Canadian bloggers among first to travel Wild Atlantic Way

It took mere seconds yesterday to send messages all around the world from a spectacular island outpost off the south-west coast — in sharp contrast to an historic event in the area 156 years ago.

Two international bloggers were on Skellig Michael, in Co Kerry, using modern communications, but Queen Victoria’s 98-word message took 16 hours to transmit from nearby Valentia Island to Newfoundland — the first transatlantic cable by telegraph.

Award-winning Canadian travel bloggers Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are here as guests of Tourism Ireland, exploring the Wild Atlantic Way and sharing their experiences with 800,000 online followers.

Fascinating ancient Beehive cells of Skellig Michael #WildAtlanticWay #PlanetDIreland @GoToIrelandCA pic.twitter.com/d3iLCB5Tev

— Dave & Deb (@theplanetd) April 18, 2014

The couple, whose blog is called The Planet D, travel the world, showcasing their journeys and broadcasting their stories through their writing, photos, video and engaging social media.

“Skellig is my favourite spot so far and one of the most unique places we’ve ever visited,’’ said Debra.

“The monastic ruins should not really be called ruins because they are so well preserved. You can get a sense of how monks lived there for centuries. It’s like being in another world. And there’s the uncertainty that we might not be able to land there if conditions aren’t right.’’

Today we join #travelskills from the #WildAtlanticWay Dave's driving, I'm tweeting! pic.twitter.com/zfO0rlp8xV

— Dave & Deb (@theplanetd) April 17, 2014

They began their two-week trip on Wednesday, in Lough Hyne, the marine nature reserve, in West Cork, where they did some night kayaking, stayed in Schull and then went to Mizen Head.

Yesterday, they visited the Skellig Experience Visitor Centre, on Valentia Island, and took a boat to Skellig Michael, a cone-shaped rock rising out of the sea which has monastic ruins dating to the 6th century.

Absolutely floored by the beauty of the Newman University Church here in Dublin, Ireland #theplanetdireland #p... pic.twitter.com/Q9FmmMrdQl

— Dave & Deb (@theplanetd) April 17, 2014

This season there’s a 70% increase in airline seats between Canada and Ireland and, according to Tourism Ireland’s manager in Canada, Jayne Shackleford, lots of photos and details of the bloggers’ visit here have been been posted online.

The Planet D bloggers are some of the first international media to travel the entire length of the Wild Atlantic Way, from Cork to Donegal, since it was officially launched earlier this year.

Wow! Just got back from magnificent Skellig Island #WildAtlanticWay @GoToIrelandCA pic.twitter.com/nt164DKUCq

— Dave & Deb (@theplanetd) April 18, 2014

As well as writing on their blog — regarded as one of the top travel blogs in the world — they are also tweeting about their time here (@theplanetd) using the hashtags #WildAtlanticWay and #PlanetDIreland; and posting regularly to their Facebook page.

The Wild Atlantic Way will also feature on their website along with many other attractions around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef.