Northern Ireland...Belfast, Derry and the Giant´s Causeway

After hearing all the crazy stories from my new found Irish friends...I finally find myself in the Land of Guiness. I'm sure it has other names, but I figured most of my friends could relate.


Well...being a backpacker...I finally had to try Ryan Air (a very cheap European airline) from Glasgow to Belfast and was quite impressed until we bounced THREE times on landing. Oh well...a little excitement is good for the heart.



After finding my hostel and a quick walking tour of Belfast...it didn't take me long to find a pub to have my first Guiness in Ireland. And you know what...it definitely tastes better in Ireland.
Normally I can only drink one or two back home (we all know it's more of a meal than a drink), but I found the courage to consume 6 or 7 in the first pub I set foot in.



It also didn't hurt that I met two locals who invited me to stay at their place within 10 minutes of meeting them. Yes, that was kind of spooky.

But what wasn't spooky was the table full of Irish girls who invited me to their table. Now Irish women often get a bad rep as being freckled and red haired, but I can assure you that none of the women sitting at this table fit the mould. I soon found that many Irish women don't fit the normal stereotype.


The next day I was excited to see Jane (who I met in NZ) who was going to show me around Derry and her home town as well. She picks me up in front of the hostel in a black BMW convertible. Nice...

I was living the high life...especially when I saw the room I got to sleep in at her Mom and Dad's. I was ready to trade in my backpack for some permanent residence as her Mom was an excellent cook to boot.



The tour of Derry was very fascinating, especially since the tour guide said we couldn't have traveled in the places we went just a short 10 years ago. But he did say that depending on your religion, it's still best not to enter some areas at night. Kind of scary.

You can still see the who "owns" the neighbourhoods by the colour of the curbs or light posts as they are painted either Irish or British colours.

However, there were some very cool murals depicting different events (mostly sad) of the "civil" war in Nothern Ireland.

Then it was to Jane's home town to pick up Max her dog and head out to the Giant's Causeway. I had never heard of this place before travelling, but the folklore behind it is very cool and the shape of the rocks are pretty freaky as they are all hexagonal or octagonal (same difference in my mind...I never was a huge fan of geometry) in shape.

Then we were supposed to head out to a Celtic football game, but ran out of time and were going to go out for some drinks, but I was pretty happy to be pampered back at Jane´s parents place so we ended up talking and drinking red wine.

I know...Joe not going out to drink...what´s the world coming to?

This picture was just another castle ruin that Jane had never stopped to look at even though she only lives 15 minutes away. I guess that put things in perspective for me since I´m sure many tourists to Canada have seen wicked things I´ve only driven by doing 150kph.

So get out there and see Canada for yourself and then pack your bags and realize there´s a big world out there.

See you in Dublin...that is if I can spell my name after touring the Guiness brewery. Slainte!!