Day 6: Sunny with a chance of political conflict.

We made a right hand-turn in the town of Strabane and crossed the River Foyle. It was just a bridge. There were no big gigantic welcome signs, tourist centers, or rest stops. It was just a bridge into a small town. It could have been a giant fence, a stone wall, barbed wire, armed with military because the changes that would take place were absolutely stunning. It was more than just signs changing from km to miles, from euros to pounds, from just Shannons and Paddys to Shannons, Paddys, and Nigels. It was a general aura, and underlying current... I mean maybe it was because I was aware of the bloody history that engulfed the region and I was thinking about it too much, but I didn't think so. There was even controversy about the name of the town we were about to enter. The loyalists, those who were loyal to the UK and the queen believe the town should be called Londonderry. The republicans who believe that Ireland should be one united island believe it should be just called Derry. 

On our journey into town, certain areas were covered with the Union Jack. Others, much more subtle, had the flag of the Irish republic... but Nelson is blogging more about our first night in the north.


We woke up after a very restful night of no drinking in the center of Derry. The city is quite small, so we thought to have a very quick tour and then head back to natural, green Ireland. The sun was finally shining after three days of pounding rains, fog and clouds that obscured the landscape. After an awful breakfast of meat and beans, we made our way to the old city - the only one in Ireland with its walls remaining. Built around what was about an 8 block radius were these towering walls that gave sweeping views of the surrounding areas. As soon as we climbed on the first wall, the first of many political murals appeared... It was the beginning of what would be a long history lesson on the conflict between the protestant loyalists and the catholic republicans.

East of the city center called the 'east bog' was an Irish stronghold. The west bank was loyalist territory. The conflict was apparent in signs, flags, and emotions. This sign was clearly visible to all in the city.

About a half an hour more of walking on the wall - seeing cannons that protected the city, a church, and some other interesting things, I was struck by a monument that looked completely incomplete. After a bit of research, I discovered that it used to be complete, but it was destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1973... It was amazing that there were parts of the city still damaged by the 'troubles'. 

We packed up the car and headed to the coast of northern Ireland. As we passed by the cities, I was struck by the immense presence of the United Kingdom. Cell phone service was BT, the BBC was everywhere, the royal mail was the mail service... I know we were in the UK, but it was interesting. The architecture of the towns were different - the buildings looked more like modern american structures.. In Ireland - almost every storefront had the look and feel of what an Irish pub would look like in the US. The roads were much more kept up looking like the British government spent more on infrastructure than the Irish republican government in Dublin. 

We made our way up to the north coast - the site of the Giant's causeway. We were ecstatic that the weather was finally cooperating. As we arrived at the visitor's center, it was again apparent of the contrast between the Irish and British government. This place was orderly and organized - with tour maps and audio guides. Most of the Irish sites we visited were pretty raw.. This is not commentary on one way or another, but a good observation. 

Anyway, we made our way to the Giant's Causeway and it was spectacular... The rock formations were uniquely Irish - the basalt stones in hexagonal shapes, the sweeping green mountains behind us with the crystal clear greenish blue water.. it was something else. 

A bit further from the tourist area (there were throngs of people) was another trail. They told us at the visitors center that it was closed due to rock slides, but that wasn't going to stop us.. We made our way up to the top of the cliffs and saw the most beautiful scenery in Ireland. It was magical. 

We got back in the car and continued our journey around the north coast. The drive was spectacular with sweeping views of the North Atlantic ocean. The sun was gleaming on the green blades of grass and again justifying Ireland's green reputation. We passed and stopped in harbors, small villages with pubs and ice cream stores. of course because of the weather, the towns were hopping with people. It was really spectacular. 

Our last stop was to a rope bridge that connected the mainland with a small island. The bridge was first constructed for fishermen as the cove made it a natural harbor for the boats going out to sea. The bridge was just one single rope and they had to drag their fishing gear over to the island on it. Yikes. This one was much safer for tourists, but a bit scary for those who are afraid of heights (like me). Of course, the 1 mile walk to the bridge had sweeping views of the coast and the island after the bridge was majestic.. Ireland is absolutely beautiful, no question. 

The ride to Belfast was great. Nelson has been such a trooper, driving over 1,000 KM for the week.. I was doing my part with navigation (thank you iPhone!) and we arrived in Belfast around 9 PM. To be honest, it looked like an industrial British city. While I was in the hotel getting our room keys, poor Nelson was witnessing a bunch of 16 year old whores making out with some sketchy dudes on the side of the street. I think that may have set our expectations wrong right off the bat... 

We got out and started exploring the city's nightlife. After a night off of drinking, we decided that our thirst buds were active again and wanted to make a memorable night in Belfast. We stopped at this pretty neat bar... Belfast's claim to fame is having these very old pubs from the 1800's.. They do have some local beer as well... Nelson went for a guinness as I tried some of the local fare. to be honest, it wasn't that great - typical british beer.. warm and stale! 

We wandered around to see a few more sites -the city was getting a bit nicer as we moved away from our hotel. We stopped in a lonely planet recommendation... and it was good. The beer was good, nice atmosphere although there were only a few there. The bar was a bit dead - but we had fun anyway. Back in Fota Island when we created our bucket list - item #11 was to order an irish car bomb in the north. We thought it was pretty damned funny before- but in Northern Island it was a bit sensitive. Nevertheless, we were DETERMINED to get our bucket list completed... We called over the bartender, and to be as diplomatic as possible, I asked him what that drink was called where you order a Guinness and a shot of Jameson with a touch of Kahlua... he laughed and asked me if we wanted an Irish Car Bomb. SCORE!

Ok I know I'm not 21 anymore, but we are young at heart... and creating memories that 5 years from now, we can talk about over and over again. Isn't that what life is about? We were ready to go out more, but bars closed at 1 AM and there were no nightclubs open or anything, so we decided to end the evening on a high note.

Ireland is beautiful... enchanting.. the people are awesome. When we entered into the north, it got even more interesting. As a political science major - there's nothing more interesting than political and social conflict. It was all around us no matter where we went. The next day would get even more interesting...