Luckily, Kilronnan hostel was a matter of minutes from Kilronnan pier.
Even luckier, someone had cooked way too much dinner for the large group of kids they were supervising. So, I had a chicken and rice meal waiting for me, tasty and hastle-free.
The Covers decided to go ahead and cook some spaghetti.
Here's a view of the pier from the hostel.
The visiting kids, although a bit boisterous, proved to be a double blessing. Although we had booked a 6-bed room (as it was the cheapest) we recieved a 4-bed at the same price. I'm betting the children were placed in the bigger rooms.
After breakfast the following morning, we headed directly for the nearby bike rental shop. For 13 euros we bought a two day rental. Despite their own fears and lack of experience, the Cover sisters proved perfectly good bikers in no time. Although, the helmets consistently gave them trouble. I thought the helmet-on-backwards look was pretty hilarious, but they may or may not agree with me.
Caroline and Charlotte had hoped to take a horse and buggy ride, but never found the time.
We followed the coastal rode, heading for the tiniest church in Europe and the "puffing holes." But first, we stopped at this beach.
It had a pink jelly thing.
And a rock.
It also had a beautiful view of the island curving away into the distance.
The beach was one of the few stretches of unrocky places on the island. Inis Mor, the island we stayed on, is naturally rocky. Putting their natural resources to good use, the islanders have built thousands upon thousands of miles of rock walls. Pretty amazing to see, especially since the island is only 8 miles long.
We eventually pedalled on, following what we hoped were the proper signs.
Seeing the sights.
I finally spotted the tiny church, but we never figured out a way to reach it.
Happy with the distant view, we decided to press on for the puffing holes.
Finally reaching a crossroads, we wondered which way to turn. The vague hiker symbol rock pointed to the right. Unsure, we asked a man who happened to be working nearby. He garbled out something in a confusingly thick accent and we replied with a polite "???" Eventually, our skeptical minds worked out that he was,in fact, directing us through a small opening in a rock wall. Putting our bikes aside, we spanned the wall and began our search for the holes. This first required walking through a field of tiny yellow flowers populated with a million bunnies. A good start I think.
We reached the coast and Caroline checked out a snail.
The high rocky cliffs, the waves, everything was amazing.
After lots of picture taking and shouts of "EEeee, you're too near the edge!!" we decided to follow some older hikers who reckoned they knew in which general direction the puffing holes were.
I'm glad we did, because one was able to point out that the occassional purple flower, looking like your average tiny wildflower, was in fact a type of orchid.
This particular patch of fencing made me laugh. It's good to know that if I fell off
the cliff I'd have this bit of barbed wire to catch me.
I've never seen rock plains before, but it was amazing. Amazing!! Although very treacherous for the feet. Some rocks had slipped into the cracks between other rocks and taken up a vertical position.
We were too slow for the other hikers and thus took up a seat on this huge cliff in seclusion.
Check out the view.
From the cliff we could see a big cave half submerged in the waves. We were soon to find that it led to the long sought after puffing hole. Way bigger than I had suspected, you could see the cave from the other side. Tide was out, so there were no huge crashing waves within the hole, but it was impressive all the same.
The rocks on the coast made for interesting rock walls.
Hunger had long been calling by this time, so we headed back for lunch.
Back through the bunny fields.
And the yellow flowers.
Past the hardworking mumbly man.
For our next stop we intended to find the seal colony, but headed down the wrong road.
There was this crusty dead crab.
Thatch-roofed cottages!
We did our best to locate one of the island forts, but the helpful signs proved too non-existent for us. We ended up walking through a maze of rock walls, which was nice in and of itself. Here's Sarah looking lovely in the light of the setting sun.
Needless to say, by the end of the day, we all had sunburn.
Our ferry didn't leave until noon the next day, so while the Covers did some shopping, I cycled back to the cliffs.
It was just me, the surrounding beauty, and this herd of cows that wandered from out of nowhere and positioned themselves right in the middle of my return path.
The rock pools contained other interesting wildlife.
It was hard to drag myself away.
The Covers made sure I wasn't left behind.
Now we're all back safe and sound. It's amazing how much the small people in my life have grown. Specifically, Zoe and Autumn, my two nieces.
I already have a list of things I miss from Ireland --the sidewalks, the buses-- but it's good to back in Alabama, with two things Ireland doesn't have...
my family and friends.
