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.