Sorry, no pictures again, but hopefully there’s a bit more flexibility with internet access when I get to County Mayo.
Before I leave Belfast, I just have to point out two things that remind me of home. The first is that Northern Ireland’s public transport network is run by Translink (always with a small l). The second is the presence of Tim Hortons coffee. Yes, a chain of convenience shops sells Tim Ho. It must be the presence of a hockey team, the Belfast Giants, and its contingent of Canadian ex-pats. A visitor’s guide tells me about the hockey team, and an advert for a “Canadian-style” bar at their home arena, but no mention of whether it’s in a league.
And a number of Vancouver streets, on either side of Knight Street, are named after places in Scotland: Ross, Inverness, Culloden, Lanark, Dumfries, Argyle.
I haven’t spoken to many Canadians so far in my travels. There were a couple from Victoria who were on the same train and ferry to Skye on the way to a wedding in Edinburgh, and two others from Montreal. The rest were mainly from France, Australia, or China. A surprising number of them were attending conferences in the cities where they were staying, which is quite interesting to me.
After I finish my breakfast (something lighter on my body than yesterday’s Ulster Fry), I have to pack and make it to the bus station for the cross-country trek to County Mayo, which is where my next communiqué should come from.
