Belfast city

Let me tell you about this place which undoubtedly has taken me to another dimension.

You most likely expect me to show you the most visited places for every common tourist. The ones that are apparently away from the damage, the doom, the mystery... Those that are prohibited from almost every visitor, yet at the same time are the ones which are impossible to get far if you are an inhabitant.

Belfast has passed through several social issues, this city knows how much does hate can do and how much it can destroy, divide and harm not only its territory but its people. If you are looking for a place in which you can feel utterly sensitive, full of adrenaline and surrounded by mischievous streets, this is the right one. It has been the place which has experienced since the 17th century a great endurance to feelings of great despise, from Oliver Cromwell's brutal revolution to the outrageously Northern Ireland Conflict in 1968, which tragically ensued in a vast number of human losses.

Belfast the capital of Northern Ireland, can be seen with an obvious not hidden dualism, not only that, but also it inserts into your inner kid that thrilling emotion, it is to give a down-to-earth example, the closer sensation to watch a suspense movie at midnight alone in your room. Perhaps that is a ridiculous description, yet it is not even closer to the reality and I assure you that it is a place which motivates you to push your bravery in order to wander its streets and get soggy by every single detail that comprise it.

Particularly, Belfast's tourism is divided by two types of it: on the one hand, you have the one that has been arduously imposed, you know, the perfect tourism to the perfect tourist that only wants to get enchanted by the modernity. Currently, that is what millennials eagerly look for. Being solely surrounded by beautiful and speckless corners in order to have some material to share in the social media and become a trend. However, we have on the other hand, the one which is an amalgamation among religion, terrorism, detestation and love, all together in order to sow fear and courage in the community.

I went there with a formidable partner, we and another girl who joined us and shared Mexican roots with us, for the fact that her parents come from our country, were guided around the principal spots of the Irish Conflict by a former prisoner who was a member of the Irish Republican Army, specifically he explained to us, the main purpose of the murals. To my eyes, they are full of social symbolism since they have been painted by Protestants and Catholics in order to express their insights, rights and social desires, yet woefully one of their main reasons is to create a socio-territorial division that has derived into a lack of interaction between each other’s. Sadly it was to knew, that the grand majority get in contact after many years only by the fact of social festivals which allow them to converge in the same space. In the very twenty-first century? You may ask... With lament I assure you, my fellow, that this is just one little pity of the rotten echoes of the world.

But let me talk about our special guide Robert, a man in his mid-sixties, who has been struggling with critical problems, who has been either a hero or an enemy all depending on the side of the wall you come from. He let us know about this city and its worst moments or perhaps the worst known and lived by him. Killed, wounded, marked, traumatized, isolated and seriously injured people. Hundreds that become thousands and only for one reason: independence or dependency. He has been a guide tourist for over ten years in spite of the inside hardship he has to battle with when we wander the same spots that saw him defending and bleeding his heart out saving what he considered was worthy do it. Being able to see the essence of Belfast through the lens of his utterances, was unique. We undoubtedly, tried to embrace each one of the sentiments that emerged from the walls, even if it was an ordeal in each of the steps I gave. Bit by bit, my body was converting into a bunch of nerves, not to mention the fact of the utterly cold air that was smoothly burning my bones.

In addition to the belter tour, two weeks before our visit, a young journalist was killed to what police described as a terrorism incident, which fairly reasonable has swamped of bad energy the place, not only did you can perceived it in the residents' attitude but also in the streets. It was like carrying along that horrendous attempt and that impotence of knowing how unjust life could be. Oh Belfast, you are being such a place! Little did I imagine how much powerful a place could be and how much it can touch your profoundest senses.

Our tour ended in the Milltown Cemetery, in which the vast majority of the people buried over there are Irish Catholics, the Cemetery has, for some, become synonymous with Irish republicanism and also at present, 77 of the Irish Republican Army's volunteers are buried as well in what is known as the "New Republican Plot". Being there, Robert let us know how honoured and proud he is to be part of the team and echoing his humble words, he tried to demonstrate the importance of literally give your life for your country and your fellow countrymen. And then, all of a sudden, he treated us to go to the pub in which the members of the plot gathered. Surprisingly while we entered and immediately knew that the most appreciated member is Nelson Mandela, yes, the man himself, all my commotions were vanished. I was in front of a plaque signed by him, at that moment, I was feeling extremely lucky. Who on earth could know that in this tiny part of the world it would be such a marvellous thing?

We were served by the pub's staff named "Felons Club" a free traditional Guiness pint which surely I enjoyed it as much as I could, it was a phenomenal instant! We conversed for about one hour with Robert and he shared with us some intimate reports, what made us feel as if we had built a celebratory bond with him and his heart. In the end, we all shared meal together and say farewell to each one of us... However, it wasn't the last aweing moment for my partner and I.

When we step out of the pub, we decided to get inside the Belfast City Cemetery that struck us as a very peculiar place for the reason that even there, the residents built a wall which also divides one group from another. This endless clash between them. Getting inside with our high but timorous -in my case- spirit, we walked towards that wall and after not more than 500 meters, a man approached to us and let us know with tremendously discontent, that a band of hooligans was there, right in the middle of the place, what made us emerged a universe of frightened thoughts. Suddenly, the Gardaí warned us as well not to get close to them, otherwise, things could finish in a series of unfortunate events. It was as if the city was urged to show us how much scuffles it can uphold. Precisely enough to what Anna Burns tell us in her last novel, which curiously is related to this astonishing place: there are plenty of borders that we disappointingly -if you allow me to say- try to maintain among ourselves and the world that surround us.

My day was magnificent, I was devastated, inside my skin all of my joints were trembling and hardly did I was capable to keep my feet on the ground. That is what traveling means, I repeat constantly in my mind, you got several marks outside and inside your body, your heart beats and it beats fast, you feel one of the most special moments in your life, your blood running along your veins, your lungs getting weak and after that, you cannot help yourself but feeling an enormous crave to live entirely every part of this glorious world.

Anyway, it would be extraordinary if my words written in this post get to you as the way I want, yet all in all, if you have the majestic opportunity to come and live thru your own senses this place, I bet you will feel as if you were shooted by the most dangerous weapon in the world.

Northern Ireland... Such a thing. "Our wall divided us yet it permits us to express our thoughts."