Friday/Rāmere
Today is biking (two of) the Glens of Antrim.
Around 50-60 million years ago the volcanic eruption which caused the Giant's Causeway also created a plateau of hard basalt. Over time erosion and glaciation of the plateau created the nine Glens of Antrim. We cycled Glenariffe - the "Queen of the Glens" - and Glenballyeamon. They are classic U- shaped glacial valleys. We cycled up one side and down the other.
At the top we did a short bush walk. Our legs did not want to walk. The waterfall is what we missed out on.
The cycle down.
Pink sheep.
Then I got my hair cut and coloured at Emma's in Cushendall. This is Emma. She is 24. She met her husband when she was 16, and has an 8 year and and a 2 year old. She has lived around Cushendall all her life. She has a chair in this salon. This means she has her own clients and pays something for use of the salon. She has her own business and was a delight to be with.
This is Lurigethan mountain (fort). Cushendall nestles beneath it.
We stopped here because Bill had read in the local rag there was a game of hurling this evening. But when we got there we were told one of the teams had defaulted. There were two practices going - a womens and a boys U18 team.
Then we met Seamus (another Seamus, not the Seamus who owns our bikes), who told us all about the rules of hurling. He had come along to watch his son's team, the other team defaulted and they practiced anyway. He went and got a stick (called a hurley) and ball (called a sliotar) to show us.
Of course I had to have a go while Bill kept asking Seamus questions.
I ran out of puff after about 10 metres.
We knew the two All Ireland semi-finals were happening in the next two days at Croke Park, Dublin, so we lined ourselves up to watch them - the first at the Kiwi Brew Bar (the only central sports bar) in Portrush. Seamus had got us well informed. Here are the basic rules of hurling - this is pretty much all of them - a lot simpler than rugby!
