The Final Day

Indeed, the final day occurred a few days ago, for now i am safely home. But the last day was a grand one! The ferry ride from Mull to the mainland was smooth as silk--

 See the sailboat pass Duart Castle, the lighthouse with mountains far behind--

and, to starboard as we approached Oban...

Turning left ashore, we drove north to find the Castle Stalker Viewpoint. Another icon--an old tower house sited on a loch. Would have been a good defensive location but kind of lonely, I think. Still, lovely!

A couple hours to Glasgow, dinner and a farewell to Bill and Mary. I hope they're getting close to home too.

The Bay at the Back of the Ocean

Today gusty wind and gray, drizzly rain

Yesterday breeze, sunshine and blue sky

Not the ideal day to return to Iona for a long walk, I sorted and packed for a few hours, then went over to the island! Carol, our B&B hostess in Fionnphort (pronounced something like 'fin-i-fft said quickly), phoned her friend Lindsay on Iona and he met my ferry in the rain--in his taxi!!!! The one and only on Iona.

Lindsay drove me on each of the five miles of road, and I was able to see what I'd planned to see a pied, including 'the bay at the back of the ocean' and the golf course!  A gentle and interesting fellow, he and his wife will be visiting 'the States' in October to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Flying into LA, they'll drive north up Highway 1 to San Francisco, see Yosemite and Sequoia en route to Las Vegas and fly home from there. I mentioned popping over to Tahoe and driving down 395 to Tioga into Yosemite; he wasn't  aware of the possibility, so will examine his maps more closely.

Bill and Mary left this morning to visit a castle or two, it's lonely here without them. Tomorrow we'll ferry from Mull to Oban after a one-hour drive, then north to look at Castle Stalker, lunch at Inveraray Castle and Gardens, finally reach Glasgow and our spend our final night. I will fly away Thursday morning, Bill and Mary Thursday night, our odyssey completed.

It has been a wonderful trip, I am grateful for the opportunity to see and experience all that I have as well as to learn more about who I am now without Chuck, that's a continuing odyssey in itself.

 

A Quick Recovery!

I am on Iona, sitting atop the knob in front of the Abbey where St Columba himself had his writing shack and where he welcomed visitors to the island. As you can see from the following photos, there is sunshine today. A breeze as well, but a a gentle one though I am admittedly well-bundled, fearing a relapse of my cold.  A very good day!!! This is my view from up here.

Bill and Mary's longer cruise to Staffa and beyond was cancelled so they had to settle for Staffa alone. I hope the breeze was not troubling to them; Mary is so keen on seeing more puffins!!!

And I have realized, following a good night's sleep, that my creative juices have not dried up, that beauty and truth remain in this world, nourished by sunshine and yes, by rain as well. 

Travel Day to Mull

Pretty uncreative title today, don't you think? A sign of fatigue, I'm afraid. Long day, lots of rain, bumpy roads--those are the negatives. There are two positives: congenial company and magnificent sights, even through rain, drizzle, fog, mist---how many words do they have here for water falling from the sky? But the weather has rarely affected our appreciation of the landscape even when it restricted the number of photos we took.

I especially enjoy the great wide-open glens--treeless and very green with a large white house tucked into a hillside. Here is one, not a perfect image but an impression:

It poured rain a good part of our journey and one positive was the heavy flow in waterfalls:

This is a single section of cascades that rushed all the way down a very tall hill!

Tobermory is the main town on Mull; it has traditionally maintained a colorful Main Street:

Tomorrow I will wander over to Iona for the day, Bill and Mary may join me in the morning, then take a five-hour trip to some islands to see puffins. It sounded to me like a very long time bouncing around in a boat after doing so in the car all day today, besides it's Iona I came to see. I plan to sit and think a lot. Wander, look, think. Repeat. Repeat again and again.

I had been eager to begin work when I return home, but now I just feel worn-out. So many ideas I wanted to begin and tonight, they have all vanished. There is a hill in front of the Abbey and I plan to sit there if it's dry enough and just BE. My first plan was to look through my photos and make plans for how to design what I want to create, but I think that would be futile and stressful.  I have a small notebook and I may write or not. I am certain I will take many photos, weather willing, but I hope to just experience this special place. Just be.

Out and Around

Bill, Mary and I are making progress at traveling all the main roads on Skye. In fact, on our quest today we crossed the new Skye bridge and traveled on the Scottish mainland before returning home by a way different route. The Cuillins peeked out at us, at least some of them did:

Then over the bridge to the harbor to actually see the bridge with a Cullin or two peering back at us as well.

Our clever hostess had directed us to visit Plockton, a photogenic town on the coast. It is actually in wooded hills, quite different from recent scenery and very picturesque:

Advancing on our clockwise route, lunch at Eilean Donan Castle. Weather by now wasn't great for a photo but here it is anyway. 

Eilean Donan is iconic with it's three-arched bridge, it is often seen on calendars and posters--and my brand-new teensy print of an old watercolor.

Overland now, steeply up and down single track roads to catch a small turntable ferry--after we drove on, they actually manually pushed a turntable so neither the ferry nor the two cars had to turn around. It was so small there wasn't room for a ramp on both sides! 

Back on Skye, steeply up and down more country: beautiful high glens with white houses residing below. It felt like we were on top of the world, we were so high above them. No pix because it was raining in earnest now.

Returned to Portree to rest before dinner and prepare for our drive tomorrow: off Skye to the mainland then down the coast to cross over to Mull, then drive almost to Iona. I'm excited all over again! 

Only a few more days until it's over and I'll be home wondering if it really happened...

In and out of Mist at Coruisk

These again, are the Cuillins, a mightily rugged range of Skye mountains, taken Wednesday from some distance away. 

Yesterday (Thursday) we had hoped to see them from the far side but instead saw only rain and fog. Here is an artist's romantic rendering instead:

It took us more than an hour Portree to reach the starting point at Elgol almost all on single track-road, then boating a half hour across Loch Scavaig (sea loch) to reach Coruisk, (freshwater) within the mighty Cuillins. Here is Bill looking undeterred and stalwart in all weather gear as we began:

But we motored in below the mist, stopping to have seals gaze back at us, and found the loch just as I'd left it, the land all round smoothed by glaciers millennia ago.  It is a small valley hewn of stone.  

 

These photos are the flow from the Coruisk into Scavaig; I couldn't get a good shot of the loch because of the way it's tucked in there, but you can see the nature of the place, a gem!

The misty rain ceased, and we clambered around for an hour and a half, staying dry except for pantlegs against the grasses. 

And I'm very happy to have been there!

Over the Sea to---Skye, of course!!!

Early rising to leave beloved Lewis and Harris behind, such beauty on those islands; elemental beauty and poignant memories, but now, moving on. And it's over the sea to Skye! Sailing from Tarbert, Harris, the harbor was smooth as glass, and the crossing smooth, watching the Harris hills recede.

Near the north end of Skye is Dunvegan Castle, a beautiful setting as you can imagine with acres of gardens--Water Garden, Walled Garden, Round Garden, etc. It is home to the Fairy Flag which had been given by a fairy to an early laird  in the 7th or 8th c. It has protective powers and can be used three times; there is one more remaining. Yellow silk of mid-east origin, it is fragile, extremely delicate and framed, hanging in a drawing room or somesuch. I find it very romantic and charming, but photographs are not permitted, drat! Here is castle entrance and one garden:

Surprise for Bill and Mary! A pipe band from an exclusive Scotch College in Melbourne was on the 'back porch' of the castle!

Later in the town of Portree, we saw a pipe band of local young people, including several girls, great fun!

During the interlude between the bands, we saw a fair amount of Skye. It is quite different from the other places we've visited.

The rugged Cuillins which we will also see from the other side at Loch Coruisk in a day or two, when the rain stops. Ah, the Misty Isle indeed!