Interlude Post 3 from Dublin, Ireland

After indulging in the best hot chocolate in the universe in Edinburgh, Scotland, we headed north to the highlands for a few days of hiking and sight seeing.  We quickly realized that Scotland will be a place we want to come back to - there is too much to see!

The first couple days were spent near Cairngorns National Park in northern Scotland.  The landscape reminded us of the Alaska wilds, but was subtly unique due to the people and "worn" feel that the area had from thousands of years of human habitation.  Some of the highlights included a hike into a glacial cirque, an awesome campsite on the edge of a stream in an Old Growth Caledonian Spruce tree glen, and some delicious dinners in our camps (no we did not indulge in the haggis).

Later, we moved west to Glen Affrick and Glen Coe, two additional areas of outstanding beauty.  Glen Coe had to be the highlight though, featuring a great 1500 meter climb to a saddle in between two peaks in a beautiful mountain pass, as well as another amazing campsite on the edges of a scenic loch (which reminds me that we drove past Loch Ness, but didn't see any Plesiosaurs).

After too short of a visit in Scotland, we hopped the ferry for the ride to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where we visited an old rope bridge to a fishing island, and the geologic wonder of "Giant's Causeway," a volcanic feature of perfect crystallized basalt/mud rock formed about 60 million years ago.

However, the except for any geologists reading (Kristen?), the more interesting part is the legend, which states that the Causeway was built by the Giant Fin McCool, who built the Causeway so he could enter battle with the Scottish Giant Benandonner.  The victor is unknown....

After a couple days in Northern Ireland, we drove south today and just arrived outside Dublin, where we await the arrival of our guests from Massachusetts, for a 10 day sojourn in Ireland.