We had a nice English Breakfast at the hostel and then set off to the Causeway. It is a world heritage site and it’s easy to see why. Giant pentagons and hexagons of basalt rock joust out into the ocean as large green cliffs tower behind. After thoroughly exploring the causeway we took a 4 mile hike along the top of the cliffs to Dunseverick “castle” (more aptly named Dunseverick rubble) and the took a bus to Carrick-a-Rede island. There is a 10 meter rope bridge built high above the sea and rocks below that you have to cross in order to reach the island; crossing it was exciting and a little nerve wracking.
We took the bus back to the hostel, grabbed our bags and made our way back the Coleraine station where we took a bus back to Belfast. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop into nearby Bushmills to visit the distillery – a distillery so noteworthy that it’s actually printed on one side of the bank notes from Northern Ireland.
In Belfast we didn’t have much time, but we managed to get an authentic Irish dinner at a local bistro (soda bread, veggie Shepard’s pie, veggie Stroganoff) and then take a black taxi tour. The black taxi tour consists of a local Belfaster driving around the Shankill road and Falls road showing us the murals and monuments to those who perished in The Troubles. It was clear the tension between the two neighborhoods was still high, and the tour was sombering. On the train into Belfast we briefly spoke with a middle aged couple who lived on Shankill road, though we didn’t have much of a chance to ask them about their experiences living there. We went to bed early again in preparation for our 6:50 train to Dublin the next morning.