The following is an article I wrote after my trip to Scotland this May with a group of really wonderful friends and Gail Speckman our group leader. We spent 11 days traveling a circle route in the northern half of Scotland. What a wonderful experience.
Staffa Day Trip
The day starts early and ends late but
what a day. Four of us shared a taxi down to the wharf where we
waited for the ferry to take us to Mull. Mary and Gail walk the mile
or so to the wharf - such energetic women.
Ferry to Mull
The huge ferry was being
loaded with box trucks taking produce and products to the islands.
The prow of the ferry splits and raises up, opening the ship so the
ramps can lower for the trucks and cars driving into the ferry. I
think about how my husband would like to see the process. While we
crossed to Mull, the clouds begin lifting. Breaks in the fog give
views of small islands with light houses, beacons and ruins.
On Mull we rush to the waiting bus
which will take us to the other side of the island for another ferry
ride. The early morning brings day workers to the island and tourists
eager to start sight seeing before the crowds spoil views.
Typical scenery in Scotland
Another ferry ride, much shorter this
time, takes us to the island of Iona for a short stop. Our ride to
the island Staffa is waiting for us. It is a 40 foot cruiser with
outside seating and an enclosed area for rainy days.
Staffa boat taxi
The sky is
clearing and the ride to Staffa takes about a half hour. Our captain
really knows his boat and the ride is smooth, even with 3 and 4 foot
swells coming in off the Atlantic. We can see Staffa coming into
view. On maps it is a tiny pin prick of an island but as
we get closer it raises up, towering over us. The captain
pulls up to a concrete pier, where we jump down from the boat and
begin exploring the island. We have two hours to see what ever we
wish.
Approaching the Island of Staffa with Fingal's cave
Staffa is a volcanic island and from
far off looks to me like a cupcake. The sides of the island are the
pleated cup cake paper and the top the island is puffed up and over
the paper cup. It
is formed entirely from hexagonally
jointed
columns within a lava flow.
Cooling
on the upper and lower surfaces of the solidified lava resulted in
contraction and fracturing, starting in a blocky tetragonal pattern
and transitioning to a regular hexagonal fracture pattern with
fractures perpendicular to the cooling surfaces. As cooling continued
these cracks gradually extended toward the center of the flow,
forming the long hexagonal columns seen in the wave-eroded
cross-section today. The cave's size and naturally arched roof,
and
the eerie sounds produced by the echoesof
waves, give it the atmosphere of a natural cathedral.
The cave's Gaelic
name,An
Uaimh Bhinn,
means "the melodious cave."
Kathy and I decide to experience the
cave. Just below the cliffs above the high tide mark, an easy path
has been set for tourists, The hexagons are covered with grit to keep
them from becoming slippery in wet conditions and there is a railing
to hold onto to keep us steady.
The hexagon shape of the black rock
is fascinating both the up right shapes that raise above us and the
hex shapes that we follow to the cave. It is a short walk to the end
of the island where Fingal's cave opens up to the Atlantic. The waves
are crashing in and echoing in the huge cave.
The cave raises above
us, hexagon after hexagon forming the tall narrow cave. Kathy and I
walked in to the end of the walkway inside the cave. The crashing and
echoing sounds create an exciting atmosphere. You can feel the energy
surging all around you. There is mist in the air from the crashing
waves and an island of foam on the water --- like my Guinness the
night before.
After the trip to the cave I decide to
explore the top of the island. I know that Gail and Mary went to find
the puffin's roosting place at the other end of the island. As I
climb the steps to the top, I stop to see the wild flowers growing
out of the rock – life taking hold where ever it can.
Sea Thrift
Oddly some
the little wild flowers are the same I have nursed along in my garden
at home. They look happier here in this wet island atmosphere than
they do in my Minnesota garden.
At the top of the island, I find a huge rolling pasture of lush grass dotted with little yellow and white
daises. Paths lead out from the steps in every direction.
Where to turn? Walk right to the puffin roost, ahead to the
middle of the island or left? The view from the top is spectacular
with islands dotting the horizon. I peer over the edge of the green
grass to the hexagons many feet below me. There are no sturdy
railings to keep people safe from their own carelessness. I do the
crazy thing and lean over to photograph the tourists walking the path
I was just on, so far below. I see the hexagons from high above and
can see their interlocking patterns.
“What would the view be like if I
walked up to the top of the cave?” I wander up the slope hoping
that I will end up in the right place. There were no signs pointing
to the over look above Fingal's cave. It is a fairly small island and
the Scottish tend not need signs to tell them where to go. The path I
took led me directly to the top of the cliff above the cave. I
suppose there were many people who had the same idea as I. Peering
over the edge I could see the point of hex shaped rocks that mark the
opening of the cave. To get a better view, I lie down on my stomach
to point my camera downward. I ask myself, “What is a 60-something
grandma pulling a trick like this?”
There is Gail and there is
Mary, taking their photos of the cave below unaware that I am far
above them taking a photo of them taking a photo.
Our time on Staff is limited and we are
back on the boat. The next stop is the Island of Iona a civilized
island with shops, a nunnery in ruins, a rebuilt Abby, standing
crosses, and a Saint.
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Highland Impression
Clouds and fog play hide and seek with
mountains,
Shedding their loads of rain and mist
over bracken,
Unnamed streams fill, crash, twisting
and turning, falling down mountain sides,
Carving gullies, streams, river basins,
filling lochs
Lochs reflecting cloudscapes on their
mirror surfaces
Clouds, fog, mists, sprinkles, streams,
rivers, lochs --- Scotland
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