16-17 Jun 2010 Skye

Skye - where the sky and Skye meet...

We made our own breakfast today. First we drove to Duntulm Castle ruins, and took some pictures there.


Then we went to Quiraing. The Prison - formidable landscape in Quiraing really bowled us away. So green and so nice. I hiked to the higher ground, when it started drizzling. There is one particular point that is hard to cross - i must thank the french couple for helping me. Not only did they lend me a hand in the journey up, they actally bordered to wait for me on the way down.
Quiraing in a German clothing poster.

Quiraing as captured in the camera.



Notice the road winding up to Quiraing from Staffin.

The french couple that helped me hiked past this depression. Slippery due to flowing stream.

Nick-named The Prison. You can see the trail that will lead you up all the way to the top of the cliff. Then you can take the photo that was inside the clothing poster =)

Passed by the Old Man of Storr. 2 hours of woodlands walk in drizzle wasnt that good a idea so we didnt go. We went to Kilk Rock instead, the waterfall plunging down many meters into the sea. There are some dino footprints left. Pretty historic.


We then drove to Potree for lunch. (Potree = Port Ri, as you can guess a port.)


We went to Dunvegan Castle - the highlight of today. Not the castle - the seal boat trip! There are boats that fetch us out and see the seal colonies. Since we are already the last boat for the day, the boat man let us have more time photographing the seals. The boat man is so knowledgeable! He can point to us and say - this is a baby seal that was borned on Monday etc etc etc. Truly memorable experience!

From now on, whenever we are happy, we do seal clap!

The boat man told us this baby seal was borned three days ago on a Monday. The mum is milking the baby.



We heeded Mike's advice and wanted to try the Stein's Inn.



Full house even at as early as 6pm! The best thing I could do was book a table for tomorrow. There was a red Merz convertible outside the inn, looked like Mike's car. Could it be Mike?? I tried my luck and left a piece of paper on the wind screen, scribble something like I will be back tomorrow and something.

We happened to passby a very large supermarket Co op (it is large by any standard, not just Skye) so we end up buying microwavable food and DIY in the hostel kitchen. We baked pies and microwaved pizzas. Burp haha.

It is time to do laundry. This is the sole reason why we come to the hostel - yes, to do laundry. And i dunno why, the hostel used to be ok yesterday, today suddenly so many people. And so many people were doing their laundry at the same time! We ended up queing for the longest time to use the dryer. The Maytag washing machines are the same as the one I used in Presby, just that it uses metal tokens instead of the plastics one. Washing powder provided. There was this angmo group of women, who refuse to stay in the laundry room to use the dryer but asked other backpackers to do it for them! And the dryer refuse to accept the 20 pence when it is my turn!!! I was really at my wits end, cos the clothes just need another round of 20 pence to dry completely and the machines failed on me at this time - what joke!! The next morning, Bryan came to the room to my rescue, and the moment he touched the machine, the dryer started churning. He does have midas touch doesnt he?

We moved off to Coral Beach this morning. Grey sky again. But the beach is really something. Especially when seen from a hill next to the beach. And there were cows next the beach haha. We have to avoid the...dungs.




We drove to the next destination - the Neist Point. It was not an easy drive. Well then again, there was never any easy drive in Skye. Roads are narrow, have to beware of flock of sheeps.



And now to top it all - misty.



We were like driving in the blind. Finally reached the car park - so little cars around - must be due to the mist - hardly can see anything. My heart sank. But there is another german couple willing to trudge on so we encouraged each other. Once i got onto the headland where the light house is, the mist started cleared up.

Mist linger for awhile when I just reached the headland.
Mist started to blow inland. Headland started to clear.
Mist cleared as soon as I am ready with the camera.



I am able to see the outer Herbrides and also a yatch that sailed in the sea!

Yatch on his return trip.
Outer Herbrides.

God is kind after all. I hiked to the hill and see the light house from high ground, so majestic! As the mist is blown inland, the mist started to encapsulate the hills inland and it all looked so fluffy.



I started to appreciate the beauty of Skye. The German couple decided to show me the best point to see the headland and I was grateful to their kindness. We exchanged contact. When i got back to the car park, it was filled to the brim. Apparently people heard that the mist cleared and decided to come to Neist point, just when we were ready to go back.

We went to Stein's Inn for dinner. it is not yet 6pm so I have a chat with Laurie, the bartender. When i asked him about Scottish beers, he let me try a few beers and I chose the one I like. He was friendly. After the beer got to me, I tried the Scot Whisky as well. I was gleaming from ear to ear when I chat with Laurie. He is studying in Uni of Edinburgh and now he is having his summer vacation, so he came to Stein's Inn.



I went back to the dining room, and the room is quickly filled. The waitresses were friendly. They knew we couldnt take usual (to us is huge) portion, so they suggested some appetisers as main course to us. I took the haddock. It sure tasted delicious.



What a wonderful evening with good food, beer and whisky. I wondered how we got back to the B&B but we somehow did.

The B&B tonight is Old Byre. Jane rushed to the door the moment we drove in and gave us the warmest hi that blow the grey sky away. She told us we could have the whole annex to ourselves! Wow. And she was afraid that we will feel cold, actually turned on the heater for us! This is the first B&B that actually turned on the heater after so long. Warm and nice, the next thing we knew was washed up and get ready to sleep. She even allowed us to use the living room for reading or watching tv. Great hospitality by the Scots!