When you hear Gaelic for the first time it feels like you've stepped out of time. "Fáilte" is a word that must've been spoken millions of times since the first people settled in the age-caressed landscape of Ireland.

"Welcome". Of course.

Irish friendliness is something you read about an awful lot, so we know we're bordering on a cliché by mentioning it...but it almost caught us of guard how much they mean it when they say it.

In 2014, some representatives of Tourism Ireland came to Brazil and I got to meet them. They wanted to know more about Donato Viagens and the nature of our work in travel, so I showed some of the content from our trips, like this beautiful film from Patagonia.

I'm happy to say they loved it and invited my boyfriend and I to go visit Ireland and write, photograph and film =) This post is the result of that amazing trip. Fabio shot over 500GB of pictures and videos and managed to drive unscathed on the wrong side of the road for over 2000 miles. 

Even with a busy schedule, we managed to capture an essence of Ireland. We visited a small country with a big heart, whose lyrical nature is expressed in the warmth of its people's welcome.

Cėad Míle Fáilte, A hundred thousand welcomes!

Traces of the past

After crossing the ocean, we landed in Dublin in a Sunday - 'sun' of course being a relative term as it started raining all of a sudden and it kept on and off pretty much the whole time we where there.

If you come from a country with a more recent history, you may be warned to tread carefully...for you tread on history. The country's past presents itself in dozens of buildings in the city, such as Trinity College, with its 400+ year legacy and home to one of mankind's most precious books, St. Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191 and awe inspiring 'til this day, its somewhat hidden nextdoor-neighbor Marsh's library, an authentic treasure collection, to The Shelbourne, the hotel where the Irish Constitution was signed.

The plan was to hang around for a few days in Dublin and then drive to the countryside. We're very glad one of the first things we did was a bike tour. I can't think of a better intro to the city: you get to navigate most of the urban area in the way a lot of Dubliners do.

In the next few days, we roamed the bustle of contemporary Dublin following the footsteps of literary greats, walking hand in hand with history. We got to see how James Joyce lived, the empire Arthur Guinness and his family built and what 'trad' music sounds like.

All keeping with the unvarnished informality we learned is the norm - that translates to a lot of eating and drinking.

After dedicating some time to the combo 'walk-eat-drink-sleep-repeat' we got in the car and set out to see the Ireland of the post cards. Here is what (the marathon) our itinerary looked like: 

(oh, and lest I forget: thank God for GPS)

 DUBLIN - NEWGRANGE - BLESSINGTON - CLIFFS OF MOHER - KILKENNY - MACREDDIN VILLAGE - WICKLOW MOUNTAINS - MALAHIDE

We expected the highlight of the journey to be the famous Cliffs of Moher, but as we drove past different counties, visiting historic houses and driving past cinematic sceneries (the one above for example, Wicklow Mountains, is where they shot Brave Heart) we realized that the great Irish personality might come from the stunning natural beauty of their landscapes. How could you be in a bad mood when you live here?

In a few days we approached County Clare through the narrowest road ever. It was late in the afternoon, and from afar you could hear the booming far below, as the waves crash at the soft sandstone. We had reached the coast. In the end, every good trip needs some romance. As we reached the final stretch of "The Burren Way", a trail that takes you all the way across the cliffs, a particularly resonant slogan came to mind:

" Good things come to those who wait".

For Guinness, it meant heightening the proper lenght of time required to correctly pour a pint from the tap.

For us, visitors to the Island and forever explorers of the world, it meant strenghtening a relationship built over the last 6 years. Much like in the Guinness commercials though, not without the right preparation.

Fabio made sure we stood at the right distance from the tripod in every photograph we took (dealing with me shouting "hurry up" more than once, I must admit) and in the last one, overlooking the gorgeous Cliffs of Moher, he clicked the timer on the camera, ran to stand next to me and right before the 10 seconds were done...got down on one knee. 

We got engaged!

I always imagined what that moment would be like, but never expected it to be this perfect. Ireland, you will forever be in our hearts.

We imagined and it become real. Where will our imagination take us next?

Please check here our complete and amazing experience in Ireland!