April 9, 2009: Craic, craic, and even more craic!

As we near the end of our time here on Northern Ireland, we decided to take another longish trip in the Craig-bus. This minivan has been getting a workout for sure, it must be able to drive itself from Belfast to Ballycastle, we've done the trip that many times so far....

Anyway, today we set our sights and our GPS for Exploris, the aquarium located at Portaferry, at the mouth of Strangford Lough.

I had heard somewhere that Strangford is the largest Lough in the British Isles, but I'm sure that there a few Scots out there that would go all William Wallace on me if I said I believed it. It is however, home to an abundant array of wildlife, some 2000 plus species of animals and plants live in the Strangford Lough, and many are indiginous only to that area.

The Lough is the body of water between the Ards Peninsula and the mainland, and is quite a prominent feature on the map. The mouth of the Lough is quite narrow, with Portaferry on the north side of the channel and Strangford on the south end. Strangford is (at a very generous estimate) no more than a quarter mile away from Portaferry, if there was no water there, you could walk it in a few minutes. The addition of a honkin' big body of water adds a new wrinkle to the walking option. Therefore to get from one town to the other, you either hop on the ferry, or you drive all the way up on one side to Newtownards, and all the way back down on the other side.

There are all sorts of signposts clearly visible as we drive into the town, all bearing a mitre emblem. The signposts I later learn mark St. Patrick's path, something that neither Elaine nor I had previously heard of. I smelled a tourist-luring rat even more when I noticed that St. Patricks path took the hapless wanderer directly into the treacherous swirling eddies of Strangford Lough! Can't trick me, Irish tourism board! It's a ploy to get me on the ferry! St. Patrick would have looked across the Lough at Strangford and said "Bugger this, time for a pint" or something equally equmenical.

The aquarium is greatly improved since Elaine and I last visited it, *ahem, ahem* years ago. It is not on the same scale as something like the Baltimore aquarium, but it is much more focussed on portraying the local flora and fauna. Haaving said that, my kid's favorite fish today, hands down was......


the cuttlefish.


Cuttlefish??? In Strangford?? Catch yerselves on!

Just by way of throwing a curve ball or two, in addition to the local displays, the aquarium had a few exotic fish on display: Piranha, Lionfish, seahorses, and cuttlefish. We looked closely through the glass as these remarkable little guys changed colors, hovered in the water, threatened with their tentacles, and changed their skin textures. I must admit, they were pretty cool.

The aquarium serves as a home for recovering or orphaned seals and they now have an excellent enclosure for them.

We also learned today that Ballycastle and Portrush nearby are hotspots for Leatherback deep sea turtles.

After the aqaurium, it was back into the driving rain, get to the car, then drive to the harbor and watch the waves wash over the wall while we have our picnic. As the windows steamed, we watched the Portaferry ferryboat pirouette gracefully as it manouvered the many eddies and riptides of the Lough. It was too blowy and wet for us to chance crossing, so we bid Portaferry a fond adieu, then made our way up to the coast to Donaghadee once more.

Earlier I wrote that Bow Bells was gone. Turns out I was mistaken, it is in fact "the Moorings" that is gone the fice years, Bow Bells is still right where I left it. I know some folks reading this were concerned, so please, worry no more!

Having found Bow Bells, it was time for tea and some of the absolute best apple pie to ever grace God's green earth. I wasn't sharing!

We had dinner and coffee/tea with more of my family in Holywood and Belfast. I have missed the whole "droppin'-in-what's-the-craic" that Northern Ireland folk find easy and the rest of the world finds so alien. Can't explain it, can't analyze it, all you can do is enjoy it. The craic.

Lauren and Conor stayed in Holywood tonight, they will come to Ballycastle tomorrow. Bethany, Elaine and I made our way back to hot showers and cozy beds, which is in my opinion the best place to listen to howling winds. Goodnight, until tomorrow!