I showered and was literally in bed at 10pm - again, the earliest in months, and for good reason!
The next morning, we were up at 8am, and the first to arrive for breakfast - perfect as we got the table with best view 😍
The continental breakfast was par for course but I was still sore from the previous day and needed more rest after we were done. The wind and (literally) horizontal rain weren't encouraging either! At about noon though, Shruti said we should make an attempt to get some form of sightseeing done. She said the shipwreck was just a 25 minute walk away as per Google maps so we decided to give it a go.
Thankfully the rain had slowed down to just a drizzle but it stung all the same with the wind. We took about 45 minutes to reach the wreck, and were almost alone there - just another 3 guys. A few minutes there and we were ready to head back - the wind was so strong we were struggling to stand upright on the rocks for the photo! Once back we had a cup of tea to warm up before we took another nap to recover. I was still sore but I think the movement did me some good - my watch said it was 6km in all, so a pretty long walk!
We decided to try the other restaurant, Inis Oirr Hotel, and it was slightly cheaper, but the food, while not bad by any stretch, was not as good as the other one's.
Just as we were finishing, a man walked in with a guitar and someone at the bar offered him a pint. I put two and two together and came to the only logical (and happy) conclusion: there would be some live music!
Another pint later, the same man asked us to vacate our table as we were sitting at the very spot they were going to use to perform 😂
We took our seats at the bar, and 6 musicians appeared almost out of nowhere... exactly what we hoped for! A little. boy even sat with them playing air guitar on his "hurling" bat ☺️
Back to base, showered and in bed for a good night's sleep. This time a lot less sore!
The next morning, we were up at 8 and rewarded with the sun out and not a cloud in sight! Same continental breakfast, and Shruti insisted we don't waste a minute after. We walked down to the lighthouse, on the southeast of the island. This was an estimated 45 minute walk, much more undulating than the walk to the wreck, but we were rewarded with nice views of the small plots of land bounded by stone walls, typical of the Aran Islands. The lighthouse itself was walled off so we could only get a photo from outside - thankfully a couple of guys arrived on their cycles right as we reached and were happy to click a photo of us.
We had a leisurely walk back, looking for a few of the sights we were supposed to pass by. Some were either badly marked on Google maps, or maybe inaccessible - but we finally got to the two main sights: the watch tower and the castle. The watch tower is the highest point of the island, but the view to one side is obstructed by the water tank (which supplies water to the entire island) and to the other is obstructed by the castle, which is only slightly lower!
We didn't spend much time at either, and were back at the airbnb/pub area at 1pm. All the walking had worked up our appetites and we headed to Tigh Ruairi for pint and a light lunch - the catch of the day!
At this point we had already walked 14km and I couldn't believe I wasn't knackered! We set off for the last spot on our agenda for the island: the beach! I suggested walking across to the other end, where we could sit on the rocks and enjoy our chocolate Easter bunnies. As we clambered the rocks, I heard the drone of twin propellers that changed our plans - it's time for some plane spotting!
We hurried along the perimeter fence to a vantage point and were rewarded with watching a plane spin up, taxi and take off - the radio at the air strip was so loud we could even hear the clearance to visually head to Connemara!
Back on the beach, we enjoyed our chocolate bunnies and reflected on how wonderful the day and trip had been.
And finally... one last photo before we head back to base!
right as we were about to head back through the beach and to the airbnb, I head a now familiar sound: the twin propellers of a plane! it was approaching to land, and that could mean the chance of getting to see it up close, even a take-off! the boundary fence was literally 30-40 feet away (and strangely enough, a fence post had collapsed, so I could have literally walked into the airfield!). now obviously that would have been a crime so I stayed on the outside of the fence, but as this end of the boundary was at a lower level than the runway (the runway actually sloped slightly upwards in the east-west direction it was in use) so I hastily legged it around the fence to a point where I could actually see the terminal building and the plane. the propellers weren't running, but there were no passengers getting on or off, so I assume that had already happened during my scramble to a vantage point. there was someone with a high-vis on the ground, and he made some sort of gesures. The engine started and I quickly got my phone to start recording video.
yep, that was a fitting wrap for my agenda for today, and indeed for the stay on the island!
back to base, I was surprised I could still function. My watch said I had covered about 16km (and I had walked a bit before I started tracking, so it was a little more!). I don't think I've walked that much in a single day since 2018, when I was in the prime of my hiking health! a quick shower, packing, and a short rest (I couldn't sleep!) later, we headed back out to tigh ruari for our last dinner of the trip. we arrived at 7:45 as dinner was to be served till 8pm... and to our utter surprise, the pub and restaurant was absolutely packed! we were lucky to get a table for two - there were 4 people walking in our footsteps that got the last table in the restaurant!
service was really slow, perhaps even unreasonably slow - we waited over an hour for our meal to arrive, although honestly after having had both breakfast and lunch I did welcome the time to build an apetite. the table next to ours (basically the last people at the restaurant) were a little unhappy as 3 of them had finished their food while one of them hadn't even been served. after the waitress received their complaint and walked away, they said aloud that it's ironic that he shouldn't get his food because it's his birthday!
I chimed in and wished him a happy birthday and a pretty long conversation ensued, covering all varieties of topics (mostly Ireland, but also a bit about India, Belfast, etc). also, how one of the ladies at the table (the birthday man's daughter) loved the island so much from childhood despite having no ties to it othern than being her favourite vacation spot that she decided to get married on the island! we spoke for the entire duration of our meal - in fact when we finished, we were having so much fun that we decided to order dessert (despite being stuffed!) so we could hang about for a bit as I didn't feel like having another drink!
we sat around and chatted until we were literally the only patrons at the restaurant and then bid them farewell, hoping to meet again - they said they visit the island every year so there's a chance we'll bump into them again if we visit!
we had the proverbial "irish goodbye", literally talking until they got out through the door and we decided to stay in for a minute just to end the goodbye!
back to our bnb, I was soon in bed - worried about what state i'll be in after the crazy amount of exertion. but I felt fine, and that felt almost surreal!
and that's when I thought: I HAVE TO BLOG THIS!
ps: I only wrote the title and a couple of lines in the draft before I put my phone away and slept off, but Monday was perfect, and I was very relieved it was! I did take it easy though: breakfast at 9:30, finished packing, rested, then writing my blog sitting in the dining room until it was time to leave. the drive back home was tiring, but thankfully due to the much lesser time pressure on this leg of the journey, we were able to take a couple of breaks, including a weird dinner at an Indian restaurant about halfway to Belfast as Shruti was craving vegetarian food. we reached home at 10:45pm or so and I was able to unload the car (including the folding cycles we didn't use!) as well before I showered and crashed for the night.
pps: bonus: feeding a horse for the first time in my life! somewhere after the castle on the path down to the beach area. also, my first ever youtube short (I don't know why I can't upload a vertically shot video as a normal video!)
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