Aran Islands, Ireland
During the night we sailed halfway down Ireland's west coast to the Aran Islands. These three limestone islands are treeless and sparsely populated, giving them an eerie, inhospitable appearance. People have supported themselves in this unusual, rocky landscape over millennia; surrounding waters are rich with fish and shellfish. Glaciers had scraped all soil from the limestone islands, so early inhabitants created soil by mulching seaweed and mixing it with sand. The glaciers left behind countless rocks and boulders, so land was cleared for agriculture by piling the rocks into stone walls. According to locals, two to three thousand miles of stone walls crisscross the Aran Islands!
We visited the semicircular stone fort known as Dun Aengus, built about 3,000 years ago and in use until about 500 AD. We walked around the cliff-top fort, and peered very carefully over the edge at the rich green seas below. Near the town dock, some of us browsed shops filled with locally made Aran sweaters.
Later we sailed around the island, for a different perspective of the cliff-top fort. A short distance away, surefooted cattle were grazing right at the cliff edge. ‘The grass is always greener...’
Tom Heffernan’s discussion about the origin of languages was followed by an unusual afternoon tea on the aft deck: frankfurters and beer. By this time the National Geographic Endeavour was below County Clare’s cliffs of Moher. Views were spectacular, and we enjoyed the scenery long enough for a plankton sample to be collected, and for our Undersea Specialist to complete a dive at the base of the cliffs. At recap, with the help of the video microscope, we viewed the plankton sample on the video monitors: a veritable ‘Creature Feature' of tiny zooplankton pulsed and zipped across the screens. The thousands of seabirds we've seen this voyage couldn't survive without them.
Our day ended with a showing of the film The Secret of Roan Inish, a magical legend full of Irish spirit and charm, set in the lush Donegal landscape.
During the night we sailed halfway down Ireland's west coast to the Aran Islands. These three limestone islands are treeless and sparsely populated, giving them an eerie, inhospitable appearance. People have supported themselves in this unusual, rocky landscape over millennia; surrounding waters are rich with fish and shellfish. Glaciers had scraped all soil from the limestone islands, so early inhabitants created soil by mulching seaweed and mixing it with sand. The glaciers left behind countless rocks and boulders, so land was cleared for agriculture by piling the rocks into stone walls. According to locals, two to three thousand miles of stone walls crisscross the Aran Islands!
We visited the semicircular stone fort known as Dun Aengus, built about 3,000 years ago and in use until about 500 AD. We walked around the cliff-top fort, and peered very carefully over the edge at the rich green seas below. Near the town dock, some of us browsed shops filled with locally made Aran sweaters.
Later we sailed around the island, for a different perspective of the cliff-top fort. A short distance away, surefooted cattle were grazing right at the cliff edge. ‘The grass is always greener...’
Tom Heffernan’s discussion about the origin of languages was followed by an unusual afternoon tea on the aft deck: frankfurters and beer. By this time the National Geographic Endeavour was below County Clare’s cliffs of Moher. Views were spectacular, and we enjoyed the scenery long enough for a plankton sample to be collected, and for our Undersea Specialist to complete a dive at the base of the cliffs. At recap, with the help of the video microscope, we viewed the plankton sample on the video monitors: a veritable ‘Creature Feature' of tiny zooplankton pulsed and zipped across the screens. The thousands of seabirds we've seen this voyage couldn't survive without them.
Our day ended with a showing of the film The Secret of Roan Inish, a magical legend full of Irish spirit and charm, set in the lush Donegal landscape.
