This past weekend, we had our last API excursion to the Aran Islands. The Aran Islands are small islands off the west coast of Ireland. The island we went to, called Inisheer is the smallest of the three islands with a population of only 270 people. We took a bus bright and early Saturday morning to a small town called Doolin. From there, we took a "ferry" over to the island, the ferry was not like an ferry I've ever taken in America, it was a small boat that looked like a fishing boat. Once we got over to the island, we saw our hotel (which also happened to be the only restaurant/pub on the island) and then took a wagon tour across the island. The wagon was dragged by a tractor and we got to see some beautiful sights like an abandoned shipwreck and a half fallen down castle. The views were incredible and we got to take some lovely pictures. We then had some free time so we walked around the island and explored a little bit more. That night, we got dinner and a drink at our hotel and then headed to bed fairly early. We had to get up early the next day to go back to take a cruise around the Cliffs of Moher and go back to the mainland. However, after we had breakfast, we found out the ferries had been cancelled for the morning because the ocean was so rough. Finding out we had to stay on the island way longer than we thought was sort of a shock because we had already done everything there was to do on the island. We decided to go back to sleep until 1 pm when we had to take the ferry. We got on the boat and all was well until we got pretty far into the ride. The waves were HUGE and the boat was rocking out of control, everyone was soaked (except me and Marissa because we were under cover!). Obviously we couldn't take the boat tour around the Cliffs of Moher because the water was so rough, so we just went into Doolin and got some lunch. Also, it turns out they cancelled the ferry for the next 2-3 days after we had arrived back on the mainland. After lunch, we went to a sweater shop to get authentic Aran Island wool sweaters. Then we headed to the bus and went back to Dublin. It was pretty sad that this was our last API excursion, the semester is flying by. I only have two weeks of classes left after this week and then a week long break before exams. My mom is coming to visit next week and we're going to County Wicklow for Easter weekend to see my brother sing at Easter Mass. The weekend after that, we're going to Barcelona and when I get back from there, a few friends and I are going to Amsterdam and London! I'm so excited to get all this traveling in before I head back home!
Cheers,
Olivia
Cheers,
Olivia