Crossing over!

9/1/16 - Glasgow, Scotland to Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

We were up quite early for our trip across to Ireland. It was about a 2 hour drive to the ferry. I was a bit worried about the ferry because the one from Dover to Calais was horrendous! It was so rocky and left everyone feeling a little worse for wear! This ferry was really smooth and you couldn't feel a thing! It took about 2 hours and then we were in Belfast! 

Our tour manager had mentioned that we were going to be doing a black cab tour around Belfast to learn all about the history of the city. I knew nothing about the atrocities that happened here between the Catholics and the Protestants. We had a great driver and he explained to us about what had happened between the two religions which had ultimately led to there being gates all over the city that are closed every night and opened each morning. The reason for this was back when there was lots of angst between the two they would close the gates to ensure no violence occurred between the two. Nowadays there isn't really any violence it's just the norm that the gates get opened and closed each day. We started off in the Protestant side where they told us lots about what happened. The Protestant people of Northern Ireland identify as British, not Irish which I found really interesting. On the Protestant side, there is a big mural of the head of the 'royalist army'. This man killed 10 Catholics - women by shooting them 5 times in the face to disfigure them and once in the stomach to ensure they couldn't have children. But this man on the Protestant side is deemed a hero yet if you drive 5 minutes down the road he's seen as a murderer. We also learnt that Irish people can tell what religion you are based on your name. The only name that is common amongst both is William. If you are a Protestant you shorten it to 'Billy' and if you are a catholic you shorten it to 'Liam'. I found it really fascinating! After visiting the Protestant side, we went to see the 'peace walls'. Basically, a wall dividing the city - one side is Protestant the other is Catholic. Unlike the Berlin Wall that was constructed to forcibly keep people in against their will, the peace walls of Belfast were constructed to keep others out. Basically it kept the peace between both religions. We did get to write on the wall! As I said, every road that joins the two sides has a gate that is locked at 6pm and reopened at 6am. Obviously, you can get around this but you would have to drive all the way around the city to be able to get to the other side. You might be thinking well back when there was all the fighting wouldn't they just do that? If say a Protestant went all the way around the city to get into the catholic area just to kill someone, they would most definitely get caught on the long journey back to their side. What did happen however was corrupt guards that back when all the fighting occurred used to keep the gates opened for an extra hour to allow Protestants to go into the Catholic side and kill people and then quickly pass back through so no one would know  who did it. Obviously nowadays there are no guards and no fighting, both sides just keep to themselves and don't go into each other's area. Back in the day, the split between both was around 80% Protestant and 20% Catholic now it's 45% Catholic and 48% Protestant - a 3% difference. When there is a catholic Majority and a referendum, it's safe to say that Northern Ireland and the republic will join back together as one. Fun fact! The Orange on the Irish flag represents the Protestants, the green the Catholics and the white represents peace! 

After we visited the peace walls we made our way through to the Catholic side. A very famous street called Bombay street where lots of killings occurred on this side they had plaques of people who had been killed both volunteers and civilians. This tour was the highlight of the trip for me so far. I had no idea that Belfast had so much history and was a city still divided by religion. I think it's important to know that when people go to work, their hatred and angst is left at the door and collected back at the end of the day. The city of Belfast is know as the peace ground. Where Catholics and Protestants can walk together. Another thing is that children do not mix until they are 18. They attend school on their side and don't get to interact with anyone from the opposing religion. There days the children are indifferent. They have not experienced any negativity by the opposing religion, they only hear about it from older generations. 

After our tour our driver took us all around to look at some of the murals around the city. It really is an amazing city with lots of history. I had a nice dinner of steak and Guinness pie and then headed back to the hotel as the next day was a big day of travelling. 

Peace wall 

Writing on the wall 

The wall 

Names of those killed both volunteers and civilians - Catholic area 

Bombay street 

Murals 

10/1/16 - Belfast, Northern Ireland to Galway, Ireland. 

Today was a huge day of travelling! We left at 7:45 and we're heading to the giants causeway- this is a natural wonder if hexagonal rocks. It was an hours drive and when we got there the views were stunning. It was on the coast of Northern Ireland which meant it was windy. We walked down to the rocks and then once we got there we were able to walk around for a bit. It was really really beautiful - cold but beautiful! 

After the Giants causeway, we were on our way to a place called Derry or Londonderry depending on your religion. If you're Protestant it's Londonderry, if you're Catholic it's Derry- if you want to keep the peace just call it legenderry! People who live here actually get to choose what to call it on their passport! We had lunch here and then it was about a 4hr drive to Galway. We had one more quick toilet stop before arriving in Galway. We decided to have dinner at the hotel because it was such a big day of travelling! We had a nice dinner and then headed to bed! 

Right now I'm on my way to a place called the cliffs of Moher. Which is another natural landform and a lot more interesting than visiting more castles! 

I will do another post showing photos! 

Until next time! 

Adios! 

- E