Incredible Skye

That's Chris waving from the stone bridge over the River Sligachan with the Cuillin mountain range behind him.  Pretty magnificent, eh?  It may be my favorite photo of the trip.

A monument nearby pays tribute to J. Norman Collie and John MacKenzie, two intrepid British mountaineers who first scaled the treacherous peaks of the Cuillins in the late 19th century and mapped their routes for others to follow more safely.

After touring Dunvegan castle and gardens, we stopped in Portree, Skye's biggest town (population: 2,300 people), for a bite.

Passengers from a cruise ship filled local restaurants.  We settled for takeaway fish & chips, but a bartender told us that people who had booked holidays in hotels and guest houses were furious about their limited dining options.

I finally got to meet a sea otter.

 

Dunvegan Castle & Gardens

The same family has occupied Dunvegan Castle continually for more than eight centuries.  I wish I'd gotten the date of this painting.

Today's castle looks pretty much the same as it did during the last major exterior renovation in 1850, although the current owner is using a combination of public and private funds to shore it up.

A stuffed cow's head greets visitors.  Above the mount, it says "Hold Fast," not a maxim I would associate with domesticated animals but much of the huge estate does support farming.

Eight centuries gave the MacLeod clan time to collect a lot of pretty things.

I recognized the medina in Fes immediately.  In fact, two Scottish lasses who accompanied us on our Moroccan trip were the primary reason I wanted to visit their homeland.  "If you think the landscape here is amazing, wait until you see Scotland's Highlands!" they advised.  

Dame Flora MacLeod, born at 10 Downing Street in London and the only woman ever to serve as chief of a Scottish clan, began hosting ancestral reunions at Dunvegan Castle in 1956.  Queen Elizabeth II attended this first "parliament of MacLeods" which continues annually to this day.

It looks as if Queen Victoria may once have graced the castle with her presence, too.  Or maybe this bust was insurance in case she ever arrived unexpectedly.

Talk about rooms with a view!

Incredible book binding

. . . and peacock upholstery, too.

It looks as if this tartan plaid matches the one worn by Chief Dame Flora above.

Check out the silver sporran displayed nearby.  

Every dungeon needs shackles and a weight.

We had just enough time to visit the gardens but their memory soon paled in comparison to those we found at Inverewe, our destination the next day.

 

Seal Boat Tour

Can you find the seal in this photo of Dunvegan Castle?  You know somebody feeds it regularly on the rock so that tourists can get their money shots!

 

Thom took this as we headed out with four other passengers on a small "clinker" boat with an outboard motor.

Harvey, our guide, knew right where to go.  These common gray seals were ready for their close-ups.  Other bigger seals that occasionally swim in from the ocean during storms are their only predators.

No sea otters, dolphins or puffins, all indigenous to the area,  graced our tour.  No matter.  You couldn't beat the scenery.

Despite the mostly sunny skies, rain misted us while Harvey raged against aquaculture.  

He also insisted that kayakers disturb the seals more than the boat tours, insisting the delightful creatures are particularly sensitive to the slap of paddles and underwater vibrations they cause.  I found that hard to believe.

We passed basalt islands that looked like stumpier version of Kilt Rock.

Three Old Men of Storr

Thom will be happy to know that headline doesn't include him.  How could an old man leap like this?  Although truth be told, it took the sight of a really old woman striding along to get him to this far.

 

The Old Man of Storr is a hiking destination on Skye almost as popular as the Fairy Pools. Look to the right of the mountain in the distance and you'll see it.

It's a slow steady climb of almost four kilometers on the Trotternish peninsula.

The Old Man of Storr overlooks the Sound of Raasay.

We ignored the sign like everyone else.

We held a pre-summit summit.

Both Thom and Chris had removed at least two layers on the way up.

Going down is always trickier for this old man because of my knees.  My new Italian hiking boots--which may very well be the most expensive shoes I've ever purchased--helped a lot. And they sport turquoise laces.

We still had a full day of touring ahead.  Kilt Rock was the next stop.

The rock got its name because the face of the basalt cliffs look like a tartan plaid if you look at them head on.