13 April 1979 - Inishmore

"Friday 13 April 1979 (Friday the 13th)

As far as I'm concerned, I could not have asked for a nicer day - instead of bad luck, doom, and depression, the day was by far the loveliest in ages.  SPRING HAS ARRIVED!  With the sun shining, Joanne and I took off to Dun Angus and the other end of the island.  Dun Angus is the impressive remains of a circular fort - half of which has fallen off the cliff into the sea. Dun Aonghasa is a top a 279 foot sheer cliff - the whole south side of the island drops off suddenly into cliffs - the sky was blue, the Atlantic Ocean bright blue - gorgeous - we walked along the cliffs pausing every five seconds to admire the scenery and finally turned inland at An Clochar Beag. 

Dun Angus

Walked to Dun Eognanachta and then down into the village of Eognanacht.  Spent time in the cove of An Gleannachan and ate lunch.  Paused to look at the churches (the seven churches) and then went to "our" beach - Port Mhuirbhigh and read for an hour or two - the sun continued to shine brightly all day long - the hills of Connemar, the Twelve Bens were clearly visible as were the small settlements along the shore.

In the evening Joanne and I decided to hike up to Dun Aonghasa again to watch the sun set into the Atlantic and it is here that I run out of words.  My powers of observation are not all that hot anyway and my vocabulary is small and limited, but I will try my best.  The sun shone as it should in the ocean - trailing out golden into the water.  The clouds were painted by an Impressionist - black and then streaking off into wisps of grey and white.  The cliffs were amazing - high tide and the waves crashed and banged  sounding like thunder and sending spray far over the tops of the cliffs - this on a sunny calm day - a storm would be truly overwhelming!  The waves whirling and swished in endless patterns - spray and foam - churning - POWER!  

We walked down Dun Aonghasa before the sun set, but before we left the islands od Inishmaan and Inisheer were soft and grey and clearly outlined.  Dinw on "our" beach, the sunset was spectacular - covering all the way from the hills of Connemara, over our heads, to the hill of Dun Aonghasa - orange, and crimson, and tea rose red - picking up and catching the puff-ball clouds over our heads.  The Connemara hills looked mossy and velvety in the fading light - along the ridge of Dun Aonghasa and to the right the clouds fanned upward like the sun's rays, and the sunset seemed to burst into the sky - for me it was a perfect day and though I'm unhappy to leave so soon, I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful encore."