Scotland 2.7: A full day boating with seals and dolphins, the Cuillin mountains, fairy pools, and our first broch

We left at 7:30 am yesterday and did not return home until 10:00 PM.  It was fantastic.  We drove to Elgol, for our boat tour.  I had booked the full day, but they did not have enough people sign up for.  Therefore, we had the trip split in half.  First, a few of the Small Isles, and then a separate trip to the Cuillin Mountains.  By splitting the trip, we missed out on being able to go onto the island of Rum and tour the castle.  We got a partial refund.

As we left the harbor, we got to see the beautiful Cuillin mountains.



We began by going by the island of Soay, which only has three inhabitants.  It was a place that vikings used to leave sheep upon, to return to once there were more sheep.  We then headed toward Canna.

One little boat in the distance, where the sea meets the sky.

We were taken to see the mating grounds of the local birds and a nearby rock formation.



Next, we stopped on Canna, for a quick lunch.  We ended up having to wait for a ferry to load up a garbage bin, which took a surprisingly long time.  We left toward the coast of Rum.  We saw some seals on nearby rocks.  Then, we saw dolphins in the distance, which ended up coming right over to our boat.



Near Rum, we saw a shipwreck, that I believe was from a French ship that went on autopilot just a bit too near the island.



There wasn't much on Rum to see from a distance, so we left for our original departure point.  We had a snack and then left for the Cuillin mountains, where we were dropped off for an hour and fifteen minutes.  We saw seals closer than we had before.



The mountains were absolutely beautiful, and we spent our time in the area, hiking to get as close to them as we could.



On the way back, we were served some very bad hot chocolate, and got to see the seals from the other angle.



We left the dock at around 5:00.  The fairy pools were our next destination, that was actually just on the western side of the mountains that we were dropped off at.  In order to get there, we had to drive an hour and 12 minutes from the dock.  While we had to stop for sheep in the road many a time, we had to stop for our first cow.



The fairy pools are known as being a popular place to visit, so I was shocked that at a little past 6:00, there main car park was overflowing onto the street.  Luckily, most people were headed back, and only a handful of people were actually there by the time we hiked twenty minutes to the first pool.  Miles really, really loved climbing amongst the rocky areas surrounding the pools.



We spent a decent amount of time there and really enjoyed it.  By the end, the midges were completely overwhelming.  For our last stop of the day, we journeyed to the Dun Beag Broch, about twenty five minutes away.  We benefited from the near nonstop sunlight of Scotland, and it was plenty sunny when we arrived around 8:30.

Brochs are ancient housing, built mostly by the wealthy.  This broch was built over 2000 years ago, and I was surprised at how much of it was in tact.  Sheep were all over the broch, its current inhabitants.   



We stopped at a coop for snacks, dropped Stephanie off at the bed and breakfast, to rest, and went to a pub that was two minutes away.  The menu didn't have much on it for us, and I'm not sure that they were serving food anymore, as it was past 10 at this point.  We decided to turn in for the night and just eat some snacks.

Scotland 2.6: 3 days worth. Iona, Tobermory, and the trip to Skye and then off

The first day, we went to Iona.  We walked the path north, past the nunnery, past the abbey, and towards the sandy beaches. 



We did a quick walk up the highest hill/mountain on Iona, before we finally reached the sandy beaches, which were next to some rocky beaches.  We climbed on rocks and walked along the shore for a bit.  We found some snails.



We went back to the bed and breakfast and took it easy the rest of the night.  For dinner, we ate at the bed and breakfast.  One of the owners used to own his own restaurant, and so a few nights out of the week, they offer to cook dinner.  We had some absolutely incredible food and enjoyed very interesting conversation.  The german fellow, also staying there, told us about his political science background and his thesis on the conflict in Ireland in the 70s, and how he was in Belfast at the time.

We took our time the next morning, and then left to take the scenic route towards the north of the island, where we stayed in Tobermory, the biggest town on the island.  We spotted a small eagle, or what we thought was an eagle(since eagle spottings are supposed to be fairly common on Mull).



We arrived in Tobermory, ate lunch, and then walked around town, browsing the shops.



We went to bed early, and left the next morning on the 9:30 ferry to Kilchoan.  We drove about an hour, to reach the ruins of Tioram Castle.  We had to cross a small area that is supposed to be covered with water at times.  Luckily for us, it was dry.  There were warnings about how the castle is not being maintained and is in danger of collapsing, so we couldn't explore the ruins, but I really wanted to!



From Tioram, we drove another hour, to reach the port of Mallaig, where we took another ferry, to Armadale, Skye.  We drove to another castle ruins nearby, of Dunscaith Castle.  The bridge had a big hole in it, so I avoided crossing it, but it was still a pretty area, and we had it all to ourselves.



Next, we went to a big castle, that I knew was heavily touristed.  The four or five tourist buses int he parking lot confirmed it.  We really would have been better off just taking pictures from a distance and moving on, because the insides were nothing special, and they didn't even let you up to the top of the tower!



We tried to visit the remains of Caisteal Maol, but the path was blocked and there were warnings of an unstable structure.



We stopped at a local coop, and headed to our next bed and breakfast.  Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found out that I had made a mistake with the booking, my first mistake of the last two years.  Instead of being in Broadford, Skye, like I had planned, we were twenty minutes east(and the opposite direction of sights I had planned to see), back where Eileann Donan Castle was, just off the island of Skye.  We will have to drive twenty minutes further to our boat tour tomorrow, and the plans for the subsequent day would be more inconvenient.  I might have us check out things closer to this area on that day instead, and then explore the other areas when we move to the north of skye, the day after.

Scotland 2.5: Lots of birds and a funky cave

I am really enjoying breakfast times at the bed and breakfasts here in Scotland.  Today was no exception.  There were two Scottish women at the table along with a German fellow and his Sudanese wife.  

After breakfast, we boarded our boat tour, which would bring us to the Treshnish Isles and Staffa Island.  Our first stop was Treshnish, about a fifty minute boat ride away.  We hiked around the island toward a big rock, pointed out by the captain of the boat.  There was an absolutely ludicrous amount of birds sitting upon it.  The birds were a combination of guillemot and puffins.  It was quite noisy.

After absorbing this scene for a while, we continued onward, finding smaller patches of birds, along the edge of the cliff.



We continued toward the back of the island and then slowly went up the mountain.  About two thirds of the way up, we split, with them continuing down the other side to go back to the bird colony, and myself continuing onward to the top.  Aside from the nice breeze, there wasn't much to see there.  I made my way back down to them and we relaxed by the birds until it was time to head back.

As we were walking back, I stopped to take pictures.  An older lady approached me from behind and asked me if I had seen the nest we had just passed.  I had completely missed it, as I'm usually quite focused on my footwork when anywhere near a side of a cliff.  She showed me the nest, just a few steps away from where I had been.  The bird had beautiful eyes.



We departed, with our next destination being Staffa Island, known for its unusual look and Fingal's Cave, which goes through the island.  On our way, the boat slowed down and pointed out some seals in the distance.



I booked this tour in January.  In late March, I received an email from them explaining that the cave had undergone erosion in the winter, and it was undergoing repairs, but they did not know if it would be opened again in time for our arrival.  We were allowed to go up to the cave entrance, however there was then a sign that said not to enter beyond this point.  A few people did anyway, though most did not. 



On our way home, the boat stopped to see a group of porpoises jumping around.  Then, we returned home.



At the gift shop/postoffice/tourist/tackle shop, I got myself an interesting ice pop that was pineapple and lemon, swirled around strawberry.  It was very interesting.  I tried vegetable curry for dinner.  Overall, the trip's winner for newest food goes to the millionaire shortbread.