Its past lingers like an Aran Islands mist
INISHMORE, Ireland (CNN) -- There is a sensation of timelessness on the Aran Islands, 11 nautical miles (20 kilometers) off Ireland's west coast. Centuries of isolation have allowed the people of these islands to guard some of Ireland's purest traditions.
Curious travelers, too, escape to this magical setting where there are no highways and no skyscrapers. Instead, stone walls cover the landscape and the preferred mode of transportation is bicycle or pony trap.
Some of Ireland's most ancient ruins lie on these islands -- stone forts and churches where prayers were being said thousands of years ago.
Inishmore, the largest of the three islands, is home to just 900 Irish folk, each with a story and a smile for visitors. Some footprints of the late 20th century have made their way to the islands, however -- tour buses, souvenir shops, and hostels and B&Bs.
Traesa Joyce and her family have welcomed guests to their Kilmurvey House Bed and Breakfast since 1947.
"Tourism has changed enormously -- if you go back 30, 40 years, there were very few places to stay on the island," says Joyce. "Maybe three, four places. Now there are lots of accommodation and the standard of accommodation has improved."
That's not necessarily bad, Joyce says, but there are dangers to Inishmore's long-entrenched culture.
"I think we need to be very careful that we don't over-develop because I think we have something very special here," she says.
Joyce's mother opened the bed and breakfast in 1947, and U.S. President William Howard Taft and his son were early guests. Writers and archaeologists are also high on the list of guests.
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