Over the river…

It’s not quite a river… it’s saltier water than that. We went on a roadtrip to Inch Island which is off the Inishowen peninsula (and basically you drive right over a “bridge” so it wasn’t a big island expedition).

The “bridge”… trust me.

 

Learning how to nail that effortless cool pose. Thanks Christina for being my paparazzo.

We drove to the island, then got out for a walk along a beachy inlet and then down a dock (pictured above) which had fantastic panoramic views of the surrounding island and sky and water. Cloudy, yes… but dry for a majority of the time!

Artistic rock photo. Better than artsy food photo, right?

I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to show off my fabulous manicure that my friend Darryl did because it’s not every day you get such a good one.

Another moment of jealousy for the view that these houses have…

Eleanor captioned this photo by exclaiming “it looks like you guys are on your honeymoon!” Thank you, Eleanor.

The beach and the dock was fun. The water and air were fresh and beautiful and nice, so we decided to walk up a winding tree lined path to see if we could find a higher viewpoint. Apparently the others did, but me and Christina were captivated by the dense, mossy forest and the spell of Mirkwood slowly descended towards us and we felt ourselves being pulled away from our companions into the charm of the dark forest.

… and through the woods
(^ just so I could connect my very clever title)

The path, and Eryn Lasgalen off to one side… luring us in…

Once we were in there, it was only natural to realise that all of a sudden we had transformed into our true elven selves. Greenwood the Great needed its elven warriors to protect the forest from the horrid spiders! Or had we just lost Gollum when we were supposed to be guarding him and he had climbed away, too far out of reach? We weren’t quite sure, but determined to find out before we got reprimanded by our captain.

 

Guardian of the forest.

Elves make everything look easier. Casually going to jump on a spider.

The verdict is Mirkwood is safe for now. But for how much longer…

 

 

These green shores

I had grand visions of me becoming a travel blogger and writer last semester… all within one entire semester in Ireland. Since I think I may have written only one post, if that, and didn’t even share it with the world, I don’t think it counts for much. However, I’ve been given a second chance by coming back to Ireland so I figure if I’m going to live here A WHOLE YEAR!!! (well, 2 semesters!) I will share stories now and then. It is unreal being back here–partially because I’m so incredibly used to it. This is home, this is school and my life. It feels like I never left, but it also feels like time is slipping through my fingers like sand. I want to kick myself every morning and be able to remind myself to have the same feeling I felt when I realised I was coming back–can you even believe it? It was so exciting and still is but I’m just used to the everyday life of it again. Oh how I need these adventures…

This is the Donegal coast off the Inishowen peninsula. Our first weekend back, we had to do something because even if your wellies have 6 inches of water in them, the wind is trying to strip all the eyelashes from the surface of your face, and you run the risk of being pelted by hail (because you might see a rainbow!), it’s IRELAND and hey, January or not, it’s good to take advantage of what your family and friends at home are so jealous of you for.

Me, Christina, and our friend Eleanor (who ever so conveniently has a car and has been a doll to drive us around–she even seems as excited to explore as us, pretty much, so it’s a great arrangement!) decided to go to Buncrana and a waterfall (just because it sounded cool because it’s a WATERFALL!) and wherever else we could find.

Aaaand… the beach. This was meant to be a one picture post/reflection, but I’ll talk about this as well. We didn’t stay long because (A) wind and (B) rain which you don’t see here but is about to happen any second now, but it was glorious wading around the big puddles and through the crunchy sand and looking over worn shells. I love the Irish coastline because you can look out to the horizon and usually see the horizon, but you see all sorts of other islands and places and coasts of Ireland (and sometimes you can see Scotland as well! But not from this vantage point in Inishowen, I don’t think).

Somewhere on the Inishowen peninsula… a rare sacred moment of sunshine. And gorgeous beach.

Over Hill

I could have breathed in this view for hours, not just the mere minutes I stood there taking a photo. Giant’s Causeway, each time I visit, never fails to take my breath away in some new way. There are just so many different perspectives of it to capture and see. Before this visit, I’d been down along the winding road that leads along the sea and to the hexagon rocks, but a few weeks later my friends and I couldn’t pass up another trip back there since we had no idea when the weather would be worsening. It certainly didn’t happen this day–it really felt as nice as it looks in this photo, a balmy 65 degrees fahrenheit.

Everything–all the light falling on things–was golden all day. It was the most tranquil yet exciting six mile walk I’ve ever taken. You would be ambling along in the trampled grass looking over the cliffs and down to the rocks and sea, and all of a sudden, reach these stone steps and the grass and blue sky and landscape and serenity would just be there in infinity before you. The stairs, paths, and stiles were fascinating because they didn’t have to be this modern, 21st century thing. They were simple and untouched just like the cliffs and the rocks, whose only job was to guide thousands of gaping tourists before me from the visitor’s centre to Dunluce castle. Walking along here was freedom–nothing holding me in, the paths just gently guiding me to the best spots and showing me the most stunning scenery. My friend and I both agreed that this is what we dreamed of when we wanted to come to Ireland. Indeed, it’s what I’d been imagining my whole life. That freedom, that landscape, that sea air, that soft grass and warm meadows and the perfect still, harmonious silence only broken by the sounds of animals and our feet on the grass. Yes, if you ever go to Giant’s Causeway, every part of it will cast a spell over you.