Backpacks and Flipflops: June 2017

Northern Ireland...and our final goodbye...

Prologue......

........May the road rise to meet you,

may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.....

....an Irish blessing...

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We pick up a rental car in Derry ...and after a side trip to Donegal County and the Malin Head, we follow the Coastal Causeway Route to Belfast... it's really Northern Ireland's version of the Atlantic Way that we've been on (and off) for most of our 5 weeks here.

Although, separated by an invisible border, we continue to find the same wonderful scenery, craggy coasts and mythical spots. Ireland has woven its spell.

Downhill Demesne - 18th C mansion built by Earl Bishop

The Mussenden Temple - built as a library for the Earl. It is still used today for concerts.

View from the temple

See the castle?

16th C ruins of Dunluce Castle perched atop a basalt crag. Parts of the castle have collapsed into the sea below.

Bushmill's is the world's oldest legal distillery being granted a license in 1608 for distilling Irish whiskey. Our tour ended with several samples of 5 and 12 year old triple distilled whiskey.

The Giants Causeway of Fin McCool fame....the legend goes that the Irish giant (Fin) built a causeway of stone steps to connect Scotland, so that the Scottish giant could visit him. As those quickie romances tend to go, it didn't last long, nor did the pathway, as the Scottish giant tore it up as she left.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge - originally used by local salmon fishermen perched 30 metres above the sea.

An old chalk quarry used to film The Game of Thrones.

The Dark Hedges - another filming location for The Game of Thrones

Torr Head..Ireland's closest point to Scotland...

Can be easily seen in the distance on a clear day.

Looking down at our rental car and ruined castle.

(Thank God.....it wasn't the other way....😋)

Scotland, the Mull of Kintyre, can be seen behind us just a mere 19 km away.

CUSHENDUN

Mary McBride's Pub in Cushendun...one of Ireland's smallest pubs where we just had to have a pint. The door below is the "toilet" door in this pub.

This is also door # 8 of 10 used in the Game of Thrones series. The Faceless Man is in the centre. Let us know if you want more details about it.

Thank you Maureen & Gerry for a wonderful visit around a peat fire. Friends we met in Albania and finally reconnected 2 years later.

It's been a real craic, Ireland! Slàn (Goodbye) Ireland....the past 5 weeks have been a blast! We feel blessed! From Glens to cliffs, whiskey and beer, to the transport and walks we've taken...for a small country (in size) Ireland... you've lived up to that old sayin'..."It's not what you carry...but how you pack it that counts!" And, you pack so much good stuff everywhere we've been.

While the weather has been brilliant during our journey here, the people throughout the south and north, in the pubs, on the street...and even in the rural Transport buses have radiated such warmth and love for their country. You've made us feel welcomed and at home! You are forever etched in our hearts.

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May you always have...

Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.

...an Irish blessing

Cheers from Yvonne & Shayne

Additional Random Photos

Northern Ireland. Part 1 of 2....

PROLOGUE
..... conflict is difficult.....it is abrasive.....it is deadly.....it is tiring.....it can become entrenched.....it recycles.....feeds and grows.....it can crush the human spirit....but the flame to live is hard to extinguish..... flowers bloom in the most barren and rocky crevices and wind torn cliffs...a new day...gives rise to new hope and better future for many....such is the human spirit....as evident in the places we've been....and in the cities below.......there must always be hope...for children.....for families.....for people

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DERRY

Northern Ireland.....we arrive in the walled city of Derry on a dreary, cold n wet afternoon. Our digs are a great little BnB on Abbey Rd...a stone's throw (and..we mean literally) away from the brutal, bloody conflict known as Bloody Sunday and the subsequent street war that saw Derry morph into the largest military conflict in Western Europe....and this was in peace time.

We visit the Bogside area of Derry and the road.....

A few of the 12 murals that decorate the gable ends of houses that commemorate key events in the Troubles.

Bloody Sunday - "with a group of men led by local priest Father Daly carrying the body of Jackie Duddy (the first fatality on that day)."

The Petrol Bomber - "a young boy wearing a gas mask and holding a petrol bomb."

Operations Motorman -"showing a British soldier breaking down a door with a sledgehammer. "

The Hunger Striker's Memorial

1972, January 30 saw 14 unarmed demonstrators shot dead and another 17 injured by the British Army. What followed was a decades long conflict that inflicted death, destruction and pain on families and the people of Derry.

Subsequent commissions on the facts of Bloody Sunday left many seeking justice. It wasn't until the final inquiry found all the demonstrators to be innocent of any charges of violence, shooting at soldiers that families felt vindicated.

Guildhall, built in 1890 was the seat of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry held between 2000 and 2004.

Today, Derry is a vibrant, dynamic city. The ancient walled fortress makes a perfect walking path and view point around the city.

The inner portion of the city retains many of the old and historical buildings. While outside the fortress, new development has seen an increase in investment and the stable political climate has attracted visitors from all over.

Derry is a gateway for this west part of Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, as roads and transport converge here.

It makes a good stopover with many eateries, pubs and night life.

It is also the starting/ending point for the Coastal Causeway route....(Northern Ireland's version of the Wild Atlantic Way, that we've travelled along in the south)....featured in our next blog Northern Ireland...part 2.

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BELFAST

There is a resurgence of activity and investment here. Since the Good Friday Peace Accord, the violence, bloodshed and turmoil that wracked this city have given way to an era of peace and hope.

While gates still close and walls still divide sections of the community, many living here are looking to move on from the troubles of the past to a stable and prosperous future.

Two of the more than 40 electronic gates that are still used to close off neighbourhoods when tensions are brewing.

Investment and building is evident. The River Lagan has been cleaned up to the point that the North Atlantic salmon have returned to spawn. What once was a polluted piece of waterway that cut through the heart of the city, is now a centerpiece for life and activity.

Cafes, pedestrian walkways abound....the old shipping industry has been revitalized and the former work yards of the Titanic and her sister ships have been cleaned up with a Titanic Belfast interactive site, film studios (Game of Thrones series) and and the largest building in Ireland overlooking it all. Companies that used to build ships have turned their attention to servicing oil rigs and increasingly developing alternative energy technology (sea wave power).

The Titanic Belfast is an interactive multimedia site requiring at least 2 hours to view. This building's design shows the size of the Titanic with 4 bows built to scale. It is titanic!

All that remains of the "massive slipways where the Titanic and her sister ship the Olympic were built and launched."

With the Troubles subsided many companies have returned, as business-insurance coverage during the conflict periods skyrocketed, and made any investment unaffordable.

We tour the city on foot and by bus. We visit various 'quarters' as the sections and neighborhoods have been renamed.

Stormont - home of The Northern Irish parliament

Moose ornaments donated by the Canadian government that sit on each light post.

The Peace Line wall is 6 metres high made of corrugated steel, concrete and chain-link and is the " most visible sign of the divisions that have scarred the area for so long..."

Belfast city center is a beehive of activity. Here, the grand old city hall resides, down the street is the Opera House...we even have a drink in the Europa Hotel....once the most heavily bombed building in Western Europe. Rooms now go for €340!

Another stop for us was the Crumlin Road Gaol (jail) built in 1846. This jail housed a whole range of historic figures and was the site of 17 executions. It remained a working prison until 1996.

We visit a few old pubs, as well as several that attract the after work crowd of Dublin.

The Crown Liquor Saloon from the late 1800' is considered an historical monument with its ornate mohogany carvings, stained glass, ceramics, mirrors and small intimate rooms that close off for privacy. Stunning!

A simple question to a local fellow we pass by on the street about catching a city bus.....leads to an hour personal tour of city landmarks and various neighborhoods.

We see a few of the famed murals "that chart the history of the conflict, as well as the political passions of the moment."

The friendliness is everywhere. Again, there are people from throughout Europe and the world visiting, living and working here.

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......"It is hope that gives life meaning. And hope is based on the prospect of being able to one day to turn the actual world into a possible one that looks better....."

.... Francois Jacob

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Cheers from Shayne & Yvonne

Up next......Northern Ireland..Part 2....the Coastal Causeway route....on the road from Derry to Belfast...