Hiking for a cause

I apologize for my silly headlines. We went to the Giant’s Causeway today--lame excuse for a lame headline.

Anyway, I generally feel underwhelmed by the Causeway. There are so many fantastic professional photos--sun rising, sun setting, a ballerina posed on a rock mound--that the real thing somehow seems less intensely beautiful.

Not today. Bright winter sunshine, high high winds, roaring waves (the water at Giant’s Causeway is usually more like a bath tub) and, importantly, next to no one there. We had the place to ourselves. I explored it more than I have before, seeing angles I’d never seen before, and it was magical. There were huge curling waves--lit up by the sun--quite a distance from the shore, and then a second smaller wave near the shore. The result was big pools of foam among the rocks. As the new waves crashed in, golf-ball-sized puffs of foam popped into the air. Because the causeway rocks are backed by a steep hill, the foam soared upwards. It was like being in an upside down snow storm. Really magical. I kept giggling.

The sad news is I relied on Joe to take photos, leaving my camera in the car. I’ve done this before because I’m not that impressed either with my camera or my photography skills. Joe quickly ran out of battery so I don’t have much to capture the day.

This is like one of my photos--a total injustice. My hat blew off at one point, you had to bend over to keep going in the wind.

The waves were bigger than this photo portrays. I kept thinking of paintings by Turner that show ships being tossed about.

After the causeway we went to Dunluce Castle:

Then Portstewart for lunch then inland to Ballycastle, then along the coast from Torr Head through Cushendall, Carnlough and Larne then home. A stunning day, no other word for it.
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