Today’s post comes to us from our Krista!
We decided to take the Doolin Ferry to Inis Oirr (Inisheer). We were all pretty excited about this trip. It was a cold, windy, damp day on the western shore of Ireland, near the Cliffs of Moher. We boarded the ferry in Doolin, a place that I will always remember fondly.
We had paid for a round-trip excursion to Inis Oirr (Gaelic) or Inisheer (English). The ferry took us straight to Inisheer. On the way back, we would be treated to a longer ride along the base of the Cliffs of Moher.
When we arrived at Inisheer, we were greeted by carriage drivers who were determined to get us to accept a ride in their carriage. Martin greeted us. Martin was an old, tough-looking seaman. He spoke both Gaelic and English and was cheerful about explaining things as well as he could in English. His horse’s name was Jack. Martin was liberal with the crop, and Jack seemed to be used to it and it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on him. He plodded along like he had done this at least twice daily for years. Martin and Jack took us to the edge of the island, where there was a shipwreck. I think we were supposed to be impressed with this. It just looked like an old, rusted wreck, with no interpretation to explain what had happened or how old it was. The ancient stone walls were far more interesting to all of us.
Martin seemed to want to get as many of these trips as he could. He returned us to the village at the harbor. It was raining and I was really soaked already. My rainwear just didn’t cut it. We asked Martin about the stone walls or fences. He said they repair them as needed, but they really didn’t need much repair. I think those walls are extremely old, perhaps more than 1500 years old. Some may be from the Stone Age. They were everywhere.
We went into the Ostan Inis Oirr (Hotel Inisheer) for a hot drink. I talked to a man who worked on the ferry. I asked him about the Gaelic language. He said a lot of Gaelic actually comes from the French, which does make sense. He said many of the names for vegetables are actually French. It was an interesting conversation.
We went shopping for more gifts. I really only wanted to be warm and dry. I was drenched and cold. I bought a sweatshirt from the Hotel Inisheer and put it on. I looked for a raincoat, but I didn’t find anything. There were more Aran sweaters here, of course, but I didn’t need one.
It was raining steadily, so we went back to the ferry. The next leg of our journey would include include a trip past the base of the Cliffs of Moher. It was stunning but hard to see due to fog, mist, and rain. There were puffins floating around in the sea and flying around past the boat.
Martin and Jack
Puffins (blurry photo)
Seastack (very blurry photo)
It was a cold, wet ride. It was interesting but our views weren’t great and we were wet and cold. I tried to go out on the lower front deck to take some photos but it was very hard to stand up and keep my balance.
I noticed a door that went directly out to the sea as I was out on the deck. It was closed with a simple sliding latch. I was surprised when I looked at it. I stayed toward the wall of the ferry as I went back inside. I said to another woman, “I hope that latch holds!”
Describe your experiences with someone who spoke a different language from yours. How did you communicate with them?
Trail Baboon 