Day 12 – Galway and the Aran Islands

Galway to Kilronan

Today was a really good touring day and one of my favorites on the trip so far. Most of the day was spent on visiting the Aran Island by ferry. This is a very popular thing to do when in Ireland and ferries run all morning long out to the island and in the afternoon, run the reverse way.

Aran Island Ferry

I included a map to illustrate the trip, but we started the trip by driving from our AirB&B in the heart of Galway out to Rossaveel to catch a ferry to Inis Mór. The drive to the ferry terminal takes about 45 minutes and we were on the 10:30 ferry. This is kind of an approximate time as they leave when they have a full boat but that was the approximate time we left. It is about 40 minutes to cross over to the port in Kilronan, which is the main village of the island.

Dún Aonghasa

On the island we were met by Gerald who drove us and about 10 more people around the island in his van. I had made the reservations with him in advance and it was a good thing as more people wanted to get on but we were okay with our reserved seats. I thought I was doing well driving but Gerald put me to shame. Not only did he drive with one hand on the wheel and another on his microphone, but he went flying by horse carriages, bikes and other busses, he never slowed down. Yikes!!!

View of the Sea (Dún Aonghasa)

We stopped for two hours to see Dún Aonghasa which is an ancient ring fort on top of a hill overlooking the Atlantic. It isn’t a complete ring because one side is built on sheer cliffs hundreds of feet up in the air. No need to defend that. It was a pretty decent hike to the top but after we came back down we had time in the village to shop and get a bite to eat.

Streets of Galway

After the Dún Aonghasa stop, Gerald droves us around the island pointing out thatch roofed cottages (for real use and not just for show), a seal beach and various types of cattle they raised on the island. We also saw a couple of leprechaun houses. The tiny houses with their own windows and doors, I think – and I’m not sure – are an inside joke. I say I think because there is still a small chance that the people still believe in leprechauns out on this isolated island.

We reversed our route back and got into Galway around 6 pm. We had dinner in town and came across a band playing in the street on our way back to where we were staying. They were the Galway Street Club and tonight they had 9 members and they were very good and very entertaining. According to what we read about them, they were individual buskers (street performers who play for coins) but a couple of years ago they decided to form a group. Probably never going to make it big but they were having a good time and the crowd enjoyed them a lot. Notice the ironic "Galway Girl" playing a fiddle in an Irish band (from the Ed Sheeran song).