Three more days til departure!

The coast between Derry and Belfast.



Dunluce Castle

More of Dunluce

The main part of the Castle

B&W of Dunluce

Coastline

The walk down to Giant's Causeway

The Camel's Head

How the rocks look

The rocks can be tall.

Us sitting on top

One of the coves

Me on the rope bridge

The rope bridge from a distance

Even fafther away

Me coming back on the rope bridge

Friends,
Can't believe we have been here for 10 days. We have seen enough sights for a 6 week stay. And have walked at least 100 miles. We left off at Derry. Today we drove to Belfast by way of the coast. Our first stop is Dunluce Castle. It is perched on a steep crag. Dating back to the 13th century, it was the main fortress of the MacDonnells, chiefs of Antrim. It is remarkedly well preserved. Part of it is built on the mainland with a bridge to the crag. The views are magnificent. Many other families lived here and it has a rich history. It was quite an elaborate structure at one time.
From there we traveled to the Giant's Causeway. It is Ireland's only World Heritage Site. By the way, the sun was out and I actually wore my long shorts and a t-shirt. Too bad my sunscreen was in my suitcase. My sunburn attested to that fact that night. Anyway, we parked in a lot and took a shuttle down. The walk down to the Causeway is long and steep, but paved. If you have knee problems you can take the shuttle down. Tom and I managed the walk down slowing a few times for my old body to catch up. The Causeway is between two coves. it resulted from gigantic outpourings of volcanic basalt some 60 million ago.The rock cooled in 2 distinct formations. Firstly a lower layer of thousands of hexagonal columns and secondly, a upper layer of slim uneven prisms. Finn MacCoul, an Irish legend, was reputed to have built it as a bridge to Scotland. It reminds me of Devil's Postpile in Calif. So many steps to climb and sit on. It is overwhelming. We ate lunch sitting on a few steps. The walk back up was sloooow.
From there we drove to Carrick-A-Rede for me to walk across on the rope bridge. The day was so beautiful. The rope bridge is reached from another long steep walk. It is 66ft. long swinging 80ft. above the sea and rocks separating the cliffs from a small rocky island. The bridge has been erected for 200 years or more for the fishermen who operate a salmon fishery on the island. Tom would not go across as he doesn't enjoy heights. The views from the island were amazing. Tom saw a Razorbill bird in the water diving like a penguin, which family he is actually a part of.
The drive to Belfast was serene. I think because we were plain wore out. More to come.

The coast close to Giant's Causeway

White Cliffs

Dunluce Castle