Today was my trip out to Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands. The tour involved an hour-long bus ride to the ferry, and a 45-minute ferry ride out to the island.
On the ferry ride, I sat beside a 10-year-old boy named Andrew, and we had a nice conversation about colonialism in Africa, the roots of the first World War, the failures of the League of Nations, whether Stalin counts as a war criminal or just a genocidal mad man, and LEGO1. He was a really bright, entertaining kid.
At the island, I got into a tour bus to see the island2. The main thing I wanted to see here was Dun Aengus, a bronze age hill fort. And that was our first stop.
![](http://www.rickneal.ca/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dun-Aengus-Up-1-1024x911.jpg)
![](http://www.rickneal.ca/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dun-Aengus-Down-682x1024.jpg)
![](http://www.rickneal.ca/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dun-Aengus-Inner-Door-1024x768.jpg)
![](http://www.rickneal.ca/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dun-Aengus-Cliffs-990x1024.jpg)
Hiking up, taking the pictures, and hiking down took about 90 minutes, because I am old and arthritic. It was a tough round trip, but I’m glad I did it. I’m even more glad that I don’t have to do it again.
After Dun Aengus and a bite of lunch, we headed off to the Seven Churches.
![](http://www.rickneal.ca/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Seven-Churches-1024x768.jpg)
Our guide also took us to his goat farm, where he raises goats3 and makes goat cheese. Besides meeting the goats4, I got to take a peek at his cheesemaking setup, and now I want to start another batch of cheese when I get home.
Then it was back to Kilronan, the main village on the island, to wait for the ferry.
![](http://www.rickneal.ca/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Kilronan-Plaque-768x1024.jpg)
And then it was back on the ferry, and back on the bus, and back to Galway.
As I sit here writing this blog post, I have come to realize that I might have got a bit too much sun today. Because of course I forgot sunscreen this morning.
Tomorrow, it’s off into the Burren and to the Cliffs of Moher. That should be fun.
- He also told me that I seemed nice, and I told him that I appreciate that, because I work hard to seem nice. [↩]
- Actually, I got into the first bus, then the driver asked me to move to the second bus because he had four people that wanted to go together. I felt so used. [↩]
- Because that couldn’t be inferred from the phrase “goat farm.” [↩]
- And I have never met calmer, friendlier goats in my life. [↩]