The Great Blasket!

Two of the things that we really wanted to do in Ireland were go out to Skellig Michael (an island off the coast near Ballinskellig) and the Great Blasket, an island off the coast of Dingle.  In both cases the boats only go out when the seas are calm, as you have to take a Zodiac inflatable to get to shore.  When we were in Ballinskellig, the boat to Skellig Michael hadn't gone out for a week and a half.  When we got to Dingle the same was true of the boat to the Great Blasket.  But we woke up to a beautiful day in Dingle, and the boat was running!  After an interesting journey to where the boat left (let's just say it wasn't well posted) we walked down a long path to get to the dock where we boarded a zodiac for our boat.

Luckily the boat we actually made the crossing in was a real boat, manned by a happy crew.

It was a beautiful crossing with azure blue waters and then another zodiac that took us to a slime covered, very slippery concrete ramp up to the island.  Then we waved goodbye to our boat and were left, with probably only a dozen people total, on the Great Blasket.

We took a walk to the beach so that we could get a better look at these rocks (at least I thought they were rocks!).

But on closer inspection, rocks they weren't.

There were literally piles of seals on the beach, and more in the water.  We didn't get too close as we didn't want to scare them (or us!).

The island was inhabited by about 150 people around the turn of the century.  But the number slowly declined until 1953 when the last dozen or so families left the island.  Now, no one lives on the island, but there are lots and lots of sheep, some healthy.

Some not so much.

There were also some horses (or we think they're horses and not some type of donkey) that also seem to be wild.

Mother and child.

Lunchtime!

Susan talking to the animals.

The houses on the island were all built of stone.  Most of them are ruined now.

 

But this one seemed to be in pretty good shape.  When we went by there was an old lady sitting on a bench in front of it eating and listening to a gaelic radio station.  We were told that some locals will come and spend the occasional night here.

There were walking paths that crisscrossed the island, most of which we had to share with the sheep.

Who seemed quite put out when they had to move to let us by.

There were incredible views everywhere, but pictures just can't do them justice.

 

By this time we had walked up an appetite, so we sat on the hillside to eat the sandwiches we had brought with us.  Food wasn't that great, but the view from the table was spectacular!

And then it was time for a little siesta (I'm sure I'm part Spanish).

But no rest for the wicked, there was a path that went up to the highest part of the island, so we had to do that (OK, Susan had to drag me, but I went!).

After we reached the highest point, we came back down and I found that lovely bench the old woman had been sitting on before and took it for a spin.  Very nice, very, very nice.

 

By now it was time to catch another zodiac to the boat (not the company that took us out, but they seem to carry whoever is ready to go) and back to our dock.  If we thought the walk down was steep, after walking all over the island, the walk back up to the top was extreme.  But we made it, found our car intact and headed back to our B&B for a much needed rest.

But a beautiful day, and the Great Blasket is great indeed.