Aleria's Adventures

The village dock  We'd heard from our neighbour that the mackerel are in, and so, to extend our time between shops where we can be exposed to the novel Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2,   we decided to try fishing. As we headed out in a SE breeze, the wind backed to the NE and brought an icy cold chill to the air. This after shorts and T-shirt weather yesterday. Very strange. It was half tide and we tried the cut between our point and Furlong, but no one was biting. So we decided to go out to the known fishing spot by Inishgowla. After two passes and wind whipping up a chop making it uncomfortable to continue, we returned home skunked. Next time we'll have to go out catching instead of just fishing. What's worse is that we were supposed to put down a couple of lobster pots. As the lobster fishery has collapsed, we thought we might have luck on that front. Except we forgot to bring the lobster pots with us. Duh! The price of lobsters has dropped through the floor as the ma...

Stone arch at the end of Gola Getting Closer to God The harbour We woke to a beautiful crisp morning with sunshine and puffy white clouds. We decided to go ashore for a morning exploratory visit. We stopped at the café/tourist information hut on the far side of town and saw photos of inhabitants from around the 1930s before the island was deserted in the 1960s.  This was a special exhibit for the weekend festival.  Decendants are now coming back and restoring the old homesteads.  Very interesting. Marie, the proprietor of the café, told us all about the people, the history and the current happenings.  They’ve laid on water and electricity and built two new piers. Yet, they are having difficulty with conservationists who want everything preserved to protect sensitive species.  The islanders are being forced into making all kinds of concessions to be permitted to restore their ancestral homes.

The Treshnish Isles, where nature abounds Nature and human nature  An adorable puffin on Lunga We’ve had this amazing weather – like the Caribbean – hot and hazy and occasionally humid. Light winds. Smooth seas.  Pretty bloody unbelievable.  For two weeks and more to come.  Everyday, the forecast read something close to this: Strangely shaped islets Sails up but not full in glass calm Meteorological situation: a high of 1030 mb has settled over Europe.  Forecast for 24 hours. Winds variable E-NE Force 2-3, seas smooth, conditions fair, visibility moderate to good, poor in fog patches, risk of thundery showers, temperature reaching a high of 22-24 degrees C.