Fingal's Cave

On Monday we gave ourselves a very special treat. We took a tour boat to the island of Staffa, where a Fingal's Cave is found. And to elevate the experience to a new level, we brought along our instruments so we could play the Scottish tune called Fingal's Cave inside of Fingal's Cave. 

It was breathtaking. 

The sea was rough, with big swells, and the waves were crashing on the rocks. We have some videos of it, and will post them later when we have access to a library. For now, we'll mostly let the pictures tell the story.

Being inside the cave with the swells crashing in was other-worldly. We were moved nearly to tears by the magnificence of being on Staffa, and being inside of Fingal's Cave. (We have videos, but need access to a real computer to post them ... We will do so next time we're near a library.)

We did actually play Fingal's Cave inside of Fingal's Cave, and the people nearby were thrilled. We had some pics taken, and we're hoping the photographers will send them to us.  We'll post them when we can.

 We smiled a lot too!

We played for a while sitting on the columns outside the cave, too. The waves were crashing in, the sun was shining a bit, and it was beautiful!

We had only an hour on Staffa, and all too soon we had to leave. 

The columns of rock are basalt, formed during one of the many volcanic events that shaped this part of the world. The formations are not unique - there are similar formations on Ireland - which lends a good bit of color to the geological explanation. Here's the snip from Wikipedia...

"According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner. In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than he. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this."