The drive to Galway was several hours but on nice wide international duel carriage roads. That means they had more than one lane going in each direction. We didn't make any stops along the way. We left in hot sun and driving encountered hard showers, sprinkles, sun, overcast, and more showers that flooded the drains along the road. We have really lousy wipers on our blue Nissan Note. Which seems odd since we're in Ireland...where it rains. We arrived in Galway around 3. Our ferry to the Aran Island Inish Mor wouldn't leave till 6:30 from a smaller village 45 minutes away. So we went into Galway to look around. We stopped by Jury's Inn where we would be staying the following night and inquired about the computer cord that Miles sent us. We had forgotten it at home. Now when I say forgotten I mean that I apparently only said to pack the computer. I failed to also ask a certain young man to also pack the cord, the life line of the computer, as well. So he didn't. I bought this dinosaur of a computer, a Dell, for $200 on Ebay before we left so that Forrest would have a computer to work on his summer school work. So far it's been a $200 space hog. He says it was an accident but hmmmm, I have to wonder.
Unfortunately the cord wasn't there yet. Nor would it arrive before we left 3 days later. I left the address in Paris for it to be forwarded to. It is going to be a well traveled cord before Forrest ever finishes an assignment.
After we decided to walk around Galway. Described to me by Naomi as a sister city to Bham. It's a college town on the west side of the country. We were staying right on Quay street which is the hub of the tourist and party scene. They've blocked off several long streets for walking only and lined them with many pubs, cafes, restaurants, and shops. There are street performers everywhere. It's very lively an perfect for people watching. I saw more dreadlocks there than I've seen since my last Dead Show. I do so love a boy in dreads. Forrest and I enjoyed ourselves for the couple of hours we were there. Bruce was trying to figure out a bank problem and got tied up in a phone booth for the whole visit. Not literally, that would have been funny.
One interesting thing we saw was an armored truck stopping at a bank. There were about a dozen armed guards with big guns lining both sides of the street. Strange.
I think I was so ready for a more light hearted place than Derry that I was very excited to stay in Galway. However we needed to catch our ferry. We had to drive a coastal road about 45 minutes to get there. It was more of a ferry terminal than a town. We parked and threw on our packs and walked the 5 minute walk to the terminal. We had finally escaped all signs of rain and sat in the sun along side a nice sized crowd waiting to board. The guy working the entry plank was wearing an AC/DC shirt. He was a cutie.
We decided to ride on top of the ferry which was walk on only and two levels. I was warm enough with my rain coat and hat but Forrest only had on a tshirt and I saw goose bumps despite his protests that he was FINE. The ride was beautiful and took about an hour. We wondered how they could sell tickets without a computer system to track the number sold. There weren't very many seats on top. When we went to leave we had to go down through the bottom deck where we saw that there were hundreds of comfy empty seats. It was a lot bigger than it looked.
Inish Mor is the biggest of the 3 Islands. It is tiny with a few pubs a bunch of b&bs, several bike rental shops, and a couple of little stores. Our b&b was The Pier House located right at the end of the dock. A huge man, Pat, with the gravely voice of a giant greeted us at the door. He asked if I was Jenn. I love feeling like they are expecting me like a guest. In truth he was probably waiting to go home because I was his last reservation, but I take it where I can get it. Our room was cute. 3 little single beds that reminded me of a certain fairy tale. The room was pink with a nice size bathroom. The mirror above the sink was set so high I could only see from my nose up unless I stood on my tip toes.
Forrest was tired and didn't feel like joining us for dinner. So he crashed out and Bruce and I went to a nearby pub. Pat had told us that the American Bar had some young boys playing traditional music. They had won or come in 2nd in the Ireland's Got Talent competition. He said that they were only playing till 9:30 though, and added that that was probably because they were young boys. This made me laugh. Till I saw them and realized they were young, all probably under 16 years. Unfortunately they were playing to a packed house and there wasn't room to sit and eat. So after our glimpse of the local super stars we headed to the restaurant next door. Dinner was good. I had a potato soup and Irish soda bread and bought 3 meat gourmet pizza for Forrest. I stole a couple of pieces off of it and it was tasty! Of course I also had my Guinness.
Bruce and I walked around the very small harbor from dock to dock. It was dusk but we were on the wrong side of the island to see the sun set. We enjoyed the funny signs with pictures graphically warning visitors to not drive off the end of the docks.
Slept really well here. It was the first, and at the time of this writing, only place that was cool while we slept.
In the morning we woke up early to get a start before the first ferry load of day tourists arrived. We had breakfast, packed our bags, checked out, left our bags in the hall, and rented bikes. It's been awhile since I rode so I was a little nervous. But it's like the old saying goes and it came right back. We had a blast riding across the relatively flat island. Very little traffic to speak off. Through fields fields outlined by lovely rock walls and full of cows, sheep, goats, and jackasses. The sea to our right. We stopped at a little stand in the middle of nowhere selling drinks and candy. They had 2 little donkeys there to pet. They were so sweet and didn't smell. That's one thing I've noticed. There are many fields with cows and other animals and NONE have the rank smells of our cow farms. Of course I'm seeing, and smelling, them in there grazing fields not the barns and there's never the over crowded scene our cows seem to love.
Forrest and stopped at a rocky beach covered in rounded rocks around the size of my hand. Bruce went on as he was anxious to arrive at the fort before the first tourist buses got there. Forrest walked down to the tide pools and I built a rock tower as hundreds had before me. There were little stacks of rocks all over the beach and the effect was very cool. We continued on and came across a Celtic style christian graveyard. Huge Celtic crosses in various designs staring out at the ocean from half way up a hill side. If I wanted to be buried I think it would be fun to be buried there. Fun might not be the right word.
A little past the grave yard the first tour bus passed us by. We arrived at the visitor center, which is code word here for "give us some money here". Paid our fee and started the hike up the mile long gravel path to the top of the hill. In front of me a woman dropped a film canister. I picked it up, called to her, and gave it back. She snatched it without saying thank you. Five steps later she set it down on the stone wall lining the path. Un Fecking Believable! Here we are ascending a beautiful hill with a glorious view behind us of green stone lined fields and crystal blue shining ocean and she is blatantly littering. I flipped! I picked it up as her walking partner watched and commented that I couldn't believe some people's lack of common sense. They spoke French but I hope she got the gist. Forrest panicked because he thought I might make a scene. I wanted to gag her. It was bizarre.
At the top of the hill was an 2,500 year old circular fort on the edge of a sheer cliff. It is amazing to sit in a spot where you know your species has been congregating for that long. The stone walls were 20 + feet high. No mortar. I sat in the grass outside the walls in the long grass and journal ed. It really is a powerful experience to touch that much history. Imagine all the stories that have occur ed there. Inside the stone walls you can imagine the small huts and tents that the occupant's would have lived under. One side of the circle was the sheer cliff. We crawled to the edge and hung our heads over the side. For someone like me whose terrified of heights this was a major feat. The next day when we were at the laundry mat the owner told us that an American had been blown off some cliffs on the same island a few days earlier. They still hadn't found his body and his wife had been with him. My exhilaration was dampened at this. Sometimes you feel a little to invincible on vacation. How horrible.
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