The Giant's Causeway - Belfast Trip

ALL RIGHT. So I just got back from the whirlwind adventure that was my weekend trip to Belfast. Friday and Sunday were mostly about getting there--we boarded up on a big coach bus from Maynooth, picked up fellow Arcadia students from other universities around Dublin (Trinity College and University College of Dublin) and then went on the two-hour drive up to Belfast, enjoying the pretty Irish countryside all the while. Sunday was pretty much that, but in reverse. SATURDAY, however, was SO BUSY that I seriously don't think I can easily fit it all into one post. SO I think I'm going to divide it into the morning and the evening. This post is going to be about my morning events--namely, The Giant's Causeway

Saturday Morning - The Giant's Causeway

After eating a lackluster breakfast at the hotel, me and the other 80 or so Arcadia students boarded the buses and went on an hour-and-a-half long drive to The Giant's Causeway, which is right at the coast of Northern Ireland (facing the North Atlantic Sea). First of all, the countryside is gorgeous up there--lots of green, rolling hills...steep cliffs...the sound of surf in the background. Very nice.

The shores of Ireland's Northern Coast, at the Giant's Causeway

A tour guide took us through the Giant's Causeway, which is an amazing natural formation that many say rivals Arizona's Grand Canyon. The major fascination is the wonderful rock formations. The main part of the Causeway is broken up into hundreds and hundreds of tiny column-like hexagonal pillars that are all stacked together like sticks. Looking at it, it's hard to believe that it's a natural formation. There are a lot of myths and legends surrounding the Causeway--most involving the giant, Finn McCool, who gave the Causeway it's name. The legends say that the Causeway was once Finn's home, and you can see traces of his presence everywhere--Finn's giant boot lies discarded on the beach, his pet camel slumbers beneath the cliffs, and you can see the rise of his chimney in the distance (if there' smoke coming out of it, that means the giant is in!).

Finn's Camel sleeps at the bottom of the cliff after a hard day's work.

Finn's boot lies discarded on the shore.

After the tour was over the guide set us loose among the many pillars of the Causeway, which were both perfect and dangerous stepping stones! Lots of people tried to climb them to see how close to the shore they could get (which wasn't a great thing to try, since the waves were ferocious pounding against the rocks).

The pillar formations of the Giant's Causeway

When we had explored the Giant's Causeway thoroughly enough, we hopped back on the bus and headed out--but we didn't go far! After just about a 10 minute drive we stopped again, at Dunluce Castle.

Later Saturday Morning - Dunluce Castle

Dunluce Castle is an ancient medieval castle that was built in the 13th century and remained in use until about the 16th century. The ruins are now all that remain. o.o Still, the ruins are surprisingly well-intact and you can make out much of the layout of the castle. Dunluce is still a part of the Giant's Causeway area and was the center of what was once a thriving village. Now, it must suffer the indignity of being overrun by Arcadia students.

Bridge to the Dunluce Castle's Inner Ward

Inside Dunluce Castle

Dunluce Castle was a beautiful historic sight. Unfortunately, we only got to stay for about 20 minutes. The ruins were established enough, though, that I could see how the layout of the castle once was and I could just picture the ancient kings and lords and all their servants and peasants living and working in it. And it's location on the northern cliffs was prime real estate. Today it would cost thousands for that sort of view!

After Dunluce Castle we loaded back onto the bus and headed back into Belfast, where the second part of my day took place...

First Irish Word of the Day: Beautiful - álainn
I saw some beautiful sights. - Chonaic mé roinnt sights álainn.