I slept well and fortunately had no incidents with the spiders overhead. Unfortunately, I was greeted by a freezing cold shower to start off my morning. I warned Beth not to try it, but she was doused with cold water as well. When we went to group breakfast, the girl running the hostel apologized for forgetting to turn the water heater on the night before. Gee, thanks. We headed out for the day, going north again. Our first stop of the day was at the Commandos Memorial, which is for a specially trained group of men in the Scottish army who apparently could survive for weeks in the Highlands with two days worth of food. The memorial was at the foot of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Great Britain, but it's known as the "man with his head in the clouds" for good reason- we didn't get a glimpse of it's summit. Next, we went to the Eilean Donan Castle, where the movie Highlander was apparently filmed, though I've never seen it. It was beautifully placed out into the loch and there was a little boy playing a bagpipe outside.
At another loch not far away, we met with a local fisherman who took us out on his boat. The loch extends to the ocean so is a mix of fresh and salt water and he catches scallops and prawns. He hauled up a fresh bucket of scallops and shucked them right there for us to try raw. It tasted a little sweet and very salty, but deliciously fresh. Unfortunately, it started to pour rain on us and he kept going farther out on the loch! Finally, after we were soaked to the bone and went on a pointless wild goose chase for nonexistent dolphins, he brought us back to shore. We were forced to wait another hour until lunch, after crossing the bridge over to the Isle of Skye. Yay! Our first island! We went to the capital of Portree, a very cute little town. Beth, Tegan, Steve, Dave and myself bee-lined it to the pub where we had delicious food. We had a bit of time afterward to walk around before returning to the bus. After a grocery store visit to buy food for dinner (chicken curry), we saw some of the sights of the island on the way toward the hostel. The Old Man of Storr, an ancient stone pillar along the cliffs, was very dramatic against the cloudy sky. Apparently drinking the water from the nearby stream will make you good in bed...I didn't partake of any unfortunately.
The sky cleared so we were offered a rare view of the nearby islands of Rona and Raasay. The last stop was to see Kilt Rock, a piece of the sea cliffs formed from columns of basalt, giving it the appearance of a pleated kilt. A waterfall cascades over the edge as well- stunning as well! The hostel was located just near the water with a beautiful view. I helped make dinner again and enjoyed a can of Strongbow cider. The stuff goes down like juice, but is definitely stronger! Dangerous and delicious!
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