Dramamine and WD40

(Note: This post is about Thursday, July 24, 2008).

Today was a free day, so after breakfast the whole crew hopped a bus that took us to a port at Rossaveal about an hour away. There we boarded a small ferry to take us to the Aran Islands. Before I explain our day trip, I should probably explain our journey there. Because so many in our crew battle motion sickness, and because Sabrena had been battling a newfound nausea from the bus rides, Tony was distributing Dramamine (medicine for motion sickness) at breakfast. Having made it just find on the buses so far, I turned down the offer ... BIG mistake! The bus ride when great and the ferry started off smoothly - I got some great pictures! Little did I know that we were in "no tread" waters at the time. As soon as we got into deeper waters and caught speed, the boat started rocking back and forth, and so did my stomach! I was done for! Sabrena and I moved inside to sit down and I remained there, trying to fight off losing my breakfast, until we landed at the Aran Islands.

The Aran Islands are located about 9 miles off of Galway's coast, and are marveled at for their geological wonders, their preserved ruins, and their tradition - they are one of the few spots in Ireland where everyone speaks full Irish Gaelic as their primary language. Inis Mor is the largest of the 3 islands, and is where we spent our day trip. At 9 miles long and 2 miles wide, the popular way to explore the island's sites is by bike. After seeing the map of the island we all, of course, though this was a great idea. In hindsight, not so much! Keeping all 14 of us together was obviously not going to happen, so smaller groups broke apart from the pack and soon Sabrena and I were touring the countryside on our own together.

It was soon into the trip that we realized we probably should have taken the bus tour instead. The island may be relatively small, but it is no joke - talk about massive hills and small roads that you are trying to share with other bikers, tours buses, locals' vehicles, pedestrians, and jaunting cars (horse-drawn carriages). No matter what side of the island you're on, you're typically going uphill. Needless to say, we got our workout for the trip - even in the rain (the weather couldn't make up it's mind that day!). I must say, though, that the sites were beautiful, despite the hard work!

Much of Ireland is made of limestone, and in order to make use of the land, large pieces of rock had to be removed. These rocks form walls separating the plots of land on the island, as well as the majority of structures and the historical ruins on the island.

My favorite part of the island was Na Seacht d'Teampheall (The Seven Churches), which in actuality is the remains of 2 small churches - Teampall Breean and Teampall Phoill - and their graveyards. Sabrena and I ran into Tony and Pam (our professors) there and then got some great photos.

My second favorite part of the island was the beach; however, it was cold and there were people in bathing suits swimming. Sabrena and I thought they were crazy! But, I suppose it was warm that day as far as Ireland is concerned. We stopped to relax there, and while Sabrena took a rest on the rocks, I strolled along the beach for a bit (and found a bone ... creepy!). It wasn't your typical beach, but it was so peaceful. I remember thinking to myself that dad would love this place (the whole island) - sort of remote, lots of countryside, quiet, undisturbed except for a few tourists and cows, perfect temperatures with a constant breeze, and an ocean view - it's like the farm/lake on a grander scale!

There were two frustrations with the trip. The first is that we traveled all the way up to Dun Aonghasa (a fort on cliffs) only to find out we had to pay to actually visit the fort. Needless to say we didn't go up - we'd see plenty more structures, rocks, and cliffs on the trip - and instead just took pictures from afar. Secondly, Sabrena and I became frustrated while traveling on the ialdn because everything on the island was written in Gaelic. Attempting to travel an island that uses Gaelic with an English map was not working out so well for us! However, in our frustration we were able to reflect on what it is probably like for visitors to the United States. While most of the world speaks some English, it's likely just as difficult for them, as it was for us - we were put in our places a bit.

After biking/walking somewhere between 5 and 9 miles, we made it back to the docks and ran into Bob. We all decided that we deserved ice cream after our difficult trip, so we treated ourselves to some 100% Irish ice cream Choco Cones. We then explores the shops while we waited to leave for Galway, and found the O'Keef(f)e family sweater (Aran Islands are known for Aran wool sweaters), which Sabrena was excited about (her last name is O'Keefe).

Luckily our trip back to Galway was much easier since Tony hooked us all up with Dramamine again. Sabrena and I were starving, so we immediately headed to dinner on Shop Street for some Shephard's Pie (so yummy!). It was then off to the hotel to pack and get some sleep - we were sore and tired!

Quotes of the day go to Sabrena.
--- [In response to and frustration with her squeaky bike:] "I wish I knew Gaelic for WD40! I'd stop and ask for some."
--- [In response to her messy ice cream:] "100% Irish ice cream! Yeah ... because it couldn't survive anywhere else ... it's cold here, and it's melting all over the place!"

I took some pictures for a couple of friends today. Ev ... I found McCarthy Jewelry. I didn't go in because the pieces displayed in the window were far out of my price range. You should probably find out if this is part of your family and hook me up with some diamonds. :-) Duff ... I happened to find a fishing and outdoor supplies story named Duffy's ... DEFINITELY reminded me of you ... perfect fit!