Another day, and another country…..Scotland with a population over 5 million and the capital of Edinburgh. From what we have read, Scotland is a luxurious and sophisticated place, despite the weather with buckets of rain and wind-whipped clouds overhead. The best time to visit is from May to September with August being the time for Edinburgh’s festivals.
What do they eat here? Try haggis, a mixture of meat and by-products you may not want to know stuffed into a casing. If done correctly, we found the flavor to be close to liverwurst, sausage made with liver. Also popular are “neeps and tatties”, better known as turnips and potatoes.
Favorite drink? Try malt whisky or Scotch whiskey. Thanks, we may just do that. Beer is popular as well, but don’t expect it to be cold, as sometimes it is served on the warm side. And they think we are nuts adding ice to the whiskey too, as in “on the rocks”, as it dilutes the rich smoky flavors.
Trademarks are haggis, malt whiskey, smoked salmon, caber-tossing, kilts, bagpipes, novelists Stevenson and Burns, and the mystery surrounding the Loch Ness monster.
Random fact: Words that mean “drunk” in Scotland are bevvied, blootered, hammered, fleein, steaming, plastered, and just plain pished.
Our one and only stop in Scotland was Portree, on the Isle of Skye, the largest and northernmost of the country’s Inner Hebrides. About 2500 people live here year round, but that population increases 10 fold during the summer months when tourists flock here for some r&r, hiking, and fishing. In the 1700 and 1800’s, Portree was the departure point for Highlanders escaping poverty and famine on ships bound for North America. Eventually, Portree became a ferry port for the city of Glasgow. And where else can you find a land of fairies, shops called Ragamuffin, or local performing arts events with jazz, bagpiping, and Mongolian throat singers? Well, that’s the Isle Of Skye.
Today we see a totally tourist town that has retained their charm with a picturesque waterfront, brightly painted historical houses with gorgeous views. The area is full of summer cottages, bed and breakfast spots, and numerous hotels for the Scots who come here to hike and fish. Many of these establishments including restaurants, shops, and cafes are within walking distance of the harbor.
There were some tours offered here today, with only one that stayed close to town. Actually this tour was a 3 person symbol hike through the steep and rugged coastline for 2¼ hours. Really should have been a 4 to 5 person symbol, as we would discover later on. The other five excursions went out of town to castles, the highlands, and whiskey distilleries.
But first, everyone on the ship was required to present themselves for a face-to-passport inspection by the British Immigrations Officials. Yesterday, we had been given letters with the information on this procedure. Our number was the letter “S”, which meant we could go to the Explorer’s Lounge first, or at any time we chose to attend. This began around 8am, 45 minutes later than scheduled. And did the passengers adhere to their assigned number oriented on their letter? Absolutely not. Even though we had been requested to bring our letter to show the first-called group, no one asked to see it. Therefore, a line of ineligible passengers was backed up halfway down deck five. We had just sat down in the dining room for breakfast, not intending to be first in line, but when our number was called, we dashed upstairs, and went right through, ahead of the anxious crowd. One official glanced at our opened passports, waved us through, then the passports were collected as we left the lounge. We were handed a receipt with today’s date on it, and had to pack it with us all day.
Our coffee was still hot when we got back to the table. Keeping our meal light, we noticed that there were far fewer people dining in here, an indication that many folks were on tours today. We stuck around until 9:30am before we headed to the tender boat. The weather was a mixed bag today with temps in the mid 40’s, with crispy winds, passing showers, some hail, and even some sunshine. Bundling up with our arctic jackets, warm gloves, and scarves, we never took them off all day. The boat ride over to the small dock took about 15 minutes in choppy seas. However, with these newer tender boats, getting on and off is much easier. If all goes according to schedule, we will have one more tender port before we head Trans-Atlantic.
Walking to town from the dock requires going up either a steep street or a long flight of steeper stairs. Shops and cafes lined this narrow street, so we chose that route. The best place to start was finding the information center, and getting current maps and recommendations of seeing the highlights and possible hikes. This tourist info center also sold some souvenirs as well as having an array of brochures and maps. A very sweet gal gave us directions to hike to two different areas for the best views. So that’s what we did….hike. We should have plenty of time to explore the small town when we got back, and by then, everything would be opened.
The hike took us through part of the town, and to the area called the “lump”. Beginning at a gate, we walked uphill into a park-like setting until we reached a knoll with a wonderful view of the Sound of Raasay far below. There was even an ancient tower where sailors of old knew where to get medical supplies. Having picked up some more flyers and magazines, we read that we needed to be aware of the Highland midge, little annoying critters that must bite in the morning and late evening. Never did see any, but the problem may exist during the warmer season. Signs of spring up here were the almost ready-to-bloom rhododendrons. Several colors and grown huge, it sure will be striking when they all open up fully.
On the way back to town, we ducked into a very old structure resembling a church. Now it is used as a community center, a 500-seater hall used for concerts and dances. Today there ws a local craft fair. Typical items included knitwear, island jewelry, candles, books, and art. Then we followed the map to locate the start of the Torvaig and Ben Chracaig hike. This turned out to be the rigorous tour the ship offered. Taking us on the scenic shoreline above the ocean below, we passed by hotels, inns, cafes, and restaurants that were not opened yet. Locals were beginning their work day as we passed by them. One gardener was tending a most beautiful property on the seaside, which looked like a private home, but must have been a bed and breakfast. The landscaping was stunning with azaleas, rhododendrons, yellow scotch broom, daffodils, and crepe myrtle trees. All of these native plants love the cooler weather, and even though we plant them in northern California, they sure don’t do as well as these do here.
At one point, we entered through a gate that led to a narrow trail that followed the very rugged coastline. Glorious views as promised presented themselves, as did one curious seal that popped up to check us out. We kept an eye out for any possible sighting of white-tailed eagles that nest on the opposite island of Raasay, but never saw one. Passing some interesting monuments and hillside wells, the trail began to get steep and rocky. Following the trail would have led to Torvaig Farm, but due to the lack of time, we turned around at the point we spied the Amsterdam at anchor outside this point. It sure was a whole lot windier where she sat, and we did find out later, that the fierce winds had dragged the anchor at least three times during the day.
Heading back, we took a little trail marked for the Cuillin Hills Hotel. Recalling that our port guide had this establishment on their map, we trusted the description that it was fine hotel dining with lovely water views. The was right on. We found a most beautiful property that sat on the hillside with a really nice restaurant inside. The only thing was that it looked closed, so we assumed only dinner was served there. Always good too check, because we found they were opened for lunch, and we would have the honor of being the only guests at least for a short time.
Seated at a prime window table, we ordered two Eilean Ales (draft), a grilled steak and carmelized onion sandwich with chips, and a side of potato wedges to share. Ending the meal with one Blaven sticky pudding with ice cream, left us happy campers. Sitting in the sun with the best view in town, sheltered from the cold winds was priceless. Little by little, some locals began filling the restaurant.
Back at the main square, we walked every street, looking in all the shops, and ending up at the main square. A young bagpiper was entertaining the folks, adding to the Scottish feel of this countryside town. Popping in and out of shops, the only one we wanted to check was the little bakery. Must have been a lot of folks hungry today, because they were about sold out for the day.
Heading back down the steep street to the tender landing, we boarded the boat for the extremely cold and rough ride back to the mother ship, getting us back by 4pm. Ian gave a scenic sail away talk at 6pm, but the ship did not leave until well after 8pm. There were two reasons for this delay. A necessary compass adjustment had to be done by a local expert. Then there was a huge problem loading one of the last tender boats. We heard from the Captain that due to the sudden increasing winds, the ropes of the tender boat got tangled, needing several sailors to make it right. Guess we were very lucky to have made it over and back today as things seem to turn on a dime here.
We were already having dinner when the ship finally pulled out of the harbor and heading towards the next port of Belfast, Ireland tomorrow. By now, the rain was coming down hard, and the seas were even rougher. We rolled quite a bit during the night as well.
But it was quite a pleasant day in this part of the world, as we prefer the hamlets over the big cities any day.
Bill & Mary Ann
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Report #105 Portree, Isle Of Skye, Scotland May 3, 2019 Friday Partly cloudy & 46 degrees
