Ireland - Aran Islands & County Clare

The 2nd day in Doolin offered several things to do all day, but most of us were set on taking a ferry out to the Aran Islands. The day before the winds were so high, all ferries were cancelled. This day, the wind subsided enough to sail, but it was the rottenest possible morning; dark and slate grey with heavy rain and chilly. But we went anyway, and after a couple of hours, it began to clear and warm up. Part of our contingent were so seasick by the 1st island that they got off there, but the rest of us bravely sailed on. The islands are 1. tiny, 2. medium, 3. large and we headed for #3. It is an odd place I cannot adequately describe. One cannot estimate any reason men would take up residence in this mountain of rocks. It seems they were initially monks, or people who had been chased in war or conflict. There is so little land that they made their own. The hauled sand up from the shore and covered the rocks, then hauled up tons of seaweed again and again, place on top of the sand until soil formed. And so it is today - gardens and crops but on the thinnest possible soil. We took a little bus around one lane roads on a tour and saw many historical sites and went to more (horrifying in the wind) cliffs with not the slightest thing between the viewer and a 250 ft certain death over the edge -with teenagers frolicking with eternity desiring to be "edgy" (to say the least) for photographs with dunky cameras. I had a kind of discomfort and unease with the place altho I liked being there and the people were nice. It is a place you must experience to realize the odd feel of it.
There are a lot of horses in Eire. The EU took away sheep production and left Ireland with a bonus for raising more and more and more race horses. One beautiful golden coloured horse in Doolin, loved people and would hang out by the fence - just a few feet from the road. I don't know why, but he would grasp people's clothes in his teeth and not let go. He got my rain coat and I thought he would take it right off of me. There were some young men who would turn their backs, and the horse would grasp their belts and they would try to pull away and could not. I had bought an apple that actually was rotten, so I gave it to this horse and he thought it was delicious.
The next day we left Doolin for Ballyvaughan. This was one of the nicest rides. We always were on 2ndary or tertiary roads. These roads are about only 8-10' feet wide. They are usually lined with bushed and brambles shaved vertically right down to the edge of the pavement. This means that two cars meeting in opposite directions have a serious problem. It also means that there is no shoulder at all for peds or cyclists. Fortunately, the Irish drivers must be the v. most polite and patient in all the world. Each day we marvelled at the extreme courtesy they always showed us (but if we happen to be on a #1 road and the speed limit was 100 KMH, all that courtesy was forgotten - but those roads have wide shoulders).
That day I rode along breathtaking roads with no other traffic and I was so far ahead of my group that I stopped many places along the way just to be happy or stare back at a large hare who stared at me. Our hotel at Ballyvaughan was so traditional, pretty, had large rooms and the very best restaurant and service. Out back were new Calico kittens under a bsh, havign just opened their eyes.
One of the problems was that these villages have no banks, no ATMs, will not accept U.S.$ and refuse travellers cheques. I had just enough Euros, but my colleagues were under constant pressure to pay for lunches and small items as they never expected such a problem in 2010. But TV was limited to about two stations and there was no cable. There were two internet places that were never open. The hotel had internet for $8.00 hour, but it was broken (I would not have paid that anyway). They said a mobile bank comes by two days a week from 11-1 and that is it.
The next day we had several options. I went hiking in the Burren for the day, but the big plan was a most amusing naturalist from the area would take us into the Burren & tell us about the flora and fauna. Unfortunately he had another gp. scheduled before us and could not take us until 5-9 pm. By the time 5 arrived, the weather was ghastly - cold, hgih wind, heavy rain. My group really wanted to do everything and have fun, so some of them went anway, but were back miserable and shivering after one hour.
The Burren is a massive rock mountain shaped with edges like a lazy loaf of bread. It goes on forever out in Clare and grows on the viewer.