Wild Atlantic Way

My second trip to Ireland came almost 20 years after my first trip. The first trip was a weekend in Dublin while I was studying in London. This time my goal was to see as much as possible. And then I scaled back, taking advice from locals to move slower, take some time, and just wander and experience a few places. It changed how I plan bigger trips, and how I look at travel. Less to tick off places, and more to experience, enjoy, and get to know places and people.

I still felt rather new to photography on this trip, and took the opportunity of a slower pace, and few people to wander and take my time. Framing shots, not liking them, moving around, and trying something else. I desperately wanted to capture how green and windswept everything felt.

This trip was also my first solo trip since college, and I loved the mix of hiking with strangers and wandering alone. The coastal walk to and along the Cliffs of Moher was one of the best walks I’ve done. You can go with a group that leaves from the village in Doolin, or follow the trail on your own. It is the best way to see the Cliffs, rather than going directly to the visitor’s center where you’re right on top of them, making it hard to take in the same way.

I love Dublin, and understand the desire to be there, but there is so much more to Ireland, and it’s so worth exploring beyond the city. I took the bus the entire two weeks, as I traveled around the entire island.