For the holiday Monday Leandra, Rob and I took an UlsterBus tour. It went to Rathlin Island and back through Ballycastle. This is the smallest inhabited island in Ireland. There seemed to be limited access to electricity, and while there are cars on the island, gasoline only comes in once a week. We took a hike up to the light house, though we could not go inside.
Once the visitor center was open, I got more information on the island. It is interesting that it is the home of the story "The Children of Lir". Lir was a Irish chieftain whose wife died after giving him a daughter and three sons. Lir married his wife's half sister who was jealous of her husband's love for his children and turned them into four swans. They were destined to spend nine-hundred years this way, but at the coming of Christianity the spell was broken. I had heard variations of this story when very very young, could not believe I was actually there.
After we left the Island --on the ferry that felt like it would tip over before it made it to shore-- we got a short while in Ballycastle. This really cute town is not home to much but is famious for good fish and chips and we also found a "one pound store". Leandra and Rob loved their fish and chips. I decided to spring for cheese on my chips, I can hardly describe what they gave me and how strange it was to anyone who was not there. The chips simply had a handful of shredded cheddar put on top, not melted.
The tour was good and a great day. Though good planning would have been a better substitute, as Ulsterbus is rather expensive and for the long ride the bus and it's patrons did not smell great.
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