Friday we all hit the road for Northern Ireland. We had reserved a Belfast cultural tour with a service recommended by the Ireland book we have been using. We drove the cost from Newry to Bangor, where we had reserved a room overlooking the bay, which leads into the Belfast harbor. The girls and Alex got a front room, bay view of the waterfront, as they needed an extra bed for Alex. We had a room off the back. Pretty hard for us old folks to sleep in double beds that are a bit too hard.
The ride up the coast was very pretty and interesting, except for the small roads. Driving here, I have not attempted it yet this trip, is quite taxing during the day, let alone at night. All the roundabouts where junctions are not well identified in advance and usually you need to know the next town rather then a route number.
Saturday morning we headed towards Belfast and stopped at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, which reproduces a small village and rural farm areas covering several acres. They literally moved buildings to the site and reconstructed them as they had been. Volunteers were placed in various buildings running printing presses, baking, weaving, running the tea room and overseeing the farms, which had sheep, burros, chickens, etc.
Belfast is quite trying to drive in as names of streets change continually and even with a map that identified parking areas and major highlights. We were to meet the tour guy at the main gate of the city hall, but we needed to find the city hall so we could then find parking somewhat close by. We ended up in a parking garage for a large downtown mall. We managed to find a pub right near the hall for lunch. In front of the city hall, teenagers were congregating dressed in US 80's style.
The tour took us directly into both the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. The tour guide, who was a taxi driver working for the tour guy, drove a black, English, taxi, which historically are the only ones allowed freely in both neighborhoods. These are the Shankhill and Falls Road areas. They are separated by a 3 mile wall of concrete, metal and chainlink fencing, one type on top another in that order. On one side housing is across a street from the fence, but on the other, houses have a small alley between their backsides and the wall. There were burned spots on the close side where fire bombs had been thrown. An old firewall had been recently torn down, but was being rebuilt to protect the backs of the houses.
Buildings on the Protestant side, which were government owned, had murals painted on their ends which faced a large open, grassy area. Hopefully, Carrie will update her pictures soon with examples.Some may remember the Good Friday accord which Clinton helped negotiate, which freed 900 prisoners that were associated with the political struggle and may have been jailed for all kinds of crimes including murder.
On the Catholic side, a memorial was erected with the names of martyrs and others who had been killed in the strife's, including a 4 and 5 year old.
Interestingly, the driver never gave away in any outright fashion his side, but we all had our opinions.
Needless to say, we all were quite taken back by the sights and the story told. Having heard lots of pieces in the past about what transpired ( I even read Trinity before coming), hearing specifics first hand had a tendency to place the whole strife in a different light. The guide had no hope for any real resolution even if home rule or one Ireland was ever to come about.
Though Ireland, both North and South, appear to be quite prosperous, the economies of living are pretty severe. The North is somewhat inhibited by the need to have products come from England, while the South produces a lot and can import from others. Gas was one commodity were we saw a significant variance. North prices were close to 40% or so more then the South. I don't know how many litres Carrie put into her car, but it was close to empty and cost out at $80 US.
I could go on for some time if I had my wife's notes, but I think I'll leave Belfast behind.
Saturday, we drove on to Portrush on the Northern coast, which is the jumping off point for the Causeway Coastal drive. Turns out that Portrush is a big Disco haven. We tried by phone before leaving Belfast to reserve rooms. After 3 tries at hotels, we were informed that the young go there on weekends to party. We finally found a guest house with 14 rooms that faced the water. Turns out Portrush is sort of a peninsula sticking out in the water-a small one at that.
Nan and I froze all night as they turned off the heat and the comforter just fit the double bed without us in it, so half the night we spent pulling the thing back on us. They did turn the heat back on in the morning for a bit. Of course the family had a large room with a space heater they controlled. They were toasty all night. At least the guest house came with free breakfast-plenty of ham and toast. The building was for sale. Nan had a discussion with one of the owners. He said that property in the area was selling for big bucks as the Irish were acquiring it for weekends and summers. They brag about their Blue Flag beaches, which we have yet to find out about. In any case, the prices were up many fold from what people had paid just a few years ago. We had quite a time finding a place to eat as well with all the disco guys in town. Ended up having to go away from the water.
Sunday, we headed for the Giants Causeway. Lore has it that a Giant built the steps to cross to Scotland to see a woman. Basically there are "steps" of rock in cylinder form on the shoreline as well as columns of them on the side of the cliffs. On a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see Scotland. Was a bit too hazy on Sunday. Carrie had hoped to traverse a rope bridge further East, but it was closed because of high winds. The rest of the coastal ride was very beautiful and quite enjoyable.
The first weekend we haven't had to deal with some rain and it was a bit warmer as well. Just high winds on Sunday.
Understand TC has lots of snow. We are envious.
For all you Mah Jongg mavens out there, it is becoming a hot item in the house. As of last night, Carrie has come on board and managed to Mah Jongg after 2 games. We even took it with us to Northern and played on our bed. Alex occasionally is a challenge as he collects all the discards and considers himself one of the players.
Hope all is well wherever you are reading this from. Jody, we are doing our best to fill up your camera, but it is a challenge to remember, but we do have quite a bit of time left.
Good Day or maybe it is Good Evening!!
Joe
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