Three words that perfectly summarize today: rain, clouds, and fog. The day wasn’t a complete washout though, as I was able to see a remote beach and drive up the “Golden Road” on the east coast of Harris. I’ll stick with the “highlights” format again, though these are pretty much the only things I did today anyway. (Plus a reverse repeat of the drive along Harris’s west coast – not nearly as nice in the rain – and another treacle scone at the Temple Cafe.)
Good news… I love Scotland again! I mean, I never really stopped loving it, but you know what I mean. Seriously, it’s incredible here! If I could just skip over the last couple of days and go right from Skye to the Isle of Harris, it would be perfect. I’m going to skip the play-by-play of the day today and just go for the highlights. So pretty much we’ll start at 11:30AM when I got off the ferry in Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris. (Before that, I went to the beach, ate breakfast, went to another beach, and took an hour long ferry ride.) Harris is much more rugged and mountainous than the Uists. I think that’s what I like about it the most. So here are the highlights:
Wind. That is the thing I will remember most about today. Not just a gentle breeze, but a blow-you-over wind. The other thing I will remember is that I didn’t fall in love with the Uists like I did with Skye. Not that they aren’t pretty islands. They are. Just not AS breathtakingly beautiful as Skye. Perhaps if the weather had been better the last couple of days I would feel differently. At least it didn’t rain ALL day today.
Off to the Outer Hebrides (in the rain)! The morning started out bright and sunny and I was up with the birds. (Fact: no matter how late I stay up at night, my body is programmed to wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM…) I decided to get ready and take a walk around Portree before breakfast. I stuck with the cold breakfast buffet because none of the hot options appealed to me. Haddock, salmon, kipper, haggis (Google it!)… not very appealing for breakfast!
Off the beaten path. That’s where I spent the day today, visiting the Waternish and Duirinish Peninsulas. The landscapes weren’t nearly as dramatic, and the rain was much more frequent and steady this morning, but I managed to make the best of it.
Happy 4th of July! I only did two things today, and one of them was kind of a bust, so I’ll focus on what took up the majority of the day: a boat trip from Elgol to Loch Coruisk.
It was rainy and misty this morning, so I debated whether it was even worth trying to take a boat trip. But I reasoned that tomorrow’s forecast wasn’t much better, so if I was going to do it, I might as well go today. Besides, the drive from Broadford to Elgol is supposed to be one of the best on Skye. Both companies strongly suggest reservations, but I couldn’t be bothered with locking in a specific time.
I think I could spend the rest of the summer here and not get bored, tired, or homesick! I slept a full night last night, so I was up and ready to go early this morning. While I waited for breakfast to start at 7:30, I wandered around the terrace overlooking Portree Harbour. There is a family of rabbits who call the terrace home and kept hopping back and forth. And while I was eating breakfast, a rainbow appeared over the harbour… a good sign for the day!
Seriously… Scotland is amazing! Around every bend in the road is something else I want to stop to take pictures of. Today I drove along the shores of Caribbean blue Loch Torridon and the Inner Sound, drove across the third highest road in Scotland, and visited one of the most photographed castles in the world.
I finally made it to Scotland! My first impression is that I’m going to fall in love with Scotland as easily as I fell in love with Ireland. It’s that spectacular. But let’s rewind to last night. I went to bed at 7 (early even for me) and woke up wide awake at 11. After an hour of tossing and turning and watching some British television (which has a surprisingly large number of American shows; I watched Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives), I finally fell back to sleep until 6AM when my cell phone alarm went off. I never wake up to an alarm, but I’m thankful I set it last night!
First things first. I am not in Scotland (yet). I’m in London. After what has to have been my worst travel experience to date, I am spending the night at a mediocre airport hotel close to Heathrow. Oh, you want to hear the story? Don’t mind if I do…
Traveling with Laura 