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  • Day 322

    Scottish highlands - day 3

    November 18, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Today we spent the whole day on the Isle of Skye, our weather conditions were predicted to be cyclonic! Whoop. And it didn't lie, as we headed out from the hostel the wind and rain lashed our little bus - lovely.

    The aim of today is to see as much of the island as possible. I think Rich said that the sea was only 60 miles maximum from any point on the island. So we headed towards on area of mountains called Glen Sligachan, the red mountain and the black mountain, also known as Cuillin.

    Rich tells us is a folklore story about a Scottish giant (the black mountain) who was the scariest giant around until people started talking about this Irish giant that people were really afraid of. So he headed over to Ireland to fight this giant.

    When he got there he learnt that she (the red mountain giant) was a woman, but that didn't stop them from commencing battle and fighting for 3 days. On day 3 the Irish giant's daughter wanted them to stop, so after seeking advice from sonnet, made them a tasty dish that thad wonderful smells and made the giants realise that they had been fighting for days with no food. So they took a break.

    It was at this point at they realize that they really liked each other and decided to become lovers and marry. But the end of the story, just as the bus pulled up near a bridge, I couldn't remember what the point of the story was haha. Anyway, it had stopped raining temporarily so we all jumped out to take some quick snaps of the red and black mountains as we could see the rain cloud coming towards it.

    We then travelled to the west coast to Dunvegan where we looked at on old castle and went down to Loch Dunvegan to try and spot some seals. The seals were too far way on a small island for us to really see, but we had a most beautiful landscape around us and we took lots of pictures here. It was just stunning!

    From here we drove down the road a little bit and decided to take a walk out to a beach called 'Coral Beach'. It was a take us an hour to get out there, view and get back and the rain was beginning again. But our adventurous spirit won out and off we all headed with laughter and excitement.

    As the rain lashed at us, coming in on diagonal force we marched on through the countryside, crossing small streams that had started to form and not slip on the muddy trail that were now becoming.

    Over the horizon we saw it this beautiful coral beach. The 'sand' looked as white as anything we could've had at home and the water on the coast line was a beautiful color. Our photos of ourselves on the beach suggest something entirely different.

    We then went further and headed up a small hill, trying not to be blown over it and stood on the top to watch all the world around us. It was just magical. We hid down on side of the hill for a reprieve before commending our journey back to the other side! By the time we reached the bus, the rain and wind had all but died down leaving us soaking wet, but feeling like epic adventurers.

    After changing into our spare clothes we drove down the road and went into a little husband and wife bakery for pies, sausage rolls and cake. It was so cheap!! P1.80 for a sausage roll with sauce and a giant slice of cake - amazing!

    We then drove down into the town of Portree, where we later hoped to have the best fish and chips around, apparently, before heading up to see the Old Man of Starr rock, down to the Kilt rock waterfall and finishing on top at Quirang.

    These sites were all beautiful, I cannot get over the stunning landscape. Apparently they filmed a few movies here as well, but use a bit of CGI to enhance the magic.

    After stopping for multiple photo opportunities we piled back into the bus and headed down to Pontree only to find out that our fish and chip shop didn't open for another 30 mins. Not content to wait we headed back to ...... picked up wine and chocolate on the way before stopping in at a fish and chip shop near our hostel.

    It was pouring down rain and we had to protect the hot goods with our coats before climbing on board the bus. Back at the hostel we settled in for an evening around the fire, fish and chips, wine, whiskey and whiskey liquoior tasting. This has been one of the best days so fast and an absolutely wonderful evening.

    Things we missed:
    we were going to see the famous fairy pools today, but Rich said that we'd have to climb over proper rivers to get there, we'd get soaked and the fairy pools would be a brown color because of all of the rain they've had to far. Something for next time I guess.

    Where I stayed
    Skye Backpackers Hostel - Village Green, Kyleakin, United Kingdom

    Fantastic place! We stayed here for 2 nights as part of the MacBackpackers 5 day highland fling tour. We were in a separate house from the main hostel, apparently only the MacBackpackers tours stay here. It was an old victorian house right on the water and only ourselves and the other staff stayed in it. The highlight was the lounge room with a fire in the middle. We spent most nights in there enjoying the warmth, a few drinks and some stories. There is a full equipped kitchen, breakfast is included, there's a dining room and a few showers and bathrooms. It feels like someones home.
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