We just got good news that Brenna and Zach’s offer on a
house in the west Anchorage area has been accepted and their condo they are selling
will be closing soon too. So good timing with minimal displacement. We are very happy for them! Seth saying everything is fine at home but
still very dry. He is delivering our
tomatoes to anyone who will take them.
We say good-by to the
small village in Skye with a few more pics of the tiny town and boat harbor.
Every light change makes a picture. We
pick up our local guide for the day. She
is wearing a gorgeous Harris Tweed tartan coat, drool. We drive up the west coast sticking close to
the ocean. There are some fairly high
peaks called the Cullens, around 3500 feet and a long 20 mile ridge of craggy
rock running alongside. The mountains
are ‘high’ but they are measured from sea level which makes them huge and
impressive. There’s a fair amount of lumber harvest but instead of re-growing
the cash crop firs and pines they will be replanting with the deciduous broad
leave trees not for harvest. The roads
throughout the highlands are mostly single track that means one vehicle must
pull over to let the other pass. Our
huge bus tries not to be a bully. The sheep run into the road and they have to
be avoided as well. We see the islands of Rassay and Rona nearby on the
west. Rassay is family owned and a Dane
owns Rona for holiday packages. The narrows
of Rassay are also home to the Royal Navy testing ground for nuclear subs and
missiles. We enter the town of Portree, the largest on the island. We have very little time to explore this cute
town and lovely harbor. We continue on
out of town passing peat cutting and stacking, seeing resurgence for some. And we pass some hairy coos, shaggy orange
highland cattle with big horns. We stop
for photos at a pillar rock, The Storr, which stands as a head stone for the
bigger headland behind it. Very picturesque.
We go as far north as the Kilt Rock.
This is where the Atlantic Ocean hits the coast full force. Not only are the mountains eroding but the
sea is eroding the coast line. The Kilt
Rock is very beautiful striations of various types of rock, forming a pleated
tartan kilt look. Just before it is a
high waterfall dropping directly into the churning sea. There are small lochs for brown trout fishing;
we see mussel and salmon farms in the tidal lochs. All seafood has been fresh and delicious, especially
the mussels. However, the salmon farming remains controversial because the
uneaten fish food drops and pollutes the water making for diseases for the
fish. The Skye fold is heavily
interrelated with 3 clans. Each person
finds several ways to earn a living in order to survive and live well. Teacher by day, tour guide on days off that
sort of thing. We catch a ferry out of
Armadale and land on the mainland at Mallaig.
Cute harbor town where some of the tour opt for the Jacobite train. We stay on the bus and follow their train
tracks all along the way. We stop briefly at Glen Finnan monument and also see the long aqueduct type bridge
used in the filming of Harry Potter at Loch Shiel. Travel on to Fort William on Loch Linhe. The
largest highland town outside Inverness also gateway to Glen Coe and Ben Nevis,
the highest mountain in Scotland. While waiting for the train passengers we
take a brisk walk into the city high street.
They have closed the street and made is pedestrian friendly. Lots of shops, gardens, restaurants and churches
can be seen. Back onto the bus heading
for Oban. We follow Loch Linhe the whole
way and pass through Ballachulish, it is an incredible site. We are supposed to stay here but our plans
have been changed. The hotel we were to
stay in is gorgeous and the setting the same.
Feeling like we missed out a bit, oh well. On to the small harbor town
of Oban. Well known and loved for
holiday seekers and has access to the freshest and best seafood in the
area. The Royal Hotel sits right on the
walkway around the harbor leading into the small town. We are back in a maze of hallways and our
room is very tiny but it is in the back of the hotel and absolutely silent. The
bed is pretty comfortable. After the arm
fracture we are considering the shower very carefully, another high, narrow
with part glass partition. As soon as we
drop our luggage we’re out the door and walking along the harbor. The sunset is another rose light on gray
clouds and the harbor s beautiful. Old
stairs leading down to the beach partly disappear when the tide comes in. UK towns are full of small shops of all
variety and need. We walk to a
restaurant, EEUSK on an old pier and because we don’t have reservations we have
to talk the maître d’ into seating at a table right on the pier with only a
full length window separating us from the view. We share a bowl of fresh
mussels in white wine, garlic and butter, very tender and delicious.
Unbeknownst to us this is a Michelin rated restaurant so they have cited where
every bit of their seafood comes from and when they receive it. Chuck has huge scallops that have a strange
red ‘foot’ on them. They are incredible. Pat decides to try Scottish lobster one and
for all. It’s relatively small but so
sweet and tender. We walk back to the
hotel in the fading light. Tired day.
Early morning to come. Nighty Night.
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