May 23, 2024
Arrival in Dublin Ireland Sunday May 19th 2024
I arrived in Dublin Ireland to bright sunshine and collected my luggage - 3 large, checked bags and 2 carry-ons and cleared customs all by 7:30 a.m. I had reserved a private driver to take me and handle all the bags, up to Belfast from the Airport. The driver was a lovely Romanian immigrant, father of 5, who had been there, with his wife since 2005. He enlightened me on economy and state of immigrants in the UK & EU. We also talked at length on his observations about the Ukraine/ Russian War, from the prospective of Romanians, his family and friends, many of whom lived within Ukraine. It made the 1.5 hour drive go very quickly. I then tried to check in to my hotel, the Ibis Belfast Centre, but no rooms were ready for early check in at 9 a.m. I chilled in hotel lobby for a little over an hour and then thankfully they were able to get me into a room and I could nap for a few hours, prior to my dry dock tour of the ship at 4pm.
The Dry dock tour was limited to 10 of us for safety reasons and it was AMAZING! Such a unique perspective to see the ship from for the first time. So fortunate to be invited to participate. Last photo of me with our intrepid leader of Villa Vie Residences, Mike Petterson.
Today we went to see the coastal Naidiri Village that has recently won the Top Prize in global restoration, for their ocean reef project. The reef restoration was borne out of necessity to solve their dwindling food/ main protein source for the village, of fish. It was started by 2 of the villages rugby players and today is run by the local teenagers (mostly boys) in the village. It was great seeing how empowered and proud they were of their amazing efforts.
The port agent offered several trips to areas around Lautoka . We chose the trip to Serenity Island Resort which included van and boat transfers and lunch. It was a really nice day enjoying the sun, reef, pool, turtles and amenities!
I organized a group tour for a fun day experience. We had a great day despite the rain that decided to join in. We started with a 45 minute van ride out through the city, into the countryside. Then we got in long boats and went up river to a waterfall, some swam or cheered on the guides to cliff dive. Then back in the boats to visit Sabata Village where 50 family members live as a community existing totally off the land, along the river. Next was a quick boat ride to our BBQ lunch spot. After lunch we got to tube down the river, through light rapids, for just about an hour. We ganged our tubes together with the guide - we had a chain of 14 in my group and the guides totally blew us away singing hymns for a good chunk of the journey. It was truly moving in that place with the rain drizzling and all of us linked together. Loved it!