Last weekend, I took a day bus tour to visit Northern Ireland with a few friends. Before coming to Ireland, I knew Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom so I thought there was a border between the two countries. However, I found out I was already in Northern Ireland because the bus driver announced it, otherwise, I would not have known. The two countries had lived under historical conflicts for many years. Since the Peace Agreement was made between the Irish and British governments, both countries reestablished the relationships and eliminated all the checkpoints located at the border. Although they are both completely separate countries, I believe the island unifies them beyond the past social and cultural conflicts.

The trip included four main locations to visit in Northern Ireland: The Giant’s Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Dunluce Castle, and the Dark of Hedges.

The Giant’s Causeway is a UNESCO world heritage site which was originated by an ancient volcanic eruption. This national nature reserve has unique rock formations that have inspired others to pass down legends and mists about two giants from Scotland and Ireland. The legend narrates that these two giants used to fight by throwing stones at each other, and these thrown stones formed not only a causeway between the two islands but also the perfect asymmetric shaped columns we can nowadays appreciate there. The beauty of this place is magical and takes you to another time along the tales of giants.