A Dip In the Ocean, Year Round

As part of my staycation I had a room with a sea view.  That is my ultimate goal, to finally have a house with a sea view. (Note to readers, sea view could be Irish Sea or the Atlantic Ocean – both tend to be called sea views.)

I had booked a package deal which included dinner each night in the “formal” dining room instead of the pub, where I usually eat. 

The first night when I went down to dinner I had to chuckle as it seemed to be primarily women of a certain age (of which I’m a card carrying member). That dynamic did change over the course of my stay, but it was just another interesting observation.

From my sea view room, I not only watched the tides and the waves come and go, but was astounded at the number of people who took a dip in the water – in late October!

Granted, most of them weren’t in for more than about 5 minutes or so, but others stayed in for quite a bit longer.  One woman went for a jog, up and down the sandy beach, after her dip, likely to warm up.

It wasn’t just one day or a certain time each day, people were going in an out all day long.  There were a few windsurfers as well – at least they had wet suits.

It reminded me of one of my first Christmases in Ireland.  In Salt Hill (near Galway), they have a Christmas Swim on Christmas Day every year. I had every intention of walking down to see the event (too chicken to participate).  However, it was farther than I originally thought and about half way there a squall came in and I knew I wouldn’t make it in time, so I ended up turning around and going back to my apartment (nearly wet enough as if I had taken the plunge).

The streets were so quiet, it was eerie – not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

I never did make it down to see the event, as I never had a car when I lived in Galway (except for the odd rental when a visitor came). Everything is closed at Christmas in Ireland, the buses don’t run and even the airport is closed.  But I did get a taste of it watching people dip in and out of the ocean in late October.

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