Isle of Skye, Portree, Scotland
Good morning from Scotland. Land of tartans, vikings, castles, highlands, sheep and Hairy Coos. Another wonderful wake up this morning as we stepped outside to see what view the morning holds and to check the temperature. It’s like opening a Christmas present when we open the curtains in the morning to see what the world holds for us outside on our balcony. We awoke to views of green rolling hills and the highlands all around the ship. This morning we are anchored off the coast of Portree so today was a tender port. Megan and I got bundled up and grabbed a quick breakfast from the Neptune Lounge. That has become our habit lately. I think it’s because we have been eating such large meals at dinner time, that that has become our only meal. We met our excursion group at the main stage at 9:30am. We arrived a little earlier then we had to so we got bumped up to the 9:30 departure instead of the 10:00 departure. We took the bus on a scenic drive through the highlands of the Isle of Skye and over the bridge to the mainland of Scotland. The Island is also called the Winged Isle and it is 50 miles long. But from any point on the island you are never more than 5 miles from the sea. We saw lots of sheep and their newly born spring lambs. We drove to visit the Eileen Dolan castle. It was constructed in the 1300’s and was under the control of several different clans through the centuries. The longest clan to occupy the castle was the Mackenzie clan. In 1719 it was occupied by Spanish soldiers. They brought several barrels of gunpowder into the castle for storage. English soldiers attacked the Spanish in the castle and they surrendered quickly. Since the English didn’t want to move the gunpowder and the didn’t want the castle to again fall into enemy hands again, they ignited the gunpowder and blew up the castle destroying most of it. It remained abandoned until 1911 when it was purchased and restoration began. It took 20 years to restore it, but it was restored to be used as a summer home and was renovated to include plumbing and electricity. It is still owed by a family trust of the family who purchased it in 1911. The oldest family member who is in charge currently is 94 years old. They no longer stay in the castle, but have a more modern home on the property that they live in. We were only permitted to take photos on the outside of the castle so sadly I can’t share all we saw, but there is more to see on their website. On the way back to the ship we made a stop at a field so we could visit and pet the highland cows that live there. One of our favorite animals ever, affectionately called Hairy Coo’s here in Scotland. Once we were back into town, Megan and I walked around and visited a few shops. We purchase some warm scarves, Megan’s is called a blanket scarf and she will be using it for a while while we are still in the cooler weather. Not sure how much she will get to use it when we get home. LOL!! We took the tender back to the ship in time to get ready for our 5:00pm seating for dinner. I am exhausted after last night. I am going to bed super shortly. Megan is off to play cards and we will be up and going early again tomorrow at our second and final stop in Scotland of Oban. Such a wonderful day. I love the scenery here. All the rolling green hills, which I understand is how California currently looks as well. The people are so very nice and polite here as well. I had previously loved my visit to Scotland as well and look forward to coming back here on a land tour some day. There is much whiskey to be tasted and so little time.
Live Vicariously Through Debra 