CIV 2018: Wednesday and Thursday (Patreon)

The adventure continues...

WEDNESDAY

We had an early start today. We drove across the Quiraing to Uig for a boat trip. It was nice hitting the top of the Quiraing. We got to see where it was suggested to go walking. I think I chose wisely on Sunday. But now I want to go back up there and take more video.

The trip was quick. Google Maps said 23 minutes. That was pretty accurate. We arrived early for our boat trip. Got to look into a couple shops. But there were not many: a pottery shop, hieland coo (highland cow) pottery show, and a Skye Brewing Co.. The last wasn't open. 

Twenty minutes til departure, the Skipper and partner arrived. So too did Danny Faught and his wife Christine. Danny is one of the producers of the Renaissance Festival Podcast. They also perform together with their kids as Green Man Clan at faires.

Danny emailed me a couple weeks ago when he realized that I too was going to Skye. I gave him our itinerary. They joined us on the boat.

The Skye Cruises offered a three-hour tour of the area around Uig. We saw a castle, sailed past a Scottish salmon farm to an island with some beautiful seals. How I wish I had more than my iPhone as a camera. There were some pretty ones. 

Then we sailed on to an island with puffins. It was great seeing those since on the CIV boat trip, the puffins didn't come out. They were beautiful, flying around (didn't realize they did that). I got some videos recorded.

Happily, I brought my autoharp out on the boat. I played music out on the water, kicking it off with "Mingulay Boat Song". Pace joined for a couple tunes. I had a song request too. It was awesome.

The weather turned out PERFECT. It was supposed to rain, according to the forecast. It did for about 10 minutes. The rest of the time, sunny skies. Incredible. We couldn't ask for a better boat trip.

They allowed us to use binoculars. They gave us tea, chips and beer. We had a wonderful calm morning out on the water.

We got back to land and had dinner at the restaurant on the pier. I called Gwen and caught up for a few minutes while she was in rush hour traffic in Houston. Then I ate langoustines for lunch. Now if I can just remember that those are a middle-size between lobsters and crawfish. I never remember.

From Uig, we drove North along a single-lane road. We stopped at an Iron Age Round House in Kilmuir. There was an underground place where food was stored that was still in semi-decent condition. Chris put on some wellies (rain boots) and waddled in. It's about 4 feet high and was filled with water.

Our last stop was the Skye Museum of Island Life. There were a bunch of croft houses. These are thatched cottages from the 18th century that were restored. It also told the story about the crofters and the story of Flora MacDonald who was buried there.

Flora MacDonald was the woman who sailed Bonnie Prince Charlie, dressed as a woman, to the Isle of Skye after the Jacobites were defeated in the Battle of Culloden. 

We finished up the Museum and headed home. I picked up some groceries and made dinner again. All in all, a grand day.

THURSDAY

Thursdays are the big trip day. Most of our vacation, we can reach our "destination" in about 30 minutes. Today, it was a good hour and half to get to Dunvegan. We stopped several times on the way for pictures along a new route.

We left earlier than anticipated. So we arrived in Dunvegan about 11:30. It seemed like a big castle and garden. So I gave us until 4 PM to explore. 

The castle was pretty small. I wasn't super interested in a lot of the stuff in the castle. So it only took me about 40 minutes. I took my time in the garden, filming lots of short videos of flowers and the various gardens. So I think all told, I was done in about two hours.

I went back to the cafe and waited. I wasn't alone. Three others were already there. I overestimated how long it would take. 

It wasn't too bad for me. I ate lunch and chatted, quite relaxed, for a long while. I also called my wife for a wee bit. It felt nice to be off my feet. It was very relaxing.

We spread through the word-of-mouth that we would change the departure time to 3 PM. Everyone made it back quite easily.

We drove back into the town of Dunvegan. I thought we could shop. But I overestimated also how much there was to see. Fortunately, we were only there about thirty minutes.

Now comes the giant oopsie.

I create these Celtic Invasion Vacations with a lot of room for flexibility. As a result, they are never perfect. My biggest imperfection happened at this time.

I planned for us to eat at a restaurant in Dunvegan. However, I did not make the reservation beforehand. And when I got to Skye, I had a LOT of trouble with internet and cell reception. So the reservation was never made. 

We drove to the restaurant to try and make a reservation before heading to Neist Point Lighthouse. It was 4 PM. They couldn't accommodate us until 9 PM.

Alas, the group didn't want to get back to the house at eleven. So we skipped it and decided to wing dinner. I will soon figure out my mistake.

From Dunvegan, we drove to Neist Point Lighthouse. It was a beautiful drive. There were a bunch of craft shops on the way. Sadly, we didn't stop. But we made the Neist Point in about 30-40 minutes.

I walked up the hill to get a great view. There were some magnificent views for cliffs and rocks and the ocean. It was fabulous. I decided to record a couple videos while I was up there.

The recordings went okay. But it was REALLY windy. There's a lot of wind noise on the recordings. I decided to share them anyway when I get home. I may limit some time to Gunn Runners Club-only though. We'll see...

I also walked along the cliffs away from all the people. The open sea was fantastic. I recorded another video out there.

Unfortunately, I ran out of time. So I never made it TO the lighthouse. But I got lots of pics and vids.

We left Neist Point and headed to Portree. The new plan was to get dinner there. But after checking three restaurants, I realized there was no way we would get a spot for 8 people, let alone two tables of four before 9 PM.

Everyone was tired. So I quickly adjusted. We drove to the Co-op. I bought tortellini, broccoli, and lamb. We drove back to the cottage. I quickly made dinner. It was fantastic.

After I cleaned up the dishes, I hiked outside to an empty field and recorded three more videos. Again, it sounds a bit windy. But maybe it'll work.