On our own behalf: That's it, Wanderlust. Thank you.

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Summer greetings from West Cork, Ireland on the second longest day of the year. We have been thinking hard over the past few weeks and have decided to wind up our walking and nature tour operator in the southwest of Ireland before the end of the year. Wanderlust is history now.

The pandemic and its causes, which we cannot fully understand so far, is the superficial reason behind our decision. Our planned final year in 2020 could not take place due to travel restrictions, nor could the planned alternative final season in 2021. There will be no comeback in 2022. The real cause for the end of Wanderlust is different: ecological, socio-political and personal. (We will explain this in more detail in a letter to all guests.)

We thank all the people who have walked with us over the past decade and a half and who have shared our love for this country and its landscapes on the Atlantic. We thank our reliable partners, first and foremost our transport partner Mick Cremin and his always reliable team of drivers, all the kitchen, service and maintenance staff: Laura MacCarthy, Anne Marie Harrington, Sharon Murphy, Sylvia Mounsey, Anita Schwarz, Ingrid Malik, Zoë Gaffney, Sinéad Desmond, Mary Cronin and Sarah Coppinger.

We thank interim caretaker Hermann Wendel, the ever-helpful Rolando Yuzon of Ballylickey, the go-getting island representative John Walsh, filmmaker Per Schnell, editor Günther Wessel, gracious landlord John Bán Harrington, nature retreat partner Ben Tomesen, our hard-working interns Annika Fricke and Sebastian van der Ley, and the terrific house musicians Martin Hurley and Chris & Ben Bäuchle.

We especially thank our great walking guides and retreat leaders: Thomas Mühlbauer, Clemens Mader, Birthe de Vries, Carsten Krieger, Rosmarie Isenschmid, Andreas Stieglitz, Etna Butler, Brigitte Shelswell-White, Sandra Böttcher, Uwe Backhaus, Maria Walder and Stefan Knüttel.

Finally, an exclusive thanks goes to Eliane Zimmermann and Antje Wendel: the three of us were still Wanderlust even when all the guests were already in bed or back home, in summer and winter.

So that was it. Off to new shores …

In this spirit we wish you all the best.
Greetings from Bantry Bay

Markus Bäuchle
Das-war-Wanderlust

PS: I will continue to report regularly from Ireland. West Cork remains our chosen home. I would therefore like to invite you to read our web magazine Irlandnews regularly. Nature, culture, new lifestyle: we write about Ireland in all its facets. You can subscribe to the articles free of charge and they will always be delivered to your email inbox. Click here to subscribe to the news.