Aleria's Jaunt to Scotland: 28 July 2013, Gola Island, Ireland
Stone arch at the end of Gola Getting Closer to God The harbour We woke to a beautiful crisp morning with sunshine and puffy white clouds. We decided to go ashore for a morning exploratory visit. We stopped at the café/tourist information hut on the far side of town and saw photos of inhabitants from around the 1930s before the island was deserted in the 1960s. This was a special exhibit for the weekend festival. Decendants are now coming back and restoring the old homesteads. Very interesting. Marie, the proprietor of the café, told us all about the people, the history and the current happenings. They’ve laid on water and electricity and built two new piers. Yet, they are having difficulty with conservationists who want everything preserved to protect sensitive species. The islanders are being forced into making all kinds of concessions to be permitted to restore their ancestral homes.