Back Home in Derry

I travelled from Donegal to Derry via bus. I always plan to read or work on my blog while travelling but the scenery is way too beautiful to waste on reading!  As I was watching Ireland go by, the two gentlemen sitting in front of me and the bus driver were having a heated discussion about who could take who in their hayday - Steven Seagal or Jean Claude van Damme! The conversation moved on to sports teams and the various players and whether or not they were worth their pay check. It is so pleasant to listen to the Irish accent - no matter the topic!   

Arriving in Derry after about an hour and a half, I found the Bed and Breakfast really easily. The city is very compact and is situated along River Foyle. After checking into my B&B, and having a chat with a woman from Kentucky, I headed out to the Tourist Information Centre to gather information about visiting Giant's Causeway. The TIC is about a 15 minute walk along the river. There is a new walkway bridge, called the Peace Bridge, connecting the two sides of Derry. At the TIC, I met Kevin, who represents the Sightseeing Tour around town. He was unsure about the tour to the Causeway so I left my number and name, which he said was the fastest he had ever got a gal's number, in order to receive a call if 4 or more people sign up for the Causeway tour. If the tour does not happen, I can take public transit to the Giant's Causeway. Kevin also gave me a break down of the Derry City bus tour and walking tour, which I will do on Friday.  

Derry is an easy city to navigate. I stopped at M&S for some dinner and shopping for the next few days - stocking up on fruit and vegetable. Then back to the B&B for an evening of writing and resting.  

On the hour I can hear the bells of the church chime. At 9pm the bells rang out All Through the Night. It was beautiful.  

Friday morning I awoke to rain. I did not want to be discouraged out of my plan to run so I dressed for running and went down for breakfast. It poured during breakfast but eased up a bit as I finished. So, out I went. I was able to run downtown to River Foyle. There is a wonderful path directly beside the river and I ran out and back along this path, passing the Peace Bridge. By the time I got 4km done the rain had also finished.  

Today was an education day for me. I started out with the city sightseeing bus tour. This was a one hour tour that covered the city on both sides of the river. Later in the day, I took the walking tour of Derry. There were 5 of us in total on the tour and we were welcome to ask questions as we walked along. The guide was full of information about the history of Derry. Although we were told that the tour would take about an hour, our guide spent about an hour and 45 minutes with us.  

Derry is a walled city. The wall is still complete and forms an oval shape around the downtown of Derry. We walked along the top of the wall for about half a mile, which is half of the distance all the way around. Our guide told us about the origin of the wall and its strategic location. We were able to see canons that are still positioned on top of the wall as well as lookout towers built to help keep guards "warm". We passed through some more modern looking metal gates which used to be closed and locked at 9pm each day by the British troops until the late 90ies. Presently the wall is open 24 hours a day.  

Our walk continued on to the Bogside of Derry. This is the old Catholic and poor stronghold of the city. We walked down to the Murals, Free Derry Corner, and the Bloody Sunday Monument. When I arrived in Derry, I did not realize that I was staying at the sight of Bloody Sunday. Our guide told us about growing up during The Troubles. He likened his youth to living in an open air prison. The British, who occupied parts of the wall, kept the people of Derry under constant surveillance, both audio and video. Families in the Bogside could be listened to while they were sitting around their table for dinner. As a youth, my guide was often stopped and searched by British military officials as he was going from one place to another. Houses may be searched at any time, often belongings strewn about and destroyed. Also, people could be interned without trial. This was normal life for the time.  

Bloody Sunday took place in 1972. It was a military campaign by the British. There was a march in the Bogside and 26 civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by British soldiers. 13 people were killed as a result. Directly after Bloody Sunday, there was an investigation and all deaths and injuries were justified as they claimed that the dead were armed, which they were not. Only the British soldiers were interviewed and their interviews were largely falsified. No eyewitnesses were interviewed. After many years of requesting another investigation, one began in 1998. In 2010 the reinvestigation resulted in a conclusion that all of those who were shot had been unarmed and that the shooting were unjustified.  

The murals are painted on the sides of buildings. They are very large and depict different parts of Derry's history, including the heartbreaking memorial mural of the 14 year old girl who was shot by the British army while coming home from school. She was wearing her school uniform and was bent over collecting rocks for a school project. She was inexplicably shot in the back of the head. Unfortunately, her story is not the only story of young people being killed during The Troubles. One remaining wall of an old home stands at Free Derry Corner. The wall is painted white and has the words "YOU ARE NOW ENTERING FREE DERRY". These words where painted on the side of a house (when it still stood) and although the house is gone, the single wall with the writing on it remains.  

After the walking tour, I headed into the Free Derry Museum. This is a small museum that follows the history of injustice and inequality in Derry. There was an inordinate amount of poor Catholics. Unemployment of Catholic men was upwards of 30%, where the rest of Ireland's men's unemployment was about 7%. Housing in the Bogside area was overcrowded and often times deemed unworthy of living in. There was also an issue around voting rights. The rights of civilians became the focus of many protest. Influenced by the civil rights movement in the United States, the Irish of Derry marched and protested. The museum's readings continue with the progression of the protests up to Blood Sunday and beyond.  

The walking tour guide told us that there still existed young rebels who like to stir things up. But they are not of the ideological sort, working for justice. Rather, they are really just teenagers looking for trouble and are unsupported by anyone. It appears to me that Derry is a city that is reinventing itself. On every turn, you see promotion posters for tourists, your hear about and see symbols of peace. Although the history of The Troubles is also clearly visible, on the murals, the Free Derry Museum, and various statues and monuments around town, the desire to been known as a new Derry and to live in a peaceful way is also evident.  

Saturday, I awoke to a sunny morning. Today's plan was to head to Giant's Causeway. So, after breakfast, I walked along Foyle River, across the bridge to the train station. My journey to Giant's Causeway would involve a train ride and a bus ride.  

The train wove along the river and then along the coast of the North Atlantic. The scenery was worth the price of admission. Along the journey, I had a pleasant conversation with a gentleman, originally from Dublin, who was off for a swim in the ocean. He had some very unique opinions on the EU and immigration! And let's just say I am glad that I was not an American.  

The train arrived in Coleraine where I transferred to the bus. A half hour later, I was at Giant's Causeway. There was a potato festival going on beside the visitor's centre so I walked up and had a wee peek around.  It was extremely busy with people everywhere. A helicopter was offering £35 rides over the causeway. I watched the helicopter land and take off. There were a few old cars parked for those interested in looking at them.  

The Visitor's Centre is relatively new and is built into the side of a hill. It seems it was built that way to minimize its impact on the vista, making the building look like it fits in rather than takes over. My admission included a walking tour to the causeway. While awaiting the beginning of the tour, I walked around the centre which had some information laid out to explain the legend and the science.  

The members of the walking tour were all given a headset so that we would be able to hear our guide over the wind and waves. As we walked toward the causeway, the guide told us legends about the giant Finn McCool and about the science that is the basalt columns. The scenery was breathtaking and has now become my favourite part of my journey so far. The North Atlantic waves were thrashing against the rocks. The cliff sides were very steep, rugged, and high. There are really no words to justify the scenery of Giant's Causeway. It was spectacular. It was beautiful. The day was perfect. The sun was shining (except when it wasn't), the air was crisp, the day was perfect.  

The walking tour ended at the causeway and then we were on our own to look around and hike. On my way back up the hill, I hear, "Hey, Theresa," and I was like WTF?, who knows me here. Turns out it was one of the couples that was on the walking tour of Derry from Friday. I can understand meeting up with other tourists at touristy locations but I can't believe that she even remembered my name. We had a bit of a chat and parted with, "see you around."  

It was rather cold by the ocean so I was ready for a hot cup of coffee by the time I reached the Visitor's Centre again. There was a bit of time before the bus returned to take me back to Colraine, so I took advantage of the time to take a bit of a hike along the cliff side, looking over the causeway. Again, beautiful.  Since this was the last bus out from Giant's Causeway, many of the people who came on the outward trip were at the bus stop. I met a couple of American women who were travelling Ireland for a couple of weeks. They worked at a dog rescue shelter in Californian. We chatted quite a bit about our respective travels. Turns out they were heading all the way back to Derry. So, as it was getting a bit dark by the time I reached Derry, it was nice to have a couple of people to walk with through the city.  

I got back to the B&B by about 7:45, exhausted but really happy. At breakfast this morning, I met a solo traveller from Birmingham, named Muriel. We made loose plans to head out for a drink and to listen to some traditional Irish music at a pub close by later in the evening. She was in the dining area when I returned to Amore and so we firmed up plans to head out at - get this - 10pm! That's right 10 in the evening!  

We met up and headed out to Peader O'Donnell's, which was a short distance from the B&B. The pub was packed inside and out. It was decorated with international flags on the ceiling and lots of pictures and  memorabilia on the walls. We grabbed the first seats we found and ordered a couple of drinks. A glass of Guinness for me! Live music was starting at 11pm. We chatted until the music began. A four member group of musicians played traditional Irish music for the rest of the nights. This is definitely how I pictured an Irish pub to be. The patrons were of varied ages and everyone was having a great time, or craic, as the Irish put it!  

My trip to Derry was fantastic. The Bed and Breakfast was great. Joan, the host was warm and welcoming. It was an education, learning about the history of Derry, from Wall to The Troubles to the present day. It was spectacular, from the views at Giant's Causeway, the North Atlantic, Foyle River, to the wall and the buildings in town.

And now, off to Belfast. The last stop of the Irish part of my adventure.