DAY 14: ARAN ISLANDS

I'VE never seen so many rocks in the one place in all my life.

Rock walls, rock fences, rock houses, rock ruins, rocks on the ground ... I sound like Bubba in Forrest Gump with his shrimps.

Between the drive through Connemara and arriving on Inishmore (also spelt Inis Mor) in the Aran Islands, Ireland surely has the market cornered on rocky limestone landscapes.
It's no wonder Hollywood directors also look to the Aran Islands when shooting in Ireland.

The landscape is both typically Irish yet uniquely diverse. Not only does the biggest island of the three Aran Islands boast the country's most recognisable landmark, Dun Aengus (also known in Gaelic as Dun Anghosa), it also has 7800 lineal miles of limestone rock fences, views to the Atlantic and Galway Bay as well as enchanting Connemara on the mainland with its heather-clad hills and bogs on the wild west coast. That's before mentioning the traditional Irish pubs, quaint homes, church ruins, and rural and fishing settings.

The settings have been seen for movies from as far back as 1934 in The Man From Aran, and The Matchmaker and most of Leap Year were filmed here, too.
But exactly what attracts directors also appeals to a thousand tourists daily from June to August. And one of the best ways to see Inishmore, we found, is with Michael Faherty Tours.

Michael is a native guide, born in a small village near Dun Aengus. Naturally, he became a fisherman. But fishing can be a hell of a life and all Aran Island families, he tells us, have lost loved ones to the Atlantic. So now he conducts his tours out of Galway.

Dun Aengus stands on the highest point of the cliffs (87m), which form the southern coastline of Inishmore.
The fort had both offensive and defensive advantages and encloses a total area of 5.7ha.
It would have been both an impressive and formidable/intimidating sight to would-be invaders.

The visitor centre says the multi-period Dun Aengus hilltop site appeared to have been enclosed initially in 1100BC but its most dynamic period was about 800BC.
Wildlife count: After two weeks, the numbers stand at 8 squirrels, 10 seals, 13 donkeys, 1 great goat  ... and 1 nude man at the window. 

Lesson of the day: Time to learn some Gaelic which is used predominantly in the Aran Islands.

Hello: dia dhuit

Goodbye: slam

Thank you: go raibh maith agat