Derry and Drogheda

When we got to Derry we checked into the hostel, which was much better than the one in Belfast. We then took a walking tour of Derry. A friend of Caroline led the tour. He's not a particularly old guy, but his youth was riddled with the violence of the Troubles, so he had an interesting perspective. We walked along the top of the city walls (much like Lucca, Italy, but not as ornate) as he explained recent history and showed us how to tell the different territories of Derry. Unlike Belfast, the city has not erected any peace walls. The river forms a natural barrier, and small pockets of Protestants and Catholics on the "wrong" side paint the curbs and street lamps to designate their area. The segregation is much more subtle in Derry, and the city has a calmer, cleaner, and safer feel to it. He led us to some of the monuments and murals and discussed the role of the hunger strikers. You could tell his emotions still run high when he talks about these topics. A lot of the tour group was rather disrespectful. You'd think that some people on this trip were twelve years old. I wish we had done this trip to the North in smaller groups.

When in Derry eat at Ice Wharfs. A benefit of traveling in the North is that everything is super cheap, and Ice Wharfs is very inexpensive! That night a bunch of us were tired, and I was still sick, so we watched Father Ted at the hostel. It has to be one of the best comedy series ever. I absolutely love that slice of Irish culture. I also didn't want to go out because the town was kind of creepy that night. The whole town had flocked to the church for special services. BU, in its brilliance, had planned for us to be in Derry on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Derry is where the shootings took place. Some of those who did go out that night reported weird comments or feeling uncomfortable by some of the comments made. Tensions were running a bit high in the town, as would be expected.

The next morning was the wreath laying ceremony and people were just starting to prepare for the march as we left. I didn't go to the wreath ceremony, since the tour guide had told us it would be family members of those killed. Some people went, but I personally felt it would be infringing on a moment that, despite studying it, I really know little about. I can't feel their pain and sorrow when they remember that moment, and I felt intrusive going to watch as they grieved, so I skipped it.

We stopped in Drogheda for lunch. Our Paddywagon driver didn't want us to get crumbs on the seats, so he made us all go stand outside in the cold to eat. Then we went to the only notable thing about the town, which is a relic in the church. They have the head of St. Oliver Plunkett, the last Irish Catholic martyr. Truth be told it looks like a creepy dead guy's head in a box and nothing special, but at least I had sense enough not to take pictures of it, which many view as sacrilegious, especially while people were in the church praying! Traveling with the group this weekend frustrated me beyond belief.

I've never been around such a large amount of people and found so few people I like. I've already angered the vegetarians on the trip, which makes up 1/4 of the group. Basically someone looked out the window and said, "oh look at the cute baby lambs!!" So I said, "Oh! Tasty!!" as a joke. I forgot they were vegetarians. Then they exploded on me with a tirade of "If you like eating something with a face!" and "You're going to Hell!" Now I may be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure God, in the Bible anyways, is ok with people eating lamb, but that's just my interpretation. I still think that joke was funny. I'm totally cool with vegetarianism, but not when you do it to be trendy and then push it on other people and, quite frankly, think you're better than someone else for it. That's just so lame and cliche. I like meat and there's nothing wrong with that!

The people who I do like, though, are fantastic. Jackie, Marie, Colleen, Rachel, Ingrina...they're all a ton of fun to hang out with. So I'll stop my complaining and just be grateful that they're on this trip with me. They keep me sane!

Next trip is Cork and Ring of Kerry this weekend, and I'm staying at a B+B! I'm taking a break from hostels :)