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La guarantie BDE đŹđ§
11/02/2024
đŹđ§ Belfast â Coleraine â Bushmills, County Antrim â Portballintrae â Coleraine â Belfast
Walking through the streets of Belfast, by a clear and chill morning, I find myself at the train station for a day trip. Today’s goal: the Giant’s Causeway!
The train takes me up to Coleraine, where I am immediately whisked away in a bus. Now, there’s something I’d like to rectify from the Cliffs of Moher post some days ago. Actually, I hate long-distance bus. It’s just the worst way of transportation possible. However, city bus are really helpful, even if I tend to rather walk. But today I had another proof that local buses, those which goes between small villages and do lots of stops, are actually fantastic. I got to reach the Giant’s Causeway through some small coastal roads, with jaw-dropping views, like the ruins of Dunluce Castle, perched on a rock, looking like it would fall over in the ocean at any point. Fantastic!
The weather is impeccably sunny, and it being Sunday, there were quite a few people for February. But that’s ok, the majesty of the site was still there. Anyone is free to walk on the Causeway, which I did too, but I wonder how long can it withstand such daily leather and metal militia of shoes and walking sticks before artificial erosion starts to show. I’m baffled by how perfectly shaped the rocks are. It’s mindblowing that nature can do such geometries.
The site itself is not as impressive as this fact though, however the surroundings are gorgeous! High cliffs, preceded by a rocky waterfront slowly fading into the sea. There’s a path going mid-height of the cliffs, offering great point of views. It then goes back up the plateau, where the green hilly Ireland (as in the island of) runs to the horizon.
Then it rained.
But thankfully, only a few minutes, and the sun was shining bright again. From here, it’s crazy how much of the sky you can see, and specifically how localized the weather is. I could spot two or three places a few kilometers away being under heavy rain, then perfectly sunlit 15 min later.
A few hours later, I tried my luck at the conveniently placed Heritage railway, but unfortunately, it’s in maintenance this week. No worries, I got back to the village of Portballintrae by the path that run along the railway. It’s a nice walk that ends up on the beach. I could see a huge, long dark grey cloud, menacing as a great black worm.
I waited the bus seating on the edge of Portballintrae’s perfectly circular natural harbour. Back in Coleraine, it was the bus to Belfast, from which I saw the sunset.
In Belfast, I treated myself to a luxurious 20 ⏠dinner, and I got told by the waitress that I looked like Brian Cox (the British equivalent of Jamy). Overall, the 10th day was a perfect day!
In my room, I put the music on, and Spit Out the Bone plays first đ€đ€đ€
Train count: + 2
Total: 19
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Splendid!