All the signs are in Gaelic! (Galway & Aran Islands)

Hello all,
Last weekend (October 29-31), our program took us to Galway and the Aran Islands (specifically Inishmore). There are about 800-900 people who live on Inishmore and the daily language spoken there is Gaelic. We took the bus, then the ferry to and from the island.
I also had my first ever three course meal in Galway. Never again do I EVER want a three course meal. "Uncomfortably full" is an understatement. It was also Halloween weekend, so Galway was filled with people in costume.
Alright, enjoy the pictures!

We got to the Aran Islands and hired (rented) bikes. We would then be able to go and explore the island.

The cows were completely undisturbed by our presence.

I loved this horse! He had his furry winter coat = )

I was taking pictures while I was biking, hence the crooked photo. But note all the stone walls. I would estimate that they were about 3 feet tall.

Look who came to say hello to us! He was a very nice dog = )

Here is where the bike ride started to get a bit dodgy. We decided that we wanted to find "The Worm Hole" (I haven't a clue as to why it is called this) which is along the cliffs of the coastline.

We had to stop and ask some of the locals where to find it. They were very helpful and were also very interested in where we were from and what we thought of the island.

We found it! Clearly marked. haha

Beautiful. Although, there were loads of unstable rocks that you see on the right side of the photo. We had to climb across them to reach the shore line.

The waves were thunderous as they crashed against the rocks!

Oh man. This bike ride should have come with a warning. We had to bike all the way up and over that mountain ahead.

This horse watched us as we trekked up the hill! So cute!

Amazing views, but I just have to say that I'm glad I trained and rode in the Tour de Cure! That sure helped me out a lot!

Almost there! Look how far we've come! We were at the coast on the left side of the photo.

Look! Water on both sides! = ) Well, this is the one time where the phrase "it's all downhill from here" is actually a good thing. Although, we did have to stop and walk our bikes downhill a few times because of the gravel road. And, in general, the roads here were so bumpy that my arms were tingling from the vibration of the handle bars!

 = )

The Aran Sweater Market (hand-knitted sweaters and more) on the left and the restaurant we at at (Bayview Restaurant) on the right.

 

On the way back to Derry, we stopped at the Ulster-American Folk Park. And look what we found! Chickens! There were so many and they were just running around everywhere!

Geese as well.

And a rooster.

The view from the "viewpoint" in the park. Love the horse of course = )

Hope you enjoyed that!

Now, I have a challenge for all of my readers!!!! = )
I just learned about a study done about the variability of walking tempos (or rhythms) in different cities around the world. The results showed that (not surprising to me) Dublin was the city that had the quickest walking speed! It was calculated that, on average, it takes a Dubliner 10.76 seconds to walk 60 feet (20 meters). SO, I challenge you to first, measure out 60 feet. Then time yourself as to how long it naturally takes you to walk across that distance (do a couple of trials to get an average). Then, try to walk across that distance in 10.76 seconds like the people in Dublin. Does if feel fast? Natural? Too slow? Let me know what you think!!! = )

Cheers