My two best friends and I went on a vacation in 2006 that began in Belfast and ended up in the Republic of Ireland's SW coast. My two traveling buddies and I had been to the Republic of Ireland previously, and decided that we had to go back to complete the tour of the northern half of the island. I'm so glad we did

We did a good deal of research prior to going, and we made a kind of rough schedule of how to visit all the "must sees" in our 10 day timeframe. It's funny how the things you think are going to be highlights before you leave take the back burner to some unexpected sights and experiences once you're there. Travel guides are helpful, but how can they anticipate the serendipitous convergence of events that make for the best memories?

For example, meeting a man in Derry who was kind enough to walk through the Bogside's many murals and give us some insider info. He could give us insider info, because he was there on Bloody Sunday -- his brother was actually killed there -- and he had a unique view on the healing that's taken place in the country and where they are today. You can't get that kind of stuff from a book!

To me, traveling is about meeting the people, and seeing their home through their eyes. In Ireland, it's easy to do, because they are the world's best story tellers and no one is a stranger there! We met a lovely old woman named Mary (go figure!) in a Northern Ireland village as we walked to take a look at an ancient church that was being renovated. She told us of her family in the area, how the church plays in their lives, how proud she was that they were going to be able to worship there again, and of course, she had a little Catholic vs Protestant discourse as well. It's clearly still a sensitive topic, although even with someone of her generation, there seems to be acceptance and a tenuous peace there

As we traveled out of the larger bergs into the tiny rocky coast towns, the magic really began. Horses, sheep and cattle wander right out to the ocean cliff's edge. Sunsets bring the most magic cast to an already enchanted area. I look at those animals and wonder if they have any idea how special this place is!

From man-made wonders to natural ones -- this place was somewhere I'll never forget. It occurs to me how the history there is so accessible. You can be driving down the road and just off to the left will be a castle ruin in the middle of a field. Maybe there's a small informational plaque -- maybe not. And, one that just blows me away is that you can find ancient burial sites called dolmens, or portal tombs ,out in the middle of a cow field. We're talking 3000+ years old!

There's a distinct lack of commercialism or even promotion going on there. I think it's been related to the fact that Ireland has not had money to commercialize and advertise these things in the past. But, with their newfound wealth, I fear that things will be changing soon in this respect. For example, the first time I went to SW Ireland I visited the Cliffs of Moher. There was a parking lot, but that was it as far as their attempt to accommodate visitors. You walked up a very rocky path, and could climb right out to the edge of the cliffs and look down. Then, two years later when I returned to my beloved Cliffs -- there were two huge paved lots, a gift shop, and fancy paved walks and steps leading to the cliffs. But, the worst part was that they had built a wall about 10 feet from the cliffs, and you could barely see over the thing. The feeling that you had discovered a "natural wonder" was gone. Don't get me wrong -- it's still beautiful, especially from a distance as in the picture above -- but the undisturbed wilderness is no more at the Cliffs of Moher.

Then after a week of exploring uncharted territory, we made our way to our favorite little town in SW Ireland -- County Clare, the town of Doolin. It's known worldwide as the best place for traditional Irish music. It has never let us down. We wrapped up our vacation with three days in Doolin touring around the Burren, the coast, and surrounding small towns. Of course each day ending with supper and a few pints at our favorite local pub, McDermott's. Our all-time B&B favorite was the Seascape in Doolin! The proprietors were kind and helpful, the food amazing, and the accommodations splendid. And, the views! Best of all, it's a few hundred yards from McDermott's!

I have been back again since this trip, went straight to Doolin and stayed nearly two weeks. I liked having that hub from which to explore very much. But, either way -- traveling from one  B&B to another, or day tripping from a single spot -- Ireland is a must see! And, in my opinion, the sooner the better!

BTW, two of my trips were arranged via a wonderful travel agency called CIE Tours. We selected the package with a rental car and B&B coupons called Go-As-You-Please Ireland (B&Bs were available throughout the country and everywhere we went was great!). It gave us the flexibility we wanted, was very affordable, and the people were great help with all of our questions.