Day 3: Scotland - Skye and Environs
I have assumed control of the vertical and the horizontal. I control every aspect of this blog. Well, except the photos. Angie will be adding those once I'm done. Anyway, hello! It's me, Jeff. I'm here to tell you about our Magical Mystery Tour through the fae-wrought and giant-plagued Isle of Skye.
It started off well enough, with a mostly-full Scottish breakfast at our B&B. For those not in the know, a Full Scottish Breakfast consists of: sausage, bacon, black pudding, toast, beans, and eggs. Lots of protein there, I know. Now, as a man who enjoys a large variety of breakfast food, I feel I am very qualified to give you my review.
It was meh. The sausage were basically unflavored stadium brats. The bacon was decidedly okay, not as overdone as last time. Black Pudding is basically mushy goetta, which means I was mostly ambivalent about it. Angie quiet enjoyed it, though. Toast is toast and it's really difficult to screw up, especially when you're toasting your own. I had mine with strawberry preserves. The baked/stewed beans here look exactly the same as they do in the States. Their taste, however, is mostly lacking. It was basically white beans in a slightly runny ketchup. Which is fine, but I like my beans to be about 1/2 brown sugar by volume. Overall, I give it a 5 out of 10. It was serviceable.
Once that was taken care of, we hopped on the bus (which, for those curious, is called Hazel) and headed out into the back country.
Today would be primarily sight-seeing, with some light history thrown in where it was possible. Our first stop was a tiny town called Sligachan (pronounced slih-GAGH-en, not Sleega-chan, as I had hoped), which is famous for being the legendary site of both a war-ending wedding and a magical stream. I will now attempt to recreate the story for your own amusement.
"So, long ago on Skye there were two families. Well, there were a lot of families, but only two that are important to this story. The MacDonalds, who are the baddies, and the MacLeods, who are the less baddies. The MacDonalds and the MacLeods of Skye have been fighting and feuding for generations at this point. One side would kill the other, so the wronged party would kill the other side back. This continued for nigh-on a hundred years. Anyway, one day Old Man MacDonald (who was a tradesman, not a farmer as the children's rhyme would have you believe) wanted to put an end to all the violence. So, he offered his beautiful youngest daughter as a bride to the biggest and strongest of the MacLeod boys. The two patriarchs met and agreed to the terms.
The day of the wedding was fast approaching, so the MacDonald girl was riding towards the wedding site. She'd never met her future husband before, so she was worried whether or not he'd find her attractive. She was so preoccupied by it that she wasn't paying attention when her horse got spooked by a passing ram. It bucked her off and she fell to the ground, mashing her face against a rock. It was dreadful. Her jaw was askew, her cheekbone was broken, and the rest of her face was basically covered in bruises and contusions. She was in a panic.
It was then that she saw one of the Fair Folk walking along the road. The bridge asked the Faerie what to do. The Faerie replied that there was a secret Fae stream nearby that would grant her eternal youth, if she held her face under the water for a count of seven breaths. But only if she was wise enough and brave enough. The bride, not having much other choice, followed the Faerie to the stream. The bruised and battered young woman knelt down and dunked her head under the water. While her face was in the water, the Fae cackled and completed her spell. When the woman raised her head from the stream, the sun turned her now perfect face to stone. She was eternally beautiful."
Now, when the guide told it, the woman was blessed with good looks and was healed of her injuries. She went to her wedding and ended the war. But my kin know better of it. Never trust the Fair Folk, no matter what they offer you. They'll drown you in your sleep. They'll turn your liver into eels. They'll sell you to another of their kind as a gladiator. Don't just go dunking your head in a stream because some passing stranger said it was a good idea.
After Sligachan, it was up to Portree - the capital of Skye. Portree gets its name from the Gàidhlig words Port [meaning... port or ship landing place] and Ree [meaning King]. It's a cove, where there was a King's Landing. Does that sound familiar, George RR Martin? Anyway, there we had lunch (consisting of chips and fried meats) and looked around a bit. Then, back on the road.
Next up was a newly constructed observation platform, overlooking cliffs (this would become a recurring theme today). The winds were enormous, but only the slightest taste of what would await us later. We took some photos and enjoyed the scenery, then back on the bus.
This happened about 7 more times throughout the tour of Skye. It was nice to see the natural wonders. We got to see the Old Man of Storr, a natural rock formation that looks like a giant was buried by a landslide. There's a couple of stories about it, but this post is already dragging on due to my unnecessary sidebars.
We stopped by Kilt Rock, so named because it's a rock face that sorta looks like a kilt. There, we saw a poor Scottish musician performing. He kept being harangued by Chinese tourists, who would run up and take pictures with him while he played the pipes. I'm sure this was a common occurrence, but he just looked so tired. I tipped him three quid to make up for the fact that there was only like 75p in his case.
Skip ahead a bit and we came to the wreckage of the first McDonald's Restaurant. Wait, scratch that. It was a MacDonald castle. It was abandoned during the Highland Clearances (also known as That Time The English Kicked Out All The Scots So They Could Raise Sheep) and fell into disrepair. Now, only short walls remain. I have been in many windy places in my life. I camped through the remains of a hurricane in Lake Erie. I have walked outside in galeforce winds. But the wind at Duntulm? It was something else entirely. I felt bad for the old man in the tiny tea truck, selling cups to folks along the roadside.
We stopped next in the port town of Uig, so our fellow travelers could try some various beers. Angie and I took a bit of a walk around the tiny town (whose only businesses appeared to be a small grocer, a coffee shop, two pubs, two pottery shops, a ferry, and Isle of Skye Brewery), which took all of 10 minutes. Nice place.
Then came a three hour bus stretch, after which we stopped at Eileann Donan Castle. Which, according to our tour guide is the most photographed castle in the world. I don't believe it, since there were literally 1000s of tourists at Himeji Castle when we were there, versus the 30 or so at Eileann Donan. But what do I know, I'm just a guy who can estimate large numbers without too much difficulty.
After the Thirteenth Most Photographed Castle In The World, we were finally able to make a quick stop at Loch Ness and give the poor monster the tree-fiddy he was asking for.
Finally we returned to Inverness. There was an all you can eat Chinese buffet that we were told to check out, so we did. It was pretty okay. A continual theme of this trip is me being mildly nonplussed by the mostly bland food.
And now we're here. Back in the B&B. I'm gonna hop in the shower and Angie is going to finish this entry up.
This is Angie! Real quick I just want to say that I'M enjoying the food here, I like simple and bland. Also, I'm having a great time! Hope you enjoyed the switcharoo with Jeff writing the blog and me just adding appropriate pictures I have taken.
Good night y'all!
It started off well enough, with a mostly-full Scottish breakfast at our B&B. For those not in the know, a Full Scottish Breakfast consists of: sausage, bacon, black pudding, toast, beans, and eggs. Lots of protein there, I know. Now, as a man who enjoys a large variety of breakfast food, I feel I am very qualified to give you my review.
It was meh. The sausage were basically unflavored stadium brats. The bacon was decidedly okay, not as overdone as last time. Black Pudding is basically mushy goetta, which means I was mostly ambivalent about it. Angie quiet enjoyed it, though. Toast is toast and it's really difficult to screw up, especially when you're toasting your own. I had mine with strawberry preserves. The baked/stewed beans here look exactly the same as they do in the States. Their taste, however, is mostly lacking. It was basically white beans in a slightly runny ketchup. Which is fine, but I like my beans to be about 1/2 brown sugar by volume. Overall, I give it a 5 out of 10. It was serviceable.
Once that was taken care of, we hopped on the bus (which, for those curious, is called Hazel) and headed out into the back country.
Here's Hazel, our bus!
Oh, and Sean, our EXCELLENT tour guide!
Magical stream, check!
"So, long ago on Skye there were two families. Well, there were a lot of families, but only two that are important to this story. The MacDonalds, who are the baddies, and the MacLeods, who are the less baddies. The MacDonalds and the MacLeods of Skye have been fighting and feuding for generations at this point. One side would kill the other, so the wronged party would kill the other side back. This continued for nigh-on a hundred years. Anyway, one day Old Man MacDonald (who was a tradesman, not a farmer as the children's rhyme would have you believe) wanted to put an end to all the violence. So, he offered his beautiful youngest daughter as a bride to the biggest and strongest of the MacLeod boys. The two patriarchs met and agreed to the terms.
Beautiful daughter and strong young man, check.
The day of the wedding was fast approaching, so the MacDonald girl was riding towards the wedding site. She'd never met her future husband before, so she was worried whether or not he'd find her attractive. She was so preoccupied by it that she wasn't paying attention when her horse got spooked by a passing ram. It bucked her off and she fell to the ground, mashing her face against a rock. It was dreadful. Her jaw was askew, her cheekbone was broken, and the rest of her face was basically covered in bruises and contusions. She was in a panic.
It was then that she saw one of the Fair Folk walking along the road. The bridge asked the Faerie what to do. The Faerie replied that there was a secret Fae stream nearby that would grant her eternal youth, if she held her face under the water for a count of seven breaths. But only if she was wise enough and brave enough. The bride, not having much other choice, followed the Faerie to the stream. The bruised and battered young woman knelt down and dunked her head under the water. While her face was in the water, the Fae cackled and completed her spell. When the woman raised her head from the stream, the sun turned her now perfect face to stone. She was eternally beautiful."
Tourist willing to dunk their face in an ice cold stream for eternal beauty, check!
Now, when the guide told it, the woman was blessed with good looks and was healed of her injuries. She went to her wedding and ended the war. But my kin know better of it. Never trust the Fair Folk, no matter what they offer you. They'll drown you in your sleep. They'll turn your liver into eels. They'll sell you to another of their kind as a gladiator. Don't just go dunking your head in a stream because some passing stranger said it was a good idea.
You always hear about "heather" and "in the heather" when reading about Scotland. Here's what it looks like! Oh, and the aforementioned bridge.
After Sligachan, it was up to Portree - the capital of Skye. Portree gets its name from the Gàidhlig words Port [meaning... port or ship landing place] and Ree [meaning King]. It's a cove, where there was a King's Landing. Does that sound familiar, George RR Martin? Anyway, there we had lunch (consisting of chips and fried meats) and looked around a bit. Then, back on the road.
Next up was a newly constructed observation platform, overlooking cliffs (this would become a recurring theme today). The winds were enormous, but only the slightest taste of what would await us later. We took some photos and enjoyed the scenery, then back on the bus.
This happened about 7 more times throughout the tour of Skye. It was nice to see the natural wonders. We got to see the Old Man of Storr, a natural rock formation that looks like a giant was buried by a landslide. There's a couple of stories about it, but this post is already dragging on due to my unnecessary sidebars.
We stopped by Kilt Rock, so named because it's a rock face that sorta looks like a kilt. There, we saw a poor Scottish musician performing. He kept being harangued by Chinese tourists, who would run up and take pictures with him while he played the pipes. I'm sure this was a common occurrence, but he just looked so tired. I tipped him three quid to make up for the fact that there was only like 75p in his case.
Skip ahead a bit and we came to the wreckage of the first McDonald's Restaurant. Wait, scratch that. It was a MacDonald castle. It was abandoned during the Highland Clearances (also known as That Time The English Kicked Out All The Scots So They Could Raise Sheep) and fell into disrepair. Now, only short walls remain. I have been in many windy places in my life. I camped through the remains of a hurricane in Lake Erie. I have walked outside in galeforce winds. But the wind at Duntulm? It was something else entirely. I felt bad for the old man in the tiny tea truck, selling cups to folks along the roadside.
We stopped next in the port town of Uig, so our fellow travelers could try some various beers. Angie and I took a bit of a walk around the tiny town (whose only businesses appeared to be a small grocer, a coffee shop, two pubs, two pottery shops, a ferry, and Isle of Skye Brewery), which took all of 10 minutes. Nice place.
Then came a three hour bus stretch, after which we stopped at Eileann Donan Castle. Which, according to our tour guide is the most photographed castle in the world. I don't believe it, since there were literally 1000s of tourists at Himeji Castle when we were there, versus the 30 or so at Eileann Donan. But what do I know, I'm just a guy who can estimate large numbers without too much difficulty.
After the Thirteenth Most Photographed Castle In The World, we were finally able to make a quick stop at Loch Ness and give the poor monster the tree-fiddy he was asking for.
If you do not understand this reference, please click here.
Finally we returned to Inverness. There was an all you can eat Chinese buffet that we were told to check out, so we did. It was pretty okay. A continual theme of this trip is me being mildly nonplussed by the mostly bland food.
And now we're here. Back in the B&B. I'm gonna hop in the shower and Angie is going to finish this entry up.
This is Angie! Real quick I just want to say that I'M enjoying the food here, I like simple and bland. Also, I'm having a great time! Hope you enjoyed the switcharoo with Jeff writing the blog and me just adding appropriate pictures I have taken.
Good night y'all!
I want to travel with you guys!
ReplyDeleteI will keep that in mind for next time we want to have a group vacation!
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