An image will be here shortly…. Wifi problems!

The Giant’s Causeway tour was incredible. Each location superseded the last, and Whitney, Shanna and I were consistently blown away. After a quick stop at a 12th century castle along the Irish Sea, we got the opportunity to cross over the infamous rope bridge (which we thought had been closed!!). The experience was terrifying but still amazing and definitely unforgetable.

After, we made the short drive to the most breathtaking scene:  the actual causeway, which we learned is the product of ancient volcanic eruptions. However, local legends about the causeway claim that giants built the structures of perfectly squared, oversized stones stacked atop one another. Since science tends to be incomprehensible to me, both options are equally logical in my eyes. If I was to connect this scene to the ideas about “place” we have discussed on this trip, I would propose that this place is made meaningful by the absence of memories. Sure, geologists can pin down the origin on the stones, but the system through which they took on their unique shape is practically inaccessible; therefore, we are left to fill in the gaps with folklore and other made up tales that work towards explaining things beyond our understanding.

Whitney and Shana found themselves shouting random adjectives at the cliffs, saying “astonishing,” “amazing,” “spectacular.” And while all of this was in jest, I can’t come up with any other way to describe the experience of the causeway. All of us have seen beautiful beaches and shorelines, but something about this place stood out. We couldn’t pin down if it was the contrast between the deep blue water, the grey stones and the green grass or the magnificence of the stones overall—or if we were made privy to something special since the day had turned out to be so beautiful. For a measly 23 pounds, we got an experience of a lifetime, in places that we couldn’t have even imagined.