11.00 am: to find Hertz we asked two
policemen for directions. They wanted to send us in the opposite direction.
Luckily, we’re both stubborn and we didn’t pay attention. We took a taxi.
2.00 pm: we left from Dublin, after riding
around the same round a couple of times we made it to the M50 North towards
Belfast, which is about 154 km away. Along the way, between Loome and
Ballymena, we stopped to take pictures at a cemetery. The Irish style is
creepy. While she was taking the pictures, I tried to move the car. I tried to
change gears with my right hand, I started driving with the change in third and
instead of gently slowing down, I slammed on the brakes… I have to get used to
driving on the right.
8.45 pm: we arrived in Portrush, in
Northern Ireland. After zigzagging all day because she kept going the wrong way,
we arrived in this small town and we found a very nice Guest House at 70 pounds
per night. It's a bit expensive but we were tired and we gladly accepted the
accommodation. The place was nice, right on the coast and at a 5-minute drive
from the Giant's Causeway that we would have visited the following day.
11:17 pm: after a miserable Guinness,
we got back to the hotel. She tried to open room 204, which was NOT our room!
If those people hadn’t woken up at the sound of the key trying insistently to
open the door, surely they woke up because of our laughs!
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| Portrush |
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| Typical Celtic cemetery |
May 23
Here in Northern Ireland our actual
tour began. Our first stop was the mysterious Dunluce Castle, about ten miles
from Portrush. After the castle, we visited the Giant's Causeway, a vast
expanse of hexagonal columns made of basalt stone, thick and irregular. This is
one of the most beautiful places in Ireland and is considered a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side, as it was
raining and the wind was very strong. When we arrived at the Carrick-a-Rede, we
were lucky enough that the sky opened up and the clouds disappeared. In fact,
you have to know that, if the wind is too strong, the bridge gets closed for
obvious safety reasons. However, I was still scared while on the bridge, because
the wind was just strong enough to make this little bridge made of rope swing.
At the end of the morning, after we visited
the main points of interest, we left and we headed towards Galway. The distance
that separated us from the goal, however, was very long so we stopped to rest
in Sligo. Sligo is really a small town with little to offer and little to see.
I wouldn't recommend it.
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| To the Giant's Causeway |
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| The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge suspended at a hundreds of meters’ height |
Do you wanna see all pics taken in Ireland? Then click here
Keep reading.... My travel story continues in the next post!
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