Tour To the Scottish Isles and a Mystery

A Tour to the Isle of Raasay

When traveling the Western Isles of Scotland (The Hebrides) one learns to expect the unusual.  Weather systems crossing the North Atlantic make first landfall at Ireland and the Scottish Isles.

 

Nature governs the situation and brooks no human interference. People learn to make do.  The white lace curtains in cottages gather and magnify whatever light is available, especially in the dark days of winter.

 

Among the Western Isles is the substantial mass of Skye. Standing tall, the misty blue hills of Skye give a sense of mystery. Several castles, now disused, remind on of the chieftains and bag pipe wielding warriors in kilts.  Present day Highland Games feature the Tug of War, the Caber toss and contests between Pipe Bands typify the continu9ing culture of The Highlands.

 

Skye stands to itself dominating the scene. It is the fourth largest island of Great Britain. Smaller islands are in the neighborhood. One those islands is named Raasay. A ferry runs from Sconser on Skye to take children to and from school as well as vehicles like the Caravan we were using for a short trip. The village of Inverarish has a fine hotel but we drove the coast a bit to camp out. The 161 people compose the population of Raasay and seem quite content to be there.

 

During the evening a knock came on our door. It was a young man wanting to talk with people from the outside world. There were few options for him at that remote place.

Next morning after breakfast I chose to go for a lone walk up behind Inverarish. Not far. Just far enough for a lovely view over the water to Sconser with the background of the hills of Skye.

 

This was all so new for me. What wonders might I find up there among the heather and the gorse.  I turned off the path to get a little higher with a more expansive view.

 

Glancing off the side into a ravine something glittery caught my eye. Curiosity was too much so looked more intently and now it appeared to be shaped like a human form in a silvery uniform of some kind.

 

With talk of aliens it dawned that this might not be a good place where I should be. Little wonder that there were strange tales from the Hebrides and the Highlands of Scotland.

 

Back down to Inverarish and our Caravan. Then across the waters to Sconser and familiar hills of Skye and eventually to Tayport where daughter Margaret and husband Phil live. Then the airplane via Iceland and across the big water to the USA and Minnesota.

Delton Krueger    12-17iH