Day 5 - Rope Bridge, Causeway and Pubs - OH MY

After a late night last night it was difficult to wake up this morning.  But we headed down to another fabulous breakfast and we waited for our touring company to pick us up to board the bus to the western coast and the ocean.

After picking up our tour companions all over the city, we embarked on the journey.  It was apparent right away that we were going to be hurried along.  The sun comes up about 9:30 am and then sets well before 4:30 in the winter months.  So, the guide had it all timed out and really emphasized that we couldn't be late boarding the bus at many stops because we were "racing daylight".

Our first "stop" was Carrickfergus Castle.  We literally had five minutes to run to the castle and take a picture.  Alas, I was very sad, but knew that we had many more things to see.

We packed back up (with much kudos from our tour guide for being 'on time') and away we were off for our next stop.  While we were driving we came into this little village and the tour guide showed us the ruins of a former castle with a bridge to the original castle that stretched over the river - with it's natural "moat" if you will.

We we are winding through the countryside, I find myself getting car sick.  This never happens.  But this bus driver is used to these winding roads and is taking them very quickly and only slows down when he meets another tour bus or big truck.  I either have to go to sleep or look out the front window.  My morning breakfast was making a desperate plea to revisit us - but I resisted.

As we go along, we have the cliffs and hills of the land to the left and the ocean to the right.

While we are winding through the countryside, I find myself getting car sick.  This never happens.  But this bus driver is used to these winding roads and is taking them very quickly and only slows down when he meets another tour bus or big truck.  I either have to go to sleep or look out the front window.  My morning breakfast was making a desperate plea to revisit us - but I resisted.

In spite of my illness, it is absolutely beautiful and just like a post card.  The hillsides are dotted with sheep and the villages are tiny with stone buildings.  It was just like a travel documentary

In this picture we can see Scotland.  It was 12 miles away but looked close enough to swim, if the ocean wasn’t so cold we would have had instant hypothermia. 

Traveling through the countryside, we slowly passed by three caves.  These were just right along side the road and looks like many people have investigated them over the many years of their existence.

Our next stop was the rope bridge.  The history of this bridge is that the salmon fishermen would cross this rope – wasn’t a bridge in the beginning – with all their gear in order to get to the shore to harvest their nets.  Over the years, the nature preserve have reconstructed the bridge and many visitors flock to the bridge to cross it and see the ocean.  Again, a very cold day, but well worth freezing.

It was a bit of a walk to the actual bridge and it was a bit windy but well worth the time it took us to get there. 

As I am crossing the bridge, I stopped to take pictures and dropped my glove.  YIKES……it took all my strength and bravery to stoop down and pick up the glove.  I am not sure why I just didn’t leave my $1.50 glove on the netting between me and the gorge but that would have felt like littering, so I picked it up.

This is what we walked across

Looking back after walking over the bridge, you can see why they would need one.  It is impossible to scale down the cliff walls without a complete Army repelling set. 

Walking back toward the gift shop and tour bus, we could see even more amazing beauty – the green of the grass and the stone walls.

Our next stop was at Bushmill’s Distillery.  This was established in 1608 when they got their first license to distribute.  The place smelled like fermented barley and was very old.  We had no time for a tour (again trying to ‘race the daylight’) but we grabbed a quick lunch and did some shopping.

I think we ALL need "still" rooms - however not for drinking......just for being "still".

Next to last stop was another castle.  This one was quite bigger than the first one; however we could not get any closer than this to it.  Because we were still in that race with daylight, we had 3 minutes to take pictures from the roadway.  This castle was not occupied at all and many of hundreds of years ago, part of it fell into the ocean.

The grass even in the winter is so incredibly green, it is no wonder it is called the Emerald Isle.  And I learned something new when I was watching the weather.  In my geography challenged brain, I always though the Ireland was East of Great Britain and the UK.  I was wrong; Ireland is west of the UK.  Another thing I have learned on this educational trip.

The next and last stop was the Causeway.  This is a gigantic formation of rocks that were created from a volcanic eruption.  They created in these amazing hexagon shapes and were long vertical tubes of rock.

After taking the coach back to the hotel, the ride was better this time because we took the “motorway” instead of the curvy roads. 

We then ventured out to the pubs once again to find some live traditional Irish music.  But…..we waited, and waited, and waited for the musicians to begin.

]When there was no one setting up while we were waiting, we decided to go to a different place.  The boys were very upset with us……but we persisted and went to a different place and WaaaaLaaaa…….we found some music and some very friendly dance partners. 

I don't think it is important that any one see pictures of that.  So until tomorrow.