Our last port in Ireland was Belfast, Northern Ireland. Unlike the Republic of Ireland which is an independent country using the Euro, Belfast is part of the United Kingdom and uses the British Pound. Here we saw pictures of King Charles and his late mother, Queen Elizabeth. I really don’t want to get into a lengthy explanation of why there are two Irelands, but I know there was nearly thirty years of conflict and violence that the Belfast people refer to as “The Troubles”. Northern Ireland takes up about 17% of the entire island of Ireland.
Belfast, pop 348,000, is the capital city and largest city in Northern Ireland. The city provided a shuttle from the port into the city for $20 a person round trip. When we got to the city we purchased two Hop On, Hop Off Bus tickets. We did Cork and Dublin on our own and it was just too much walking with over six miles each day.
Belfast is the birthplace of The Titanic and there is a large Titanic Experience Building/Museum in Belfast. Those in Belfast like to say that when the Titanic left the shipyard in Belfast it was perfectly fine.
Another popular landmark is the Albert Memorial Clock. One of the most well known landmarks in Belfast it was completed in 1869 and named for Queen Victoria’s husband.
The Grand Opera House was built in 1895.
City Hall was constructed between 1898 and 1906. We stopped there to find a geocache and take pictures.
In the distance we heard chanting and shouting and we quickly found ourselves amid a large group of protestors. It was amazing how quickly this all happened. Early this morning the captain announceded that protests were scheduled in Belfast and to be careful. He followed it up with a letter in everyone’s cabin mailboxes before we left the ship explaining what might happen and advised us not to engage the protesters and to immediately leave the area. Unfortunately between looking for the geocache and the large crowd, Bill and I became separated. We knew we needed to leave the area and after a few frightening minutes we were able to use our cell phones to get to the same location.
The protesters held anti racism signs, open border signs and Palestinian flags and cease fire signs. The protesters were peaceful but we didn’t know if things would change quickly. Our Hop On bus pickup point had been quickly moved around the corner to a safer location and we were able to take the bus out of the area.
Bill had been wanting a lunch of fish and chips since we got to Ireland. He finally had his lunch today in Belfast at Hell Cat Maggie’s.
The bus took us into the area of Belfast where the “The Troubles” time is remembered in numerous murals.
Still in place are peace gates which were the dividing line between unionist and nationalist areas. Open during the day, they are often closed at night. Walls separating the two areas are visible as well.
There are also international murals that are changed frequently to signify issues worldwide.
Between the Protestant and the Catholic neighborhoods were tall walls. The bus narration said that rocks were still thrown over the tall walls.
We really enjoyed our time in Cork, Dublin and Belfast. We feel like we didn’t have enough time in any of the cities and look forward to returning one day.
The next day was a sea day. The seas were rough and we were busy with pictures, blogs and attending a geocaching get together. Eighteen geocachers on the ship met for the first time and shared geocaching stories.
That evening the ship had a costume party. One of the winners was a man with a Travis Kelce football jersey and the woman was dressed up like Taylor Swift. There was music, dancing and appetizers.
Your travels and photos are AMAZING. I made an inbox folder for Selph emails! Your travels are not always “safe” and I prayer you will always have safe travels! When you “nest” again in FL, I hope we can connect. In the meantime, I sure do enjoy your posts! K4KLD:)