| Jul 22, 2006 - Belfast and Dublin
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 | city hall in downtown Belfast
| | mural in Belfast
| | other side of same mural
| | 'No mans land' between the walls
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 | a walled Catholic neighborhood
| | looking through the bars into a Protestant neighborhood
| | neolithic tomb of Newgrange
| | walking up to the tomb
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 | guide at entrance to tomb
| | countryside with mound in foreground
| | Has anyone seen this man?
| | at our last dinner
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| Today was the last day of our tour. It's hard to believe that 2 weeks is over so quickly. We got up at the crack of dawn this morning and headed to Belfast. It was a gray and drizzly morning, which was a relief from the warm weather we've been experiencing so far on this trip. Our hotel in Westport was like an oven. The only place that has air conditioning is the smoking section of the hotel restuarant. The windows in the rooms only opened about an inch, which barely let any air flow in and to top it off, the beds were covered with thick, comfortors without sheets. The gray weather also set the stage for our day in Belfast, which was rather depressing. We took several black taxi tours of the various Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods, each surrounded by walls and barb wire. It was a stark change from what we had experienced in the rest of Ireland. Both types of neighborhoods had large murals depicting political slogans and commemorating people who had died in the struggles here known as the 'troubles'. Thankfully the 'troubles' have mellowed quite a bit in the last few years, but the walls and murals remain as a reminder of what happened and what could still happen here. The taxi drivers gave us an interesting narration of events and a glimpse of life into the history and lives of the people of Belfast, which seemed pretty bleak. It's hard to be optimistic for resolution when you see these neighborhoods, but most of the Irish people do seem to be optimistic, which is a good thing to see.
After leaving Belfast, we headed back into the Republic of Ireland and back into the sun and a much happier place. We visited a prehistoric site called Newgrange, which is an ancient buriel mound approximately 5,000 years old. There are several mounds in the same area but only a few have been excavated. Among those, Newgrange is the largest and most famous. It is a large circular mound, made up of stacked rock and stone with the outside wall covered in white quartsite. There is a narrow passageway leading into a small interior chamber where they have found cremated human remains. On the Winter Solstice, the rising sun aligns perfectly with the doorway, filling the chamber with light for about 15 minutes. It was amazing to stand inside a structure so old that is still intact, made by ancient man. Our guide Stephen told us that he believes Newgrange is Irelands greatest treasure. On the bus ride back into Dublin, Bobby got up and sang a revision of an Irish song Stephen had taught us on the bus during the trip called 'Johnny Jump-up'. Bobby and a few others rewrote the words as a tribute to Stephen for being such a great guide, this is the chorus which we all sang to him:
'Oh Stephen, Oh Stephen, we thank you again,
if we live to be 100 or 110,
we'll never forget the great creck and good fun,
and all the good times in the hot Irish sun'
I think Stephen was surprised and genuinly touched. Bobby wrote it down for him to keep as a momento and gave it to him with a card and a gift certificate we all chipped in on. We had a great farewell dinner at a restuarant in Temple Bar and then most people walked over to a bar down the street, where we stood outside drinking beer and cider together. All in all, it was a great trip and everyone seemed pretty happy. |
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