June bank holiday weekend at Wild Wild West - Part 1

Yeah the Wild Wild West calling was answered in June. What better to do on looooong weekend than take one more day extra off on Thursday, so that I can have four day weekend spent at Wild Wild West of Ireland aka Connemara camping with old friends and diving with new friends.

Friday is here and after some food and light nap, it is 10:00 and time to hit the road so we miss the morning rush hour and the lunch time exodus from Dublin. Meeting point at the petrol station Enfield as we are both leaving from different starting point as well as Michael packing for the weekend with his daughter means stuffing the car to the roof, so not much space for another passenger. As I have easier and quicker packing, I already completed pit stop and was waiting on the car park when they arrived. Obviously the exchange of passenger happened  nearly immediately as his daughter for some reason is preferring journey with me in the fly ‘Peugeot 107’ named The Fly. Surprisingly the exchange came with new addition to this trip in a way of walkies- talkie set for both cars, what is great fun for kids as they can have fun and talk to the parents in another car. This only works if the parent will switch ON the radio what is not always the case as sometimes parents are happy to get rid off the live radio aka daughter and enjoy the silence. Well what one do does for the friends and their offspring, even get live radio on board and spent eight hours listening and conversing with child strapped in the child seat ‘at least some sort of control’

The great conversation starts somehow like this: why are we going slower than my Dad in front of us ? I assume, somehow like that started all best F1 drivers on their family trips.

Next stop Galway for supply shopping and here we hit the jam, traffic jam of bank holiday weekend drivers and since Galway is not really build for the influx of all the people of Ireland the roads are pretty full. Thankfully the shopping center is just at junction so we were really quick IN and OUT and on the road to Renvyle, our final destination. As we were joining the caravan of the cars on the narrow one lane country side roads, we had time to enjoy the sightseeing as the winner was a local farmer on tractor who lead the front of the holiday hungry drivers with steady 30km/h. One toilet break stop later we have arrived to Tully Cross where the filling of petrol stove burner and some more of food supplies were purchased, great made apple pie is always handy for breakfast. As usual in Ireland when you are leaving sunny and warm Dublin behind, you will arrive in amazing nature of Connemara with sightseeing worth those eight hours of driving with the perfect Irish Drizzle and fog welcoming you at campsite. So pitching tent in rain is perfect start of bank holiday weekend. Quick dinner, thankfully the campsite is good and there is little common place for cooking and eating so that we could have dinner without extra water in the food. One goodnight cartoon later for the little one and we were all getting into the bedrooms of our tents. At least we have tents, since all around camper vans with their bluish glow of TV blending with natural scenery around.

              Saturday is here and with it my first dive in months which I cannot wait for. I’m already visualizing the back roll from the boat and floating in the ocean like a hippo. We’ve got breakfast, Michael his morning coffee while little princess was still sleeping, as nothing make kids sleep better than noise of sheep feeding nearby. Anyhow I left for the Scuba West, since princess took her time to waking up as well as I will get my gear ready and have some chat with the guys there. Not a too much longer afterwards little princess arrived  ‘she is really not princess’ and she run amok around the dive center as Michael quietly sat in the canteen and look through window on the amazing scenery in silence. Since she was all around me and everyone else to that matter, I now understand the tern of tribe child.  As we were loading the boat and heading to dive site she was all over the rock waving good bye and writing message in the sand.

Dive is here and back roll at Julia T shipwreck dive site is what makes my day great. Cannot descent as I had put arctic thermals under the dry suit so another kilo of lead and now I descend slowly and nicely, through great vis 15 to 20 meters to the Julia T and her inhabitants. What a sight of color and rust. Circling the JuliaT at sea bottom I saw nicely tucked underneath crab who was not moving and all his legs neatly packed so that he looked like another stone randomly laying there. Slow ascent to the bow level and colors of anemones  change the grey of sand and rust of the steel. Also tiny snow white nudibranch wavering in the water was a great spot of the dive buddy who I was with. I love the slow motion and just observe the nature and feel the great feeling of weightlessness and silence, disturbed with occasional burst of bubbles from the regulator. Great to be back in the water.

Upon arrival the little not so much princess was jumping and running around the harbor like she was expecting Santa clause and not fat man in black rubber, resembling the Bibendum from Michelin.

Ahh she is  pure joy seller and have to say that this is the state we should be in more often. We’ve got out, changed tanks and then is surface period with some food, hot tea and apple pie. Ahh what a good apple pie can do, even bring strangers in rubber together and talk. Second dive was amazing time, like from the movie, thousands jelly fishes around mesmerizing me with their slow gracious movement as if they just hang around in the water. Soooo relaxing and chilling ahhh what a sight, I could just stay there on bottom and looking upwards through the jellies lighted by sun shining down, amazing. Then a bit of swim through the kelp forest and looking for stuff hidden between moving kelp as if it was some giant hair flowing in the wind. Ahhh what a great time. Two dives per day and my balance is restored. Gear washed /rinsed and stored, going to change from the thermals what were a bit wet as the zipper was not fully closed at back, lesson learned, to always check it when someone else is closing it, even if that someone is daughter of the dive shop owner. Everyone gone and me last out of the changing room, we hit the road as Michael needs to do some shopping in Clifden. What a bustling town….. people and cars everywhere, streets so full that it look like Ibiza in summer. Music blasting from pubs, restaurants, people sitting on outside terrace, curbside and drinking, eating, kids having an Ice Cream and traffic slowly moving on 1st gear through this scenery. Car park of Supervalu is the best free car park spot and since we needed drinking water as I was parched as camel in the middle of the desert we got three 5 liters jugs of drinking water, which 2 lit went down right there on the spot at underground carpark. Michael just looked in wonder as the water disappeared down my mouth as Niagara falls. Finally refreshed and ready to move for shopping we went back to daylight of the streets, without bursting into flames. Got the little one on shoulders as her trainers were soaking wet from last night rain and off we go through the traffic of people to the shops where Michael cannot find anything, what he wanted but instead the princess got brand new crocs and therefore my shoulders can rest. Walking towards another outdoor shop, through the scents and smells of cooked food, remind me that thirst was satisfied but now the control room was signaling the need of refueling. As both of them emerged from the shop, Michael mentioned that food will be nice to get as the little princes was getting hungry too and since on the way there we had not eaten too much , this time we learned that cranky hungry child is not what we want on glorious sunny day. Clifden full of people and lines in every restaurant, we decided to drive closer to campsite and get some food on the way. We arrived and found nice, pizza place where they also made burgers so three burgers later, when the rain ‘drizzle’ started we slowly returned to our cards and drove away from the raindrops falling down. One photoshoot stop later at the bridge with nice stream flowing down and the fecking midgets eating us alive we returned to our tents and after the princess fall into unconsciousness of sleep, Michael went to get some photos of the sunset on the beach. Beach full of people, firepits and kids running around in swimsuits as if it is Spain or maybe they read the thermometers in opposite direction and instead of 13 degrees Celsia they saw 31 degrees Celsia. Great evening and since the sun went down I went down too, left the book untouched and went to land of dreams.