The rest of this day unfolds like one of those Russian nested eggs, each experience leading to one more fascinating. The afternoon starts with a walk to an ancient fort, Dun Aengus.* This is not a place you could ever come by bike, except to ride to the base. We part-walk and part-clamber for a lecture on the place - but by now I've let go of biking miles.
Dun Aengus dates back to 1100 BC. Surprisingly, no one took an interest in it until 1991 when some archeologists showed up unannounced.
Dun Aengus dates back to 1100 BC. Surprisingly, no one took an interest in it until 1991 when some archeologists showed up unannounced.
They found bronze (a combination of tin and copper), so there were some rudimentary tools; amber, signifying trade since it's not native - and fish bones (diet), and probably wood since Ireland was forested back then. But basically, these people had rocks.
If you had nothing but rocks and needed to fortify yourself, you couldn't have done better than this. On the outside are three stone walls which are built to strengthen each other.
If you had nothing but rocks and needed to fortify yourself, you couldn't have done better than this. On the outside are three stone walls which are built to strengthen each other.
And then a field of rocks which would confound any intruder. Can you see a marauding army trying to navigate this?
And nobody's coming around the back.
Seven dwellings were also found within the fort walls.
For the rest of the day, we have two choices:
1. Swimming. You're kidding, right? By the looks of the water, you'd think you're in the Caribbean.
For the rest of the day, we have two choices:
1. Swimming. You're kidding, right? By the looks of the water, you'd think you're in the Caribbean.
But don't be fooled. The temperature of the water on this beach is 55° tops. I opt for...
2. A trip to the Worm Hole (mostly because it's the only option that doesn't involve swimming). It turns out to be a lot more clambering. But this time I have the shoes for it.
2. A trip to the Worm Hole (mostly because it's the only option that doesn't involve swimming). It turns out to be a lot more clambering. But this time I have the shoes for it.
And it's worth it - a total freak of nature:
Although it appears to be "cut" in a rectangle of right angles, human beings apparently had nothing to do with it. But we've come here on a calm day. The Worm Hole can also look like this (yipes, that's right where we were standing).
Astonishingly, there is actually a diving festival here. I have no idea how they predict the weather in time to hold it, let alone how anybody could do it (see link below)**
The Worm Hole itself is hypnotic. The water comes from underneath, and just watching it slosh around is mesmerizing. But eventually we clamber back, rejoin our bikes and on the return ride encounter our guides - actually swimming. So they weren't kidding.
I get a chill just watching and unconsciously steer my way towards the woolen sweater makers the Aran Islands are famous for. We've passed stores at the port, but they have a supermarket vibe, and frankly the quality looks a little Chinese to me. Instead, I find a smaller local vendor near our B&B - a little shed, where the owner quietly sits knitting up minor masterpieces.*** I am instantly attracted to an undyed wool cardigan.
I love cardigans, especially in New York winters, when you often want to open them in overheated buildings. Did you make this one I ask (in English of course)? Well, I know my own work, don't I? She replies with a twinkle (and in English), flattered at my wrapt admiration. I know enough about knitting to spot her skill. And how long did it take you? Ten days, she answers.
It would have taken me that long to do the button holes. I plunk down the asking price and consider it a bargain. But it's more than a bargain.
For one thing, she will be closed tomorrow. And the shops that are open offer nothing like this: hand-made with personal attention. You can see it. You can feel it. You can smell it.
This will be my go-to Winter sweater for years to come. And I will always remember her and the Island of Inishmore when I wear it. I wonder if she knows how meaningful our brief exchange - and her hand-knit sweater - will be to someone like me? It will be my best consolation during non-biking months.
But there's more to this day. This evening after dinner, we are treated to a command performance by an Irish singer/guitarist whose passion and energy fill the room with Irish songs - some funny, some sad - and some with us singing along. I don't know how they found him, but I'm thinking our local guides must have had something to do with it. I wouldn't have missed his performance for anything. None of us would.
The die hards (that's how I think of them) stay up to watch a video of the history of the Aran Islands, but I'm hoping to turn my jetlag around once and for all, and turn in instead. I'm sorry I won't see it, but I don't feel like I've missed anything today.
And I have the sweater to prove it.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BAn_Aonghasa
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9iHJZY0LME
*** Sarah Flaherty, Dun Aengusa Knitwear 099 61233
It would have taken me that long to do the button holes. I plunk down the asking price and consider it a bargain. But it's more than a bargain.
For one thing, she will be closed tomorrow. And the shops that are open offer nothing like this: hand-made with personal attention. You can see it. You can feel it. You can smell it.
This will be my go-to Winter sweater for years to come. And I will always remember her and the Island of Inishmore when I wear it. I wonder if she knows how meaningful our brief exchange - and her hand-knit sweater - will be to someone like me? It will be my best consolation during non-biking months.
But there's more to this day. This evening after dinner, we are treated to a command performance by an Irish singer/guitarist whose passion and energy fill the room with Irish songs - some funny, some sad - and some with us singing along. I don't know how they found him, but I'm thinking our local guides must have had something to do with it. I wouldn't have missed his performance for anything. None of us would.
The die hards (that's how I think of them) stay up to watch a video of the history of the Aran Islands, but I'm hoping to turn my jetlag around once and for all, and turn in instead. I'm sorry I won't see it, but I don't feel like I've missed anything today.
And I have the sweater to prove it.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BAn_Aonghasa
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9iHJZY0LME
*** Sarah Flaherty, Dun Aengusa Knitwear 099 61233
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