Ireland Part 2

Hello, I'll continue on from where I left off last time...in Galway. I met up with people from Inishmore for the first three nights that I was in Galway and we went out, drank beer and watched soccer (although now that's a dirty word). There isn't much to do during the day time in Galway. I did go on a bus trip out to the Burren, which is area with nice views and scenery, and the Cliffs of Moher, which again were pretty nice to look at.

From Galway I caught the bus down to Killarney which is the starting point for the Ring of Kerry which is supposed to be one of the most photographed regions in Ireland. I wouldn't know because the day I went around the Ring of Kerry the weather was miserable and we couldn't see far enough to see anything particularly interesting. It was a bit dissapointing, and to make things worse the bus I was on was full of OAPs (old age people) who took so long to get on and off the bus that it was ridiculous. They could turn a 5 minute photo stop into a 30 minute one!! By the end of the day I had negative patience towards them and was glad when we finally finished.

From Killarney I went across to Cork where I spent a couple of nights. Cork is a much smaller city than Dublin (in terms of population) but it is much more spread out so I had to walk heaps further than I am used to. After 2 months of travelling, eating junk food and drinking heaps of beer I wasn't mad keen on walking so it was a bit of an effort.

While I was in Cork I went out to Blarney to see Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney stone. It's just another block of stone in the wall of the castle, but to kiss it you have to lie on your back and lean out over the edge of the wall to reach it. Blarney Castle is a really cool castle, I guess becasue it's such a popular attraction they keep it in good shape not like some of the other castle's around which are just in ruins. If I had a castle I'd never let it go to ruins, but I guess that's just me.

After Killarney I went to Kilkenny. Many years ago Kilkenny used to be the capital of Ireland before Dublin, and I don't think the city has changed since. It was really nice and relaxing. I went on a walking tour around the city to see some of the more impressive buildings. We went into the gaol cells (which haven't been used for 200 years) under the court house (in which there was a trial going on). The gaol, along with many of the buildings, is made out of Kilkenny marble which has a lot of limestone in it. Because the gaol has been empty for so long the limestone has dripped out of the marble (I'm sure there's a more technical explanation for it - but that's as good as it gets from me) and formed stalictites and stalicmites inside some of the cells.

While I was here I went and saw 'The wind that shakes the Barley'. It's set in Ireland in 1920 and is about the IRA fighting to make Ireland independant from Great Britain. It's a really good movie and I'd recommend it if you've got a chance to go see it. But be warned - it's pretty sad at the end.

From Kilkenny I went to Waterford, where I am now. Waterford was originally settled by Vikings and I went on a walking tour to see how they settled the city orgininally. One of the guard towers, Reginalds Tower, they built (but was since rebuilt by the Normans) still stands in the city today. There is a canon ball stuck in the walls that was shot by Oliver Cromwells troops during the reformation of the church (sometime during the 1600s). You can still see it sitting in a little hole on the side of the tower today.

P.S. Thanks to my mum for pointing out that prodestant is spelt incorrectly and should be protestant.

P.P.S. Thanks to everyone else who noticed this but didn't bother to point it out to me ;P

More pics

I've put some pics of my time in Ireland up. Go to the 'my photos' link on the right to view them.

Ireland Part 1

Hi, I've been travelling around Ireland and Northern Ireland for the last two weeks. It's been really good, at first I wasn't sure how it would be travelling alone, but I've had no problems. There are always plenty of people to talk to (and drink with) at the hostels.

I started in Dublin and stayed there for five or so days. I went to the Guiness Brewery and went on a tour around it. At the end of the tour you got a pint of guiness. I regret to say that at that I really didn't like it and could only manage to drink about a third of my pint before leaving with my tail between my legs.

While I was in Dublin I went on a day trip called the 'Celtic Experience'. It was just north west of Dublin and we went to see a number of different Celtic sites. We went to the Hill of Tara which is where the Pagan Kings of Ireland used to rule from. We also saw the Hill of Slane, which is where St Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland. We saw the Boyne river, which was where the Catholic armies of King James were defeated by the Prodestant armies of King William of Orange which led to Ireland becoming part of Great Britain and has caused a lot of touble in the country ever since. We also went to the ruins of a monastery, I can't remember the name, where they had a couple of spectacular Celtic crosses. I've got some good photos, so I'll try to post them soon.

From Dublin I caught the bus north to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. While I was in Belfast I took what's called a black cab tour around the city. It takes you into the Shankill Rd (Prodestant) and Falls Rd (Catholic) areas of the city to show you the different murals that each community has painted. The drivers are all locals and they give you an overview of the history of the struggle of control of Northern Ireland. It's pretty shocking to hear about the violence and guerilla warfare that was a part of life daily life for these people. Especially considering that it was so recent (I think the cease fire between the two sides was only signed in 1994 or 98).

From Belfast I also took a day trip up to the Giants Causeway. This isn't on the map but it would be right at the top, just west of Rathlin Island. There are described as the 8th Wonder of the world, and they are pretty cool. Although, not being an expert of world wonders I am unable to confirm whether or not they actually rank 8th. The Giants Causeway is a whole lot of hexagonal shaped columns of rock all jammed in next to each other. That's the best explanation I can give - I will put up some photos later so you can see what I mean.

From Belfast I went to Derry, again not on the map but would be pretty close to Lifford, but on the NI side of the border. Derry is where the Bloody Sunday massacre took place in the early 1970s. U2 have written a song about it. There is a museum dedicated to the victims of Bloody Sunday and it has a short documentary which describes the build up to the day. Similar to Belfast there are also a lot of murals painted around the city. Derry was a fascinating place and I really liked it there, I also had a great night at the hostel there drinking beer and talking to some Canadians and an Irish bloke.

From Derry I went back to Ireland proper to a place called Donegal (which is on the map) not too far from Derry. The hostel in town was full so I had to stay in a B&B, which made a nice (though expensive) change. The best thing about Donegal is that it is where I learnt to like Guiness. I went out one night to a pub to watch some of the world cup (by the way how good was the Australia v Japan game!) and decided I better have another go at guiness, and for some reason, I don't know if it was poured differently or something, it tasted really good. I haven't drunk anything else since then (although that's not a huge acheivement considering it was only a week ago).

From Donegal I basically walked straight west, along the little peninsula there. This area is called the Slieve League Peninsula. I spent one day walking the 20 or so kms from one end to the other. The scenary was pretty spectacular, although it got a bit boring cause all I had for company was the occasional sheep, and seeing that I'm not a Kiwi this wasn't a whole lot of comfort.

I slept well that night and then walked another 10 or so kms back to a place called Glencolmcille the next day and caught a bus back to Donegal.

Next I caught a bus down to Galway and then a ferry across to the Aran Islands. You can see them right next to the compass on the map. I've spent the last few days out there, relaxing on the biggest of the three Island, Inishmore. I had one massive day there (riding a bike all over the Island for nine hours, then going out drinking) and spent the next two days recovering from it. After the pub shut a group of about ten of us ended up going back to one of the locals houses to keep drinking. It was a this little 200 year old cottage with a thatched roof. It turns out that you can buy postcards all around Ireland which have a photo of this cottage. I bought some of them the next day and then went back to his house and took some photos which will look just like the postcard.

This morning I caught the ferry and the bus back to Galway and am staying here for a few days now. Galway is supposed to have a really good atmosphere and I'm meeting up with some of the people I met on Inishmore tonight to go out for some drinks.

Mobile Phone

I got a mobile the other day, so if you ever feel the need to message me my number is +353 85 7676404 (at least I think that's how you'd have to write it into Aussie phones) but please remember the time difference! I'm 9 hours behind you guys.

 

I also got a skype account, my name is peterharris136, if anyone uses that you can add me to your contact list.