We wanted to have a good view, so we sat in the outdoor seats on the upper level. It was quite chilly to start with, and the windy spray really cut through the light jackets we were wearing. During the ride, we caught some nice photos of the Cliffs of Moher behind us as well as some features on the island ahead of us.
While disembarking, I heard a someone standing next to a van ask someone else if they had booked a tour. The potential customer walked right past and ignored him, so he headed over to the boat to see if anyone else was still there, and to assist the crew with casting off. I thought perhaps his customers didn't show, and wondered if perhaps we could offer to pay to take their place. While he was assisting the ferry crew, I saw the two customers that were already in the van get out and walk off. As he came back towards the van, I asked if he was looking for some customers. He was quite friendly, and introduced himself as "Kevin". He said that during the busy season he operates one of the horse drawn cart tours, but in the off season he prefers to drive a heated van. We never discussed the price, he just opened the van door for us, hopped into the driver's seat, and we were off to see and learn about the island.
Kevin's grandparents lived on Inis Oirr, and he often visited as a child. He now lives here in the house he inherited from them. He seemed to know all the locals, and either knew the history and details of the island well, or was very good at making up believable stories. Either way, the tour was entertaining, educational, and thorough.
Some of the sites we visited:
The Plassey, a cargo ship that ran aground in1960 on a reef to the west of the island. Due to the efforts of the island residents and an amazing bit of luck, the entire crew was saved. It's an interesting story. Ask me sometime if you'd like to hear about it. A few weeks later, a hurricane lifted the ship up onto its current position on the island.
The local golf course, created by two locals that love the game. They keep a horse to keep the grass short.
The airport where a small plane acts as a shuttle making multiple daily trips back and forth to the mainland. Additionally, 24 hours a day there are a doctor and nurse at an office next to the airport. In a medical emergency, they can have a helicopter there from the mainland in 15 minutes, and you can be delivered to the roof of University Hospital in Galway less than 30 minutes later.
Church of St. Kevin, buried under centuries of blowing sand.
A signal tower built during the Nepoleanic Wars to warn of invasions from the west.
A castle built by the O'Briens in the 1300's and then taken from them by the O'Flaherty clan of Connemara in the late 1500's.
After the tour Kevin asked for $10 each. We felt the tour was worth more, so we tipped accordingly before stopped for lunch at a pub described by Kevin as "a Chicago Pub" (owned by someone that moved back to Inis Oirr after retiring from a job in Chicago).
During our walk back to the pier, we encountered a friendly dog who was clearly allowed to roam the island freely. He looked a bit like a collie and was quite friendly. He jogged past us, then crossed the street and continued down the hill towards the pier as well. A few minutes later, I pointed out to Lisa that he seemed to have found something that excited him. She looked in his direction, and then exclaimed that she was glad she hadn't pet him as he jogged past us. He was lying on his back rolling around in a big pile of horse manure, apparently trying to get as much of the wonderful smell worked as deep into his fur as he could.
Kevin had suggested getting to the harbor 15 minutes early to see a dolphin that has decided to spend much of his time in the harbor the past few years
We boarded the return ferry at approximately 1:50pm and grabbed seats that we hoped would have a good view of the cliffs for that part of the trip. The tour headed southeast from Inis Oirr, and then turned to the north to ride along side the cliffs. We both agreed that, to us, the cliffs seemed more impressive from down below. We listened to the presentation of facts about the cliffs while capturing some photos of the arches, sea stacks, and cliffs.
Then the boat returned to the pier, and drove back to our hotel. By then we were tired enough to take a nap before dinner and live music at Fitz's pub again.
1 comment:
The cliffs definitely look more interesting from the below. Less climbing too.
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