Day 3

Day 3 of our adventure was our last day in Northern Ireland. We packed as much in as possible. Although Sarah and Natasha are okay for our time in Northern Ireland to be ending, Amanda is mourning the easy access to her beloved British snack foods. Thankfully we have a sufficient supply of biscuits and sweets to get us through at least the next couple of days. We started our day today by driving an hour and half to Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. The walk from the car park was only 1 km but Natasha swears it was 10kms. On the walk, there were two incidents in which Natasha and Sarah were viciously attacked by stinging nettles. We persevered through, and made it to a beautiful 250 year old rope bridge suspended over the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge was first built by salmon fishermen in 1755. It was used to help the men reach ideal fishing grounds on the island of Carrickarede. Sarah and Amanda have a fear of heights but despite being terrified they walked over it like a champ. Unlike the confined space incident from day one, Natasha found the experience beautiful but not scary in the slightest. Sarah and Amanda explored the area some while Natasha befriended a crow and took in the scenery.

After the bridge we planned to go to the nearby cafe for some soup and a cheese toasty. Unfortunately the cafe was soupless and the food looked subpar at best. We left and drove to the nearest town where Sarah was determined to find Natasha some soup and Amanda needed a post office. We stopped in a little antique shop and while on our soup mission, Sarah got distracted by a very enticing ice cream shop. She settled for a baby cone and the lady there told us where to go to get the best soup in town. Lorna's Kitchen. It was a small hole in the wall place with a homemade feel. Natasha ordered the soup and only realized when she was nearly finished that it contained blue cheese. After lunch we noticed a "99" advertisement sign which is a vanilla over cream cone with a flake chocolate bar stuck in it. Sounds pretty basic but Amanda swears these are the best thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately they were sold out. We went around the corner and fate gave us another "99" advertisement to follow. Amanda and Sarah got one and we carried on our journey to Bentone beach.

Benone beach was about 45 minutes away and worth every minute of the drive. It is a 7 mile long golden sand beach surrounded by 600 million year old volcanic black basalt rock formations. This beach also has a perfect view of the Mussended Temple. Natasha couldn't resist getting in the water despite being fully clothed. She only got up to her waist wet and so far was the highlight of the trip for her. We all walked along the beach searching for pottery glass but did not find any. Sarah and Amanda explored a cave and found an angry bird then went for a long walk. Natasha sat on the beach front and then met a very nice older Irish lady who invited her in her van to take her clothes off, to which Natasha declined. This sounds a little creepy but Natasha was really wanting to change out of her wet clothes.

After the beach we drove 45 minutes back to our flat to eat supper and then went to do laundry in a strange gas station outdoor laundry machine ($30 per load). When returning to pick up the laundry Natasha and Amanda got a low air warning for one of the tires. Thankfully the fill up seems to be doing the job. Natasha and Amanda enjoyed some "nice French wine" and olives back at the flat and Natasha discovered she doesn't dislike wine, she has just been drinking cheap wine her whole life. We are off to bed quite late tonight but are excited to wake up early and start our first day in the Republic of Ireland!Read more