Let’s start with the weather.

The beginning part of this trip, we experienced cloudy days with some rain, some drizzle, basically what we had anticipated. Most of the rain fell while we were driving, so it was no problem. Then Saturday (yesterday) dawned with a clear, beautiful sky and sunshine. I put on sunscreen. The skies remained clear all day, with light breezes, perfect weather.

Today, the prediction was similar to the start of our trip, but it did not continue that way. Wind and rain combined to make us cold. Glad to have wool underwear!

Unrelated, early this morning we were surprised by a loud thump of a beak on our window – a large, white seagull was begging for handouts; our host has named him Steven Seagull! Later, a smaller black bird graced the same place. Such silly birds!

The sky was gray. Water droplets filled the air. We grabbed our raincoats and started north from Portree to see The Old Man of Storr. But we passed the site because rain was coming down hard. We continued to Kilt Rock. Famous for its dark volcanic rock, which breaks into columns (like at Giant’s Causeway in Ireland), Kilt Rock is a popular place to visit. Unfortunately for us, the fog hid this spectacular scene from our eyes. Happily, the waterfall that drains into the ocean was quite full and beautiful.

The weather was still cold and windy, so we visited the local museum in Staffin.

The guide was knowledgeable, and specimens of dinosaur footprints, ammonites and other fossils were abundant and beautiful. Many other artifacts and such were also on display. Unfortunately, no photographs allowed.

So, we ventured to the Quirang, off a single carriage road. This was a place where the local people hid their livestock from the Viking invaders, because rocks formed somewhat of a high circle around a relatively flat, grassy area.

On the way back to the larger road, many sheep were visible. Only one posed for a picture, however.

We stopped for lunch at the only place that was serving food on a Sunday, the beautiful Flodigarry hotel and restaurant.

After a delightful meal, we decided to again try for the Old Man of Storr. Rain had let up, but wind was beginning. Also, mist or fog was coming. I’m not sure I have ever before experienced fog and strong wind at the same time.

We parked and started up the trail to the viewpoint, over a mile uphill. We took the “moderate” path rather than the “strenuous” one, because the rocks were wet. We didn’t see much along the way.

Before dinner we had a drink at the bar in the Royal Hotel. A football (soccer) game was on TV.

We dined at the Rosedale Hotel on our second evening in Portree. A chandelier made from whisky bottles was above the stairs. After dinner the setting sun shone on the harbor.

These two churches are just above the harbor in Portree.

Because the weather made visibility short range, we noticed things close to us. Like the flowers. A large variety of the wildflowers here are approximately the same shade of pinkish purple. Heather is brown in winter, but the flowers that bloom spring and summer are purple. Foxglove, scattered about this damp countryside is also similar. Rhododendron are everywhere (although the color of the flowers vary, the most likely color for wild rhododendron is this one). Scottish thistle is the same shade. and a rare orchid! I only ask why?

The geology of the Isle of Skye is relatively young. About 60 million years ago, the continent started to rip apart, allowing hot magma to rise, helping to push the left and right sides (later North American Plate and European Plate) apart. So dense igneous rocks, lava flows, sills and larger intrusive magmas distorted the older, Jurassic aged sedimentary layers. You can see evidence of this in the places we visit tomorrow. 

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