Today we embarked on a tour of Mull, Staffa, and Iona off the coast of Scotland. The Cardillos and I walked through the light rain to the harbor at 9 a.m., where we sat to wait with the rest of the travelers.
When it was finally time to board, we handed over our tickets, walked up the ramp, and had a seat on the first floor. I was a little worried about seasickness because I'd never really been on a bigger boat, but it turned out I was just fine. Francesca and I occupied ourselves by listening to "I'm On a Boat" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and singing them out loud so others could join in, and after about ten minutes we all walked out to the deck to watch the waves and get some sea air in our lungs.
Our first ride was from the mainland to Mull, where we took an hour and a half bus ride across to the other side. We were going to try to catch a bus with a particular tour guide who Mr. C described as "the poet" for his beautiful descriptions of the island, but unfortunately we were stuck with a guy who wasn't even Scottish. (!) He was clever enough, but about half our group nodded off anyway, as the scenery was shrouded in mist.
From Mull we boarded a much smaller boat for Staffa, a tiny island with nothing but rocks, grass, a cave, and puffins. In the 80's or 90's, a wealthy American businessman bought the island for his wife -- who turned it down and gave it over to the National Trust for preservation. (All this according to Mr. C.)
The geology of Staffa is really interesting too; the columns of basalt that compose the island are actually hexagonal, like a honeycomb.
The cave shows the rock formations especially well, and it was cool being in there with the waves crashing in and out. Howie and I reflected on how long it took for the cave to be as deep as it is, and whether someday the sea would fight its way all the way through the island -- and who would be around to see it.
After pondering the cave, we walked back around to the stairs leading up to the stop of the island. There, Howie, Haley, Rebekah and I sat on the edge of one of the cliffs to look down on the crags below:
Unfortunately the puffins weren't landing, so we didn't make the walk over to the other side of the island to see them. When we got back on the boat, though, we saw a few of them flying along with their awkwardly short, quick wingbeats. Cute!
We sailed next for Iona, the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland.
Also on Iona are the graves of Macbeth and King Duncan. Their gravesite is unmarked, just a flat patch of earth in front of a rocky mound. Here Howard and Haley read a passage from Shakespeare's play, a really neat idea that made the experience that much more special.
After visiting the kings, Howard, Francesca, Mike, Haley, Rebekah, Sara, and I had scones and tea at the island's tea shop. When we were finished and waiting to pay, a gull decided the cream looked pretty good.
Then we all went down to the shore to wade in the ice-cold water before leaving:
We were all hesitant to leave the beautiful islands, especially since we had such great weather. On the way back to Mull, I got some really great shots from the boat as the sun was setting:
We got back to Oban in time to catch the dinner reservation the Cardillos made for us and Mr. F at Ee-Usk, a seafood restaurant right on the harbor that served local catches. I had salmon and prawn mornay, which was poached salmon with shrimp served with a light cream sauce. The entree came with salad and roasted potatoes, and I had a glass of absolutely divine Pinot Griggio that matched the meal perfectly.
After dinner, Francesca and I went up to McCaig's Tower, a Coliseum-inspired structure looking out over Oban and the harbor.
We returned to our B&B for a night of blogging and rest.
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