We were able to find five days to take off and visit Ireland. We mostly visited Northern Ireland where Jake and Nancy
Rittenhouse are doing a one year volunteer term with Mennonite Mission Network. They work at a retreat house that is associated with
Corrymeela, a larger retreat centre that works with reconciliation projects
stemming from the Catholic & Protestant conflict.
After flying into Dublin, we drove to
Portadown where our
MMN boss lives with his family. We were able to meet with their church's small group that was meeting at their house that night. The next day we drove to the
Rittenhouses and they drove us around the Northern Ireland countryside.
This is their house that they live in (on the left) and the 'annex' on the right which has bedrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room. This is a view from the back of the house as we were hiking up the mountain side that they live on.
This is a courtyard/garden at
Corrymeela.
The next day they drove us to 'The Giants causeway', which is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic
eruption. The top of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea.
Here are the basalt columns.
These are some castle ruins beside the sea not far from the giants causeway.
On the same day we drove to a
forest with a river and water falls.
We saw lots and lots of sheep grazing.
After a couple days with the
Rittenhouses, we drove to
Donnegal which is still in the North part of Ireland but is in the republic of Ireland, not Northern Ireland. There we went through the
Donnegal castle and stayed in a Hostel that night.
We drove north of
Donnegal to see the coastline in that area. This is called the Cliffs of
Donegal.
A beautiful hidden beach.....too cold for sunbathing though and too cloudy on this day.
There were about 125 plus steps to get to this beach so you had to want to go! Notice on both sides of the steps it's all ferns. It was
sooooooo lush there.
the view from our bedroom at Jake and Nancy's house. Very
peaceful and serene there. Quite a contrast to our life in London.
After flying into Dublin, we drove to Portadown where our MMN boss lives with his family. We were able to meet with their church's small group that was meeting at their house that night. The next day we drove to the Rittenhouses and they drove us around the Northern Ireland countryside.
This is their house that they live in (on the left) and the 'annex' on the right which has bedrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room. This is a view from the back of the house as we were hiking up the mountain side that they live on.
This is a courtyard/garden at Corrymeela.
The next day they drove us to 'The Giants causeway', which is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. The top of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea.
Here are the basalt columns.
These are some castle ruins beside the sea not far from the giants causeway.
On the same day we drove to a forest with a river and water falls.
We saw lots and lots of sheep grazing.
After a couple days with the Rittenhouses, we drove to Donnegal which is still in the North part of Ireland but is in the republic of Ireland, not Northern Ireland. There we went through the Donnegal castle and stayed in a Hostel that night.
We drove north of Donnegal to see the coastline in that area. This is called the Cliffs of Donegal.
A beautiful hidden beach.....too cold for sunbathing though and too cloudy on this day.
There were about 125 plus steps to get to this beach so you had to want to go! Notice on both sides of the steps it's all ferns. It was sooooooo lush there.
the view from our bedroom at Jake and Nancy's house. Very peaceful and serene there. Quite a contrast to our life in London.
No comments:
Post a Comment