Dutchie on walkabout

I am Dutch but my wife and I have lived in Berlin for the past 5 yrs and have recently moved to Dublin. As most photo's of what we've done are spread over a multitude of media I figured I would use Tumblr to log some of the stuff we've done and seen.

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Old trip into Northern Ireland

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Lovely trip up to Donegal when Mum and Aad were here

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Sligo to Donegal

We did a day trip to the Atlantic coast again yesterday. We started of at Glenade Lake and then moving along Ben Bulben to the coast. Very beautiful with all views dominated by the mountain range. Most beaches were sandy and ideal for surfing with very clear water. The towns we visited were a bit too touristy for my liking though.

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Cavan

We decided to try the Irish inland for a change and went up to county Cavan. There are loads of rolling hills and small lakes there. Quite pretty but I do prefer the coast;

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Warrenpoint, Omeath and Carlingford

Had a nice drive around Carlingford Lough today. Starting in Warrenpoint in NI and then driving down again along the estuary to Omeath and Carlingford. In Carlingford there was a Poultry race where children would release chicken and then try to drive them to the end of a pen to win the race.

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Slieve Gullion

First hill of the year in NI was a rather easy hike up up with some great views, you could see Sugar Loaf to the south of Dublin all the way up to the Mournes with the sea in between. There was a large bronze age cairn at the top. Afterwards we stumbled upon a shrine to St Bridget whic apparently is the female version of St Patrick to the Irish. Then went on to a beach in Carlingford overlooking the Mourne mountains

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Arizona - Grand Canyon back to Phoenix

Just some impressions from the road back. Amazing how many types of desert there are in one state. Stopped at the Navajo reservation which was a bit depressing, basically the scenery of the below two pics with a trailer here and there.

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Arizona - Grand Canyon

The helicopter ride was one of the coolest things I ever did. Seeing the canyon from the ground is impressive but from the helicopter it became awesome It felt like flying over Mars it felt so alien.

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Arizona - Road from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon

The day after we booked a tour to the Grand Canyon wit a helicopter ride through it. Just some picks of the road in.

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Arizona - Appache trail

Was in Phoenix for a conference last week and went a day early and came home a day late. First day drove the appache trail. Started of in Goldfield a little western re-enactment village and then through the Superstition Mountains to Roosevelt dam ending at Tonto memorial.

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Westport to Achill island part 1

And the last few pics taken in a little bay near Keel. Great views of the cliffs, a beautiful sandy beach and the mountains behind you. 

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Westport to Achill island part 2

Croagh Patrick dominates the bay between Westport and Newport. It is were St Patrick did a stint being a hermit. There is still a little building on the top, don't know whether that is the original one though. Definately have to climb that one day. 

The bay and Achill island are a beautiful mixture between impressive cliffs and mountains and lush little islands, the best of both worlds.

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Westport to Achill island part 1

Friday we went west again and picked up were we left of in Westport some time ago. There was so much to see that I feel it deserves multiple posts. The first is about the houses and buildings we saw. The tower was owned by the pirate queen Grace and is just north of Newport

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Cushendall to Whitehead - Northern Ireland

Another day and another day trip, we picked up were we left off last tine in NI and drove south. A very beautiful drive along the coast with some beautiful cliffs and nice little harbours. We closed the day of in Portaferry.

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Portstewart to Cushendal - Northern Ireland

Roadtrip to Northern Ireland starting in Portstewart. There was an airshow in Portrush so we could see the planes doing loopings in formation, unfortunately this also meant it was quite busy in the area. Then onto Dunluce castle which is well worth a visit, it stands on the edge of a cliff and apparently the kitchen dropped down into the sea when it was still in use. 

The Giant's causeway was a bit disappointing as it was very busy. The rope bridge island we skipped as well for the same reason. We visited some lovely little harbours afterward and ended the day at a beautiful valley at the bottom of a cliff.

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Dungarvan to Roche Point

Another day trip to the south of Ireland, we went from Dungarvan where we had left of to Roche Point which is close to Cork. It was a beautiful day and it was very quiet everywhere now that the holidays are over. Some great beaches, ports and towns. Ireland at it's best (so far)

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Nameless peaks in between Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun

I went hiking again today in the middle of the Wicklows. I did two nameless hills in between  Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun. The hike was about 7 km's climbing from 400 mtrs to 780 mtrs high. Great weather and a nice hike.