Day 6 - Derry

Our last day in Belfast started with a Black Cab tour that took us to the divide between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. The Peace Wall separates the two sides with a deep history of violence and destruction. Our tour guides, one Catholic and one Protestant, were incredibly informative and captivating in their storytelling. I felt a keen sense of sadness hearing tales of murder and intense violence. More so that it is 2018 and a conflict like this can still exist. It was hard to make sense of the tit-for-tat killings and bombings described. It know it is a complex situation but, nonetheless, a sad one that hopefully has an end in sight.

We departed Belfast after the tour and headed to our next destination, Derry. But first we made a brief stop at Giant's Causeway, a beautiful natural landscape on the coast. A few of us in the group got a quick hike in for some amazing photos. Seeing this place in person is beyond anything you can imagine, even if it has been the setting of scenes from Game of Thrones.

We continued on to Derry, officially Londonderry, where we got to walk through the town on a clear sunny day. Derry is a quaint town and is the last walled city to be built in Europe. A couple of group members and I strolled through town, visiting the walled city and crossed the Peace Bridge which connects both sides of the traditional divide. We visited the Walled City Brewery on the east side of the bridge and reflected on our time in Belfast. My colleagues continue to impress me with their intellectual capacity and drive for improvement. They have elevated this experience for me and made for an unforgettable trip. I truly believe the relationships established here will last for years to come.