Moving On…

The Aran Islands are composed of three main Islands on the outer edge of Galway Bay off the south east coast of Ireland. The largest of the three is Inishmore, the next is Inishmann and the smallest is Inisheer. In 1997 I went on a hiking tour in south west Ireland and one of the stops was Inisheer. The sky was overcast when we boarded the ferry to the island and started raining soon after we arrived. I was wearing a pair of chino slacks and the water just wicked its way all the way up to my waist. My top didn’t fare much better since my “rain gear” was inadequate. Therefore, my view of the island was tainted by my discomfort. I took only a few photographs because of the rain. But I remember a Celtic cross at a graveyard, a community garden area of soil built up from seaweed and the like, with individual plots marked off for residents. I have a few pictures of castle ruins with paddocks of brownish green growth divided by stone fences. We had a welcome bowl of hot soup and sandwiches at a local restaurant and I bought stamps at the post office, but mostly I remember rock. It is amazing how people who existed under such harsh conditions could develop such beautiful knitting designs.

To be fair, I walked over less than one third of one end of the island, and the lists of services I brought back name 16 B&B’s, a hotel, an airfield, walking tours, and pony cart tours, so there must be more than rock there; hopefully enough grazing land to support some livestock, especially sheep for their wool. It had stopped raining by the time we boarded the ferry to return to the mainland. This ferry, by the way, was about the size of a fishing boat. Nothing like the Staten Island Ferry or the Ferry to Martha ’s Vineyard. More like the small craft that ferried us from Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket off season. It was not only small but packed even before we boarded. There was no room under cover , so we got wet again since the sea was rough and waves splashed over the deck. It was a hazardous ride and I wonder now why I wasn’t afraid!

Next we’ll get to the knitting.

#Knits