May 26, 2024
Gougane Barra, County Cork
On Saturday I drove from Mayo down to Cork Co. and the home of my dear friend Edel Foley. We meet each other in Ocean City, New Jersey nearly 35 years ago and have gotten together for several vacations over the years. Edel is always up for a trip to sunshine!! She is going to start the cruise with me out of Belfast on the 30th. Now we are catching up in Cork, before heading up North. Today, Sunday May 26th, we drove down to Gougane Barra, a remote lake and forest area that has a small village population that speaks Gaelic, as their daily language. We had to dodge the rain, but managed a nice walk around before it became lashing! Said some prayers at St. Finbarr's Oratory too!
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Raja Ampat is amazing - everytime I dive or even snorkel I see so many new fish or coral. The landscapes below water is so varied - walls, reefs, ridges, rims or plateaus and teaming with wildlife - it makes the Great Barrier Reef of Australia just so-so! Before each dive we get a briefing on the boat of the landscape, best approach and highlights typically seen in area.
Meal time is social time too! Our group occupies one long 10 seater - our 8 plus other Resort guest we have bonded with over the days. Drinks usually are a precusor to dinner, right after our daily dive / snorkel briefing 6:30 pm. Very few meals have been duplicated over our 2 week stay. The staff loves to make things fun, they always have big smiles and music for all to enjoy!
We woke up to thunder & lighting and pouring rain, but the afternoon turned gorgeous! We had a lovely sunset and a relaxing day. Played some games, sang some tunes with the staff and chilled! Also got a chance to do some blog work. More daily highlights below.