Galway Girls

Last weekend, Emily, Taylor, and I woke up early and headed off to Doolin to catch the ferry to the Aran Islands. Apparently Ridie Otey is notorious on the Aran Islands ferry for getting sick. This go-around Taylor Otey wins the getting sick prize, but she probably would have preferred to have been sea sick than have gotten strep throat! She was hesitant about leaving Killavullen at all, but was a trooper and stuck it out.

Coastal shot

Once we arrived in Inis Moor- the largest of the Aran Islands- we got off the ferry and found a place to silence our rumbling stomachs (literally). When we asked for tap water, the waiter told us Inis Moor is in the middle of a drought and is not able to get water, so we settled for soda instead. We had a very nice meal and then set off to tour the island in the sunny weather.

Renting bikes is a popular way to tour the island but we figured Taylor would faceplant if she tried getting on a bike, so we haggled with the van drivers instead and got our own private van tour of the island for the same price as renting a bike. In all honesty it was much better riding in the van. Even though the weather would have been perfect for biking, we wouldn’t have been able to ask a local questions about the economy, history, etc. of Inis Moor. Apparently numerous movies have been filmed on the island- including ‘The Matchmaker’ and ‘Leap Year’. The island operates mainly off tourism and a small bit of farming. And tourists there were! I don’t think I was even surrounded by so many Americans when I went back home for David’s graduation. Even ran into some Wahoos!

Em and I before walking to Dun Aengus Fort

A little leprechaun house

Our van driver said the number of stone walls on the island could stretch from Ireland to America

Cliffs on the edge of the island- outside Dun Aengus fort

Thatched cottage on the island

After grabbing some ice cream, we caught the 4 PM ferry back to Doolin. The weather was darkening at this stage so it was a ROUGH ride back. Although I was lucky not to have witnessed it, there were people getting sick all around us. I have never been on a boat with such big waves surrounding me. Luckily years of being on the water prepared my stomach well- Emily felt very nauseous afterwards, but Tay and I were ‘grand’.

The 'fix-er-upper' that I'm going to buy on the island..

At first the boat ride back was calm enough to put these two to sleep

We jumped in ‘Ruby’ (Emily’s red car) and headed onto Galway. At this stage Taylor’s strep was undiagnosed and feeling pretty miserable. We opted to splurge on a hotel room (thanks, Mom and Dad!) instead of stay the night in a 12 person hostel room. That way Taylor would be able to get a much better sleep.

…Tay didn’t end up sleeping at all because she was feeling so rotten… So Emily looked up the nearest doctors office and booked her an appointment. The doctor was a very nice Cork man so we talked about our love for County Cork- he claims that he and his wife are just ‘bringing civilization’ to the west coast. Inter-county rivalries are intriguing in Ireland! Anyway, he diagnosed Taylor as having strep throat and prescribed her some medicine.

After stopping at a pharmacy to get her some meds, we set off to drive around Connemara National Park (at Taylor’s orders). Tay and I had visited Connemara when they were over in December, but it looks completely different in the summer- equally incredible though.

All three of us were exhausted so we made the three and a half hour drive back to Emily’s house and made dinner. That night we were able to meet up with some Irish friends for one last night out at our favorite spot in Mallow. Knowing it was my last night there made it quite the emotional night, but at the same time it was the perfect way to end my time in Ireland. After all the tears I showed that night though I doubt they would invite me back!