Last Days in Northern Ireland

My last day at this farm was spent with the morning being filled with feeding the animals (my favorite part of the day!) and the afternoon was quite the experience.

On the farm there was a pile of manure (cow & horse) that measured 30 feet long x 12 feet wide x 9 feet high. Our task was to cover it with black plastic as it was to be covered for one year to decompose and then be spread on the fields. Erin and I were climbing all over the manure, up to our knees in it. It was amazing how much heat was generated beneath it, you could feel it gusting out as you rearranged the plastic. John said it gets so hot in there that you could boil an egg. Once we got it covered it had to be sealed which consisted of shoveling manure around the plastic edges to seal it and then throwing tires on it to keep it weighed down during the winter. Manure was everywhere, on our faces, all over our clothes, and it even smelled like it was up our noses! John said we did a top notch job. I will never use the phrase "Knee deep in s**t" again without thinking of that experience!

After that the ladies got freshened up and headed out to the pub because it was karaoke night and we deserved a pint after that! Karaoke was totally awesome, and I am becoming quite the fan of Guinness!

The next day Erin and I headed to Rathlin Island for the night. Rathlin is on the Northernmost tip of Northern Ireland and is simply breathtaking. There are 90 inhabitants on the island along with a bird reserve where there are a lot of different species of birds from puffins to guillemots.

I booked us two singles at the hotel on the island, and in the email it stated they strongly recommend making a reservation for the ferry. When we asked John & Laura whether we should make a reservation they stated "Well you can but you should be fine." Famous last words.

After the 2 hour bus trip we arrived in the quaint little town of Ballycastle which is a seaside resort town. Lots of cute houses, tons of character, and it was a beautiful day. Sun was shining, birds were chirping and we headed to the ferry terminal to get tickets. Alas the lady behind the window stated that the tickets were all sold out that day. Erin and I went for some chips to figure out a plan B. There was NO other way to get to the island so we called the hotel to cancel. We were so sad and feeling super down. I was totally kicking myself for not making ferry reservations. We then decided to spend the night in Ballycastle. After a brief disheartening walk to the hostel, we were presented with a hostel with no one at home. As I was pulling out my phone to call the number on the door the hotel from Rathlin called. They suggested we walk back to the ferry terminal and ask to be put on a wait list. Erin and I said "why not?" and walked back to the terminal. Apparently the magic words are "We are spending the night" and we got on the ferry! HOORAY!

We had a couple of hours to spare before the ferry which was spent exploring the town of Ballycastle. We walked along the beach and did some shopping while we passed the time. As per my previous experiences, everyone was so friendly and inquisitive as to where we were from and how our holidays were going. I really cannot say enough about how friendly everyone is here.

The ferry ride was beautiful, behind us were the soaring cliffs of Northern Ireland and in front of us was the picturesque island of Rathlin. After we landed we had a short walk to the hotel and found our rooms to be just perfect. (See flickr photos)

Early evening we took a short 4 mile hike to the East lighthouse all the while exclaiming about how beautiful it was. As we came around a curve we saw Scotland, 13 miles to the north. It was such an amazing moment, to be standing on this island with Northern Ireland behind us and Scotland in front of us surrounded by breathtaking hills filled with purple flowers, sheep and cows, the only sounds being a mild breeze blowing past our faces. It was one of those moments when you know you simply cannot replicate it nor grasp it in your hand, all you can do it savor it and store it for replay in your mind and let the feelings of it fill your soul.

Following our hike we had a pint of Guinness in the pub at the hotel while we waited for our dinner reservations. We enjoyed some good craic with the bartender who lo and behold was from the area we were WWoofing. It is a small world after all as he used to be a bartender at our pub the Ballad Inn! We shared stories of the locals and agreed to come back for a post dinner pint.

Dinner was amazing at our hotel restaurant. They grow organic ingredients and you can tell. Our appetizer was figs with buffalo mozzarella... YUM. My dinner was a portabella mushroom with goat cheese on top with assorted vegetables. On the side was my new favorite food CHAMP. Champ=heaven in your mouth. It is mashed potatoes with leeks and scallions. It is amazing. It was like eating our view today. (:

Post dinner we went back to the pub for more craic. We met a bunch of locals who convinced us to go to the other pub on the island, 4 houses down from it. As we arrived they scared the beejesus out of us with stories about how haunted our hotel was! Apparently Ghost Hunters International was there last year to film the ghost known as the "Gruder." Apparently the Gruder was a red headed child who was crippled who was locked in room 6. Good thing I was in room 10!

As I was walking back to the hotel I was a wee bit scared... so I ran past room 6! (: No sign of the Gruder! Whew!

The next morning we rented bikes and went on a grueling 10 mile bike ride to the bird sanctuary. It was so beautiful, with the ocean on one side and fields with sheep, cattle, and white, purple, and yellow flowers all over them on the other side. There was a ton of hills and Erin and I ended up pushing our bikes up most of them. As we arrived at the bird sanctuary we were met with the cacophany of bird sounds.

We descended down 90 steps to use complementary binoculars to view rugged cliffs filled with thousands of birds. It was a sight to behold! And there were PUFFINS! I thought I had to go to Iceland to view Puffins! It was fantastic. There were volunteers there ready to fill us in on information about the birds, it was so worth it.

On the way back we coasted down the hills and took in the breathtaking views. We then returned the bikes and took the ferry back to the mainland followed by a bus trip back to the farm.

For my last night on the farm of course we had to go back to the Ballad Inn! It was a great night filled with much laughter, a wee bit o Gunness, craic, and smiles on all of our faces.

I was really sad to say goodbye to this farm , it was an amazing way to start my trip. I was so happy to make two really good friends who kept me smiling while shoveling manure, weeding, or enjoying our beautiful surroundings.