After arriving on Inisheer from a small ferry, we began to explore the island on foot. There is something about Inisheer that made me feel as though I had walked into a time machine. The smallest Aran Island only has 300 residents and is reminiscent of a simpler time. While the largest island—Inishmore—is much more popular with tourists, Inisheer's simple attractions of a castle, lighthouse, and unbelievable shipwreck were more than enough to keep us entertained all day.
First, we stumbled across a playground complete with it's own zip line. I can't even tell you the last time I had played on a playground, but the second I saw it I threw all my bags off and went running towards it like a little kid! Next, we began to ascend the island's hill to see the castle surrounded by ancient stone walls. From there, we followed a dirt road to the end of the island, hoping to see the Plassey shipwreck. However, it turned out we had taken a wrong turn, so we quickly backtracked and were put on the right path by a nice local woman running a small cafe out of her home. When we finally made it to the shipwreck, I was completely blown away. The shoreline was devoid of all tourists (which pretty much never happens) and the shipwreck was completely unsupervised (no gift shop in sight!). Exploring the wreckage on the deserted beach was unbelievable, and an experience I'll never forget.
After taking it all in, my friends and I headed back to catch the only ferry of the day to Galway. Unfortunately, we slightly miscalculated how much time it would take to get back to the dock. Luckily, after power walking (which for me, is more like running) for 20 minutes, we made it back to the ferry with only a couple minutes to spare! All in all, it was an amazingly fun day and I'm so glad I had the chance to visit Inisheer :)
The amazing view I'll never forget...
beautiful!
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