Para Viajantes

It seems like Belfast made a pact with the clowns and that, after a long deal, they came to an agreement: it only rains every two days.

Few days before, there had been an attempt in the city, another one headed by the IRA, which read in Portuguese means, ironically, rage.

There’s a mechanical connection between the British’ stomach and fast-food networks. Jamie Oliver keeps trying to alert to the consequences of these kind of food, but we can see on his show all those daddies taking this kind of universal food – its’ flavour is exactly the same both in London and in the tiny Djibouti – to their children in the front door of the schools. Seeing a kid in a stroller, dipping his chip into the ketchup, as naturally as he probably takes his pacifier to his mouth (or is it a McPacifier?) is as chocking as it is alarming.

An append to the text written in Portuguese that may be interesting for British people: the image Belfast has in other countries, is only determined by the political and religious issues and, therefore, is regarded as a dangerous city. The truth is that Belfast was one of the most pleasant surprises I have ever had while travelling.

Belfast introduces itself as a shopping Eden. Well, I am one of those who have no great pleasure shopping but I couldn’t resist the temptation and bought a coat in a store that I could easily find in Portugal. The prices are indeed appellative...

A walking tour guided by a former political prisoner, supporter of an independent Northern Ireland (the same that IRA and the Sinn Fein claim but in a more pondered way...) left the idea that the political purpose is stronger than the religious one as far as the republicans are concerned. The guide’s rhetoric was, obviously very biased but was still quite helpful in order to understand the dimension of this issue.

Imagine two lines that are practically parallels, being the area between both fulfilled by barbed wire, a physical metaphor for deaths and hate. Those parallel lines are Falls Road (inhabited by Catholics and Republicans) and Shankill Road (Protestants and Unionists).

This endless rivalry is all that most part of the World knows about the city but as it happens, I found in Belfast an extremely friendly population, similar the Portuguese’ when it comes to loving beer and football (and I speak for myself...). I would say that one can see a person in Belfast smiling as often as one can see that same person holding a fast-food pack.

A curious episode: I met a bar tender who had studied in Portalegre, a city in Alentejo, in the South of Portugal. Here’s a good example that the World is small, like we use to say. Well, the World may be small, but despite all the hate we find in a big part of it, there is room for everyone...

The castle of Belfast

Falls Road (Catholic / republican)

"Brits out - not sell out"

 the author of the previous murals, being interviewed next to his replica of the Guernica

Shankill Road (Protestant / uninionist)

Eire (Irish Republic) equals war / United Kingdom equals peace, is what the image on the right bottom suggests

with numbers 7, 8 and 9, Shankill Road and with numbers 10, 11 and 12, Falls Street.

If you want to move from point 11 to point 7, you must go through points 10, 9 and 8, since you are advised (I was...) to avoid crossing between both streets