June 20: Dark hedges, Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway, and Carrick-a-rede rope bridge

Dear Friends and Relatives,

I am writing you at night after a full day of sightseeing, and am absolutely exhausted, along with Paula, so this missive will be a shorter one than usual.  

Our driver picked us up at 10:00; meanwhile, I had made several useless phone call to find out where my bag was.  Finally, I found a man at Swissport who said he would look into the situation for me, and by the shank of the afternoon I had an email from the reception at our Dublin hotel stating that the bag had indeed arrived.  Best news of the day, but it had been preceded by an intense but often frustrating search.

We drove in the countryside and through the Dark Hedges, an allee of beech trees, a site that had been used in one of the most recent episodes of "Game of Thrones."  From there we were off to Dunluce Castle, considered the most impressive ruins on the whole Irish coastline and belonging to the MacDonnell clan.  From there, we went to the famous Giant's Causeway, Ireland's only World Heritage site, made up of an estimated 37,000 basalt columns, each a polygon--the result of a massive subterranean explosion, some 60,000,000 years ago.  Several legends of the giant Finn McCool are associated with this site.  I had been attracted to it ever since I had viewed a black/white photograph of it in the moonlight when I was about 13 or so.  A privilege to see it now and walk from one end to the other of it.  The clouds kept hovering, then broke apart, then a squall set in, followed by a substantial wind.  By the time we got to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which was next on the agenda, the weather had cleared, and several people in the bus, including Paula, crossed this bridge which was located 25 m above the sea, the rope-connected  planks leading to a commercial salmon fishery on the SE side.  Paula said that walking its 18 m length, she detected the leaping and bucking of the bridge,  especially on her return.  There are strong handrails, but it is definitely not for a person with vertigo.  I stayed behind, did some walking, and bought a cappuccino.  

Then our driver drove back to Belfast, dropped off some of the passengers, and then drove the 100 km back to Dublin to drop four of us off, and the entire time he chatted with Paula and me.  

We got back to the hotel, and I rejoiced at receiving my luggage.  I did a bit of repacking, and the taxi is coming at 8:15 tomorrow morning.  Exhausted now, so must go.  Hello, to everyone, and please call or comment by email if you like.  I will be back in Dallas tomorrow evening, and will be in the city until June 28, when I am off to San Francisco.  Take care!  As ever, Sylvia / Mami

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas