Belfast and Furious

This weekend we took a trip up to the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast. The experience was very cool and gave me a lot of insight to the history between the two countries. The first day we met our tour guide, Fergal, who was one of the most charming people I've ever met. We were taken into the heart of Belfast where we saw the Town Hall. Fergal then took us on a tour of the Peace Wall and the murals protesting injustices. 

The next day we went to the Giant's Causeway. This was a truly stunning rock formation. It's based on a Irish myth that a giant named Benandonner comes to hunt down Finn McCool. However, through clever trickery by Finn's wife, Benandonner runs away frightened and smashes through the landscape leaving the Giant's Causeway behind.

The myth seems almost believable because the formation doesn't seem natural. The causeway is built up of pillars of hexagonal stone that certainly seem carved. However, they have naturally developed this way based on the type of stone that is there: basalt. Apparently the erosion occurred from a volcanic explosion and neatly carved the many stone pillars.

After an exhilarating walk through the whole causeway, we left to Broughgammon farm for lunch. Broughgammon raises high quality animal meat for butchering and they do it in a far more humane way then the meat industry back in the U.S. We got to try one of their hamburgers and it was absolutely scrumptious.

After lunch, we went to see where hurls are made. I took one lesson in hurling back in January and I've absolutely fallen in love with the sport. We got to see a hurl made from its start as a plank of wood to a smooth and sleek stick. The owner was kind enough to let us try shaving the hurl and I was surprised by how much strength it took. The man says that under normal conditions he could make a stick in 10 minutes, and that blew my mind because I think it took me about 10 minutes to make one cut in the wood. Afterward we got to practice hitting balls into the net with the stick. If felt really satisfying to hear the crack of the ball against the stick and then see it fly into the net. 

The visit to Belfast was so lovely and I'm keen to get back there sometime again!