Day 2: Magic Water, Fairies and Views on the Isle of Skye

Again, I’m reminded why I’m not a big fan of tours this morning – – strict leaving times.  Of course, I know the tours have to stick to a schedule, but I also think they need to evolve to offer more flexibility.

Why can’t customers vote on the leaving time?  Or vote on the music played on the bus?  Or vote to have some silence for a while?  Oh well, I guess I’ll save that for my feedback form.

Around 9am we were off to spend the day on Isle of Skye!

Our first stop on the tour came with a folklore tale that if you put your face in the enchanted stream for 7 seconds, then you will retain your youthful looks forever.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t get into it.

It reminded me of those motivational speakers that try to get you to run up the front of the room to the stage to grab something.  They say that those who take action and participate fully, are the ones who get the rewards.  I disagree.

I think if you embrace your wonderful ageing looks, live in the moment, enjoy the whole wonder of the all the scenery, you will be the happiest.

But it is a bit of crazy fun for tourists.

I found the stone bridge and the stacked stones fascinating and wonderful.

Our second stop for the day, was a visit to the largest town on the island, called Portree.  This is a town to love.  The town centre was delightful, with locals and tourists of all ages scurrying about.

 It was a chance to pick up some snacks and picnic supplies, and to quickly see some of the sights.

Part of me wished we were staying in Portree for the night.  It had a greater variety of cafés and restaurants.

We all wandered around, and Keiren and I headed up to the walking track next to the local hospital, to get a great view of the town and sea.  And what a view it was!

Luckily the sky turned the most spectacular blue and the visibility was fantastic.  This was definitely a big highlight for me – climbing the Tor and enjoying the view of Skye from way up high.

With only 45 minutes in Portree, we had to move quickly, so it was into the Co-op to pick up a salad.  I really liked the salads from the Co-op.  For GBP2.80 they were great value and a healthy treat.

We weren’t too far out of Portree, and we stopped at a waterfall on the side of the road.  Of course there was another fable attached to this waterfall.

Those crazy fairies.

 This waterfall’s myth was that, whoever drank from the waterfall would have 7 years of great sex.

This one definitely had us all laughing.

Next we skirted along the coastline, seeing amazing shades of green and blue! It seemed the weather was truly on our side.

Our next stop was at a lookout on the edge of the cliffs, which had a spectacular view of a waterfall plummeting into the sea.

 There was also a brilliant aspect down the coastline of the cliff faces which looked like a pleated kilt.

And I got chatting to Renata and Miranda, med students from London.

It was a bit cheesy that some young guy was standing there playing the bagpipes, but at the same time, it was a nice reminder of what music would have rung out over the landscape hundreds of years ago.

There was a quiet rest-stop where we pulled in to eat lunch.  It adjoined a small shop and café.

I had to laugh at the visual reminder that we were away from it all with the NO WIFI sign.

After lunch, it was time to walk it off.  We drove to a hiking starting point which was quite high up on the mountain.  We had an hour to get to the top and back again.

I was still sick.  My annoying head cold had lingered on, and I was weaker than usual and easily out of breathe.  I attempted to walk up some of the way, but my lungs just couldn’t take it, so I had to turn back and the other’s continued up.

I wandered a little bit up the other side of the parking area while I was waiting.  It was quite busy with many tourists taking advantage of the good weather.  There was even a bride and groom having their wedding photo taken.

It was…. surreal and I truly felt like I was in the movie Highlander.

I lay down on the grass, mostly to avoid the freezing wind on my face, and it was breathtaking to watch the sky change so much so quickly.

It was like a video that had been put on fast forward.  The world slowed down and sped up at the same time.  It was spiritual and I easily understood the affinity the locals historically have with the land.

After coming down the mountain, we headed to a small port/ ferry town to have a cuppa.

From here it is possible to catch a ferry to the next island.  There were whisky, craft beer and pottery shops too – very touristy.

From the town, we headed into the back hills to visit a special place with a special story.  The place is believed to be the location of the Fairy Castle and the gateway to the Fairy world, called Fairy Glen in Balnaknock.

 Immediately I felt like I was in Lord of the Rings.  The area was the visual representation of Hobbiton.  Lots of little hills, and ponds.  Definitely the place that small people live.

The fairy land was our last stop as we headed back to Kyleakin.  My adrenaline was so high.  Some people on the tour easily fell asleep.  But I couldn’t.  I didn’t want to miss one second of the scenery of the highlands.

We arrived back around 5.30pm so there was time for relaxing and chilling before heading out to dinner.

All our tour sharing one hostel really did add to the “summer camp” feel.  Only have 2 showers made us efficient, considerate and patient campers.  It was kinda fun too.  I think we get overly isolated in our busy city lives.  We are so over stimulated and busy-busy, that we just come home, close the door, and exhale in our solitude.  But somehow, I’m not sure that is good for us.

Also, it’s great to have others around to hustle you onto your feet and out the door for dinner.

We all went back to the same bar/ restaurant.  The service was good, the prices were good, the view was amazing and the food was good so we didn’t see a need to change.  I tried the smoked haddock soup for GBP5.  It was really good and perfect for a stomach that had been bumping around all day.

We had some great conversations as the sun set around 10pm and an amateur pool match was kicked off.

It was another long day, but I wondered before I fell asleep, if all the people in the world know just how amazing some life experiences could be.