Shamrock Report 4

Yesterday, in Portree, Scotland on the Isle of Skye, we went on an excursion to Dunwegan Castle, seat of the Clan MacLeod (pronounced like mac-cloud) since the 13th century. The Castle was one of the most renowned of the Hebridean strongholds and the only one to have been continuously owned and occupied by the she family for eight centuries.

Because of this, the Castle was not only in good shape, but also completely furnished with priceless heirlooms. (Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the Castle.) One of these heirlooms was the Fairy Flag, which now consisted of small pieces of the original flag, framed and hanging on a wall. The Flag was associated with a number of mysterious stories and was said to have special powers when carried in battle.

After spending time in the interior of the Castle and watching a video about some of its associated history, we strolled through the beautiful gardens, which included a waterfall known as Rorie Mor's Cascade. (I don't know the story of the name behind the Cascade.)

From the Castle, we drove through the Scottish landscape to view the Cullin Mountains. Along the way, we saw hundreds and hundreds of sheep; far more sheep than people inhabit the Isle of Skye. Unfortunately, our guide, Michelle, who was very attractive with beautiful long reddish hair, was not very good. As someone in our group commented, she talked to us like we were in kindergarten. It also seemed that the bus driver, who I think was from Eastern Europe, knew more about the Island than she did.

After returning to Portree, we tendered back to the ship, where I raced to the Spa for massage (they were on sale yesterday afternoon). (Our tour ran late, so by the time Gail reached the cabin, all she saw was a path of clothes.)

We had a very enjoyable dinner with a couple in our group who we've met before but never really conversed with at length. The Dover sole I had was outstanding. After dinner, the four of us went to our first show on the cruise--a "UK singing sensation--Karl Morgan. He was a young guy from Wales, who sang some old standards as well as more recent songs (Mack the Knife, Mister Bojangles, an Adele song with which I was not familiar). He was actually a very personable and good entertainer, though I thought his voice which much more suited to popular rock-type music than the oldies.

Today, we will be in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland. The weather is supposed to be fairly nice, but very chilly with a high in the 50s.

Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland


Entrance to Dunvegan Castle


One of the guides


Rear of Castle


Rorie Mor's Cascade


Almost black pansies in the gardens


Thistle in the gardens


Ken Simpson showing off


The Cullin Mountains