2025 Wednesday, Aug. 27

Inishmore to Fanore

Richard’s ReLive video gives a very good summary of our day. I will only add a few comments and defer to him. Here is the link to Richard’s ReLive for the day: https://www.relive.com/view/vZqNoRADzGv

7.73 miles; on and off rain (mostly on); 59 degrees, 80% humidity.

We said goodbye to Alice at the Dormer House who welcomed us when the ferries to Doolin were canceled, and even did some laundry for us.

It’s easy to forget that the ferries transport not only tourists but also everything needed on the island, and we can all be inconvenienced by the weather. After the inbound ferry dropped off passengers, these workers were unloading their inventory needed for a job.

We made a quick stop on another island to drop off passengers. As we left the island, we passed the lighthouse and an ancient shipwreck. It is a reminder of the power of the sea.

The clouds do give us rainbows.

Back to the Atlantic View where we needed to pick up our left luggage. 

The proprietor, Eileen O’Brien, greeted us graciously and allowed us some room to shuffle our temporary bags back into the luggage.

Ann picked us up at the Atlantic View in Doolin and drove us to the Orchid House in Fanore. 

The Orchid House is a working farm about 3/4 mile south of the metropolis of Fanore, as well as an accommodation. (Just kidding: there’s a bar/restaurant big enough to cater to tourists buses, and a store (shop) with groceries in Fanore). Gill and Patrick MacNamara raise beef cows. Gill explained that the soil is thin here and herds are generally small—they have 14 now. The soil is deeper as we go on, and we would see more dairy farms.

Gill also explained much of our future hikes including the trail status. She had a wealth of knowledge.

The graveyard we passed on our walk includes old and new graves. We have seen this sign before: it is the abbreviation of Jesus Christ’s name in ancient languages ( I, H, and S) superimposed over each other.

The shop had more than groceries—note the boogie board. They also made “to go” sandwiches and it is the post office.

o’Donohue’sPub fits what we think of in movies. The bar area held sports memorabilia as well as quite an assortment of unusual items. The dining area was more like other restaurants, but despite throngs at lunch, we were one of only a few tables for dinner. Jan had sea trout with vegetables, and Richard had roast beef. Both were excellent!

One more rainbow on our way back from dinner. The calm didn’t last —we also got dumped on (again).

12 Responses

  1. You guys are hardy souls. I love the pub photos-it does look like the movies! I love all the food pics, and seems like the locals are very kind. What a beautiful, wild place

    1. This was a favorite pub because the staff had time to talk. We learned all about Gaelic hurling, and they were joshing with Richard about whether or not they could find us a table for dinner. I think you said it right when you recognized it is a wild place. They are so very dependent on the weather.

  2. Able to catch up this morning (Friday 8-29) and thoroughly enjoyed all your photos. The video of the ferry (YouTube) coming in reminded me of the “100-Foot Wave”, a program featuring the world’s top surfers! I’ll do a better job of staying up to date.
    Best wishes, Rob

    1. Thanks, Rob. We are still running into people talking about the unusual waves hitting the coast (and ferries). Last night at the pub it was a topic of conversation. I guess it’s good to know it was unusual (as well as scary).

  3. It’s nice to travel to the more out of the way destinations because people are generally a bit more friendly and conversational than the more touristy areas. How did you choose the itinerary you are on? Did you research it yourself? You are seeing places most tourists don’t get to. Besides getting drenched how is everything health wise? Your elbow still healing? Dan

    1. People have generally been amazing, and we can each share so much of our lives. We have so much more in common than we imagine. Schoolchildren are just starting back in school, so we’ve talked about new experiences with their parents, sports, cows on the farm, and changes after Covid. People are as important as the scenery.

      We picked the Cliffs of Moher and then looked at hikes that would include that site (there are several). Then we looked at options and picked a company we felt would work with us to meet our wants. I am very pleased with Footfalls and we will use them for our next hike in Northern Ireland as well. I do have a new list of criteria to add to my research, however. Our last hike was much more challenging than I planned.

      We’re doing well but we are allowing ourselves a bit more down time than prior years. The elbow is definitely sore but so is every other part of my body.

  5. Geez…you guys are certainly having a time of it with the weather! In contrast it was 93 degrees here today, and not much cooler inside Hilly’s house (she doesn’t think it’s “all that hot”) We were playing pennies/canasta in your absence. I had the best score ever in pennies, although Hilly beat me on the last round. Nice to do so well (for a change). I watched Richard’s relive and almost got seasick on the boat ride! You both are truly hardy souls and in spite of the weather, your spirits remain high. Impressive. Fingers crossed for better weather and hiking experiences for you.

    1. Thanks for posting and letting us know that you are continuing our usual at-home traditions. Sorry about your heat. It has not been brutally cold here but we’re sunny-weather lovers so the rain always seems colder even when the temperature doesn’t merit it.

      The ferry didn’t scare us too much but it seems the waves have continued and locals are still talking about it. If you have a look at the YouTube video of Doolin waves, you get a real scare.

Leave a Reply