Northern Coast To West Coast Of Ireland

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County Donegal to Aran Islands, West Ireland July 2018

From Scotland, we head towards the northern coast of Ireland, where the previous sunny weather soon changes into fog and drizzle.

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One night is spent in a bay next to a small village called Gortnalughoge, located in the county of Galway, at the northern coast of Ireland.
Here we rest while waiting for the southerly winds to shift direction.

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When the forecasted northerly winds accurately shows up as promised, we so set sail along the Irish west coast... ⛵️💦

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After two days and nights of cozy sailing, we arrive the Aran Islands.

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The Aran Islands are a group of three islands, Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer, all located at the mouth of Galway Bay.

In the coastal water of the islands, we get a nice welcome by both minke whales, grey seals and playful common dolphins! A great start of a place where we hope to meet a friendly dolphin called Dusty... 🐬💦

Puffin Romance

Treshnish Isles, West Coast of Scotland, July 2018

After leaving the Caledonian Canal, we spend a couple of days at the west coast of Scotland, before continuing our voyage south-west towards the Irish coast.

In this blogpost I´ll share some pictures from the Scottish west coast and Treshnish Isles, an archipelago of small deserted islands and skerries, lying west of Isle of Mull.

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It was 8 years ago, when filming basking sharks in this area, when we got to visit these islands for the first time. Ever since then, I´ve strongly been longing to get back to this, for me, magical place.

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As it is a very weather exposed spot, it was all in Mother Nature´s hand if we would make a stop here or not during this current sail expedition. Thanks to the perfect conditions, I felt very lucky to finally be back to the isles I´ve been longing for so much!

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One might be wondering what is so magical about this place... The feeling of remoteness and the abundance of wildlife is obviously the answer! Approx 47 different species of birds can be spotted here, including large population of puffins breeding here from mid April.

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During my first visit to Isle of Lunga, which is one of the Treshnish islands, I got so charmed by the many puffins That´s the case again!

Here, "the clowns of the sea" allow me to get close without any sign of stress. Some of the individuals even get curious and decide to get even closer...  -I´m in paradise!

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Like last time, I give the island an evening- and a morning visit.

It shows up again, that it is in the early morning when the real magic happens. This is when the many hundreds of puffins all are gathered next to their burrows where their chicks hides.

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These photos are from the same morning, starting before sunrise around 4AM, which is when I get to experience an amazingly relaxed puffin colony.

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When the rising sun starts to peak above the horizon, with sun beams touching the birds with a warming colour, the puffins all start to get both talkative and more energetic.

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I feel so grateful that Mother Nature provided us with such good weather conditions, allowing us to re-visit this little seabird paradise.

With fair winds in right direction, we so leave the puffins in peace, continuing our voyage to the Irish west coast. ⛵️💦