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Published: February 7th 2012
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Activities:
Next day we all gathered to get on the bus for the Paddywagon tour. Apparently I’m the only one on the 10 day tour so what’s happened is they’ve put me with the 6 day people and then they’ll do 1 day tours out of Dublin. Or something. The driver/guide only mentioned it briefly and hasn’t talked to me about it since.
Anyway, Drogheda was the first stop. It’s where we first got the inkling about how divided the Catholics and Protestants are in this country and in Northern Ireland. Drogheda was the place where Oliver Cromwell murdered 3000 Catholics. At our lunch stop we ate with Emma and Amy (both Auz) and they rounded out the main six of us.
From here I’ll just summarize.
Walking Tour in Derry – Londonderry/Derry is a city right on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There is a wall surrounding the inner city that was built a long time ago but has now become the separation between the Catholic and Protestant parts of the city.
Giant’s Causeway – Pretty interesting to look at and was a lot of fun to run around on
One of the War Murals in Derry
The city is actually called Londonderry or Derry depending on if your Protestant or Catholic. all the columns. Not something you’d need more than an hour at though.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge: We learned that up until relatively recently the bridge didn’t have any kid of railings! It was a lot shorter than we expected, only about 20meters. Was it worth the 4.5 Euro? Probably not, but it was an experience and since I’m likely to never come back then I may as well do it while I can.
Black Cab Taxi – A famous tour in Belfast of the peace walls and murals having to do with the Troubles. Very worth it to see and hear more about the history surrounding these issues. Got to sign the peace wall!
Cliffs of Mohr (AKA: The Cliffs of Insanity): This was one place I’d really wanted to go once I knew they were the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride. It was hugely windy and cold (ice on the puddles!) and unfortunately the slanted sun made it difficult to get good photos but it was still very impressive and I can see why they picked this site for the movie.
National Park in Kilarney: We paid for an optional horse drawn carriage
ride for an hour through the National Park. It was a very well kept place with some paved paths for bikes and carriages but no cars allowed. I would’ve liked to come back when it’s a bit warmer do walk around. Kilkarner is swamped with tourists in the summer with over 40 hotels and 500 B&Bs in the city only a little bigger than Guelph.
Blarney Castle & Blarney Stone: Blarney castle is probably the best kept castle I’ve seen in Ireland. There were lots of narrow corridors and a set of super tight winding stairs going up one of the towers to reach the Blarney Stone. I kissed the stone and should now be eloquent for the next seven years. There were several gardens surrounding the castle including one that housed only poisonous and deadly plants! It would have been nice to have been given more time to wander around the castle but unfortunately we had a long drive ahead of us to get back to Dublin.
Back in Dublin: The six of us checked into our hostels and then went out for dinner and said our goodbyes. Apparently, about a half hour after I dropped by
bag off in the room a few teenagers broke into the room via the window and stole my bag. They didn't take anything else and the likely reason why they only took my bag was because it was still nicely packed up. I lost all my clothes, paperwork, chargers, and some electronics. The police came and told me that so many people had been in the room since the break in that there would be no point in checking for fingerprints. They were going to check the cameras on the street but, naturally, there's a blind spot along the street where my room was. Anyway, a report was filed, I havn't heard any news since but I know I won't get anything back.
There is an organization that offers assistance to tourists who've been the victim of crimes and they were able to give me some vouchers for clothes and food. I've had to cancel all my credit cards (there was a photocopy of them in my bag) and go out and buy new laptop/phone chargers and clothing. I've also discovered toothbrushes are crazy expensive over here!
The good news is that I still have my passport, phone,
camera, laptop and my debit card. So, I've still got access to money and the ability to travel. I've also got travel insurance that will cover most of the cost of my bag and what was inside so that's good too.
I'm alright, just a little upset, but I'm trying not to look at this in a purely negative light. On the plus side, that bag was really heavy and now I've got a chance to start again and maybe pack a little lighter. As someone once suggested to me 'it's character building' and me having something stolen was probably going to happen sooner or later I just wasn't quite expecting so soon and so much. Still, it could have been much worse so I should be thankful for that.
Weather: Knock on wood but we’ve only had one day of rain so far. We’ve even had two sunny days despite the fact that it’s winter here. I’ve also noticed that the sun doesn’t get very high in the sky at all. At the zenith it’s only about halfway up and the whole day has an orange-y late afternoonish feel because of it.
Irish divide: I found
the divide between the Irish people more apparent in Belfast than anywhere else. I find it sad that there are still people dying over a conflict started hundreds of years ago over people’s beliefs. It’s an ongoing cycle because the children are being fed propaganda by their parents. There are even peace walls dividing _cemeteries_.
Safety: Maybe it’s because this tour has been very focused on giving us the history of the country but sometimes it feels tenser than even Egypt around election time was. It’s also probably because Egypt was all about ancient stuff and Ireland isn’t nearly as old and has been shaped more by its relatively recent troubles.
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