The Stromness Hotel

... who had just completed their Land's End to John O'Groats bike ride and were having a few beers to celebrate. While eating dinner someone put on The Last of the Mohicans on the TV so I stayed in the lounge area with a Strongbow and watched the film before bed.

Started off at the castle this morning and went to see the leaping salmon at Shin Fall. There were not many salmon around but after hanging around for nearly two hours I managed to get a couple of
pictures of them leaping, boy are they quick! I popped into the coffee shop for a look around the gift shop selling Harrods goods???

Back into the car and off to John O'Groats via Wick. I drove up following the A9 and ...

... a friendly B&B. I think I'm going to need this as some days I won't be smiling much!

It's early evening by the time I arrive in J O'G and there is a beautiful pink sunset. Camera in hand, I get a couple of shots of the harbour, the Last House and the view over to Stroma and the Orkneys. Having exhausted the delights of J O'G in about five minutes, I turn in for an early night as my departure looms...

... and the North Sea? Because, oh best beloveds, it is very beautiful. This stark beauty calms and enriches the heart and the eye. The sky and the sea compliment each other and what land there is is a velvet belt of browns, greens and golds that separate them. Kirkwall is a very old town, having started as an early beachhead of the Vikings. Everybody in town works at least 3 jobs. The schools are terrific with lots of music and they blame it all on Sir Peter Maxwell Davies ...

Rousay is a small island just a few miles north of Mainland, Orkney. It has been called the "Egypt of the North" because of the large number of prehistoric sites found on the island. Only about 200 people call the Island their home, but it is a popular tourist site because of its archaeological importance. We visited just a few of the hundreds of sites on the island where even today most of the sites have yet to be excavated and researched by archaeologists.

We didn't travel to the Orkney Islands to see a farm, but to see the prehistoric ruins near the Skail Home Farm—Skara Brae. The Orkney Islands are like an amusement park of Neolithic sites and this is just one of hundreds found across the islands.

Skara Brae is the most complete Neolithic village in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

... at all times, as well as organizing tender’s to shore, taxis or dinner reservations for guests and greeting guests and showing them their staterooms. They are also responsible for keeping a vigilant watch for unauthorized visitors, or any hazards or alarms on board. They have a long check list of things to examine every few hours, as well as other duties assigned by the Captain. They are always in full uniform, except at night when everyone is asleep and the yacht is secure.

... temperature, and only very, very minimal, very brief rain. The coldest it was was on the ferry riding out to Graemsay on the first day, and it was bearable enough that I didn't even put on my jacket. Orkney in the sun is stunning. The green is greener, the sheep whiter, the water more sparkling. It becomes a magical place. I don't think I could live here (I need an occasional Big Mac!), but to let the troubles of your life and of the world fall away from ...

... is life. The waitress apologized and explained that there was some problem in the kitchen and it might take 10-15 minutes for our dinner to come. 35 minutes later she put a bowl in front of each of us. In the bowl were two of the smallest lamb chops I'd ever seen. If I cut real small, I could get six bites out of each. She apologized for how long it had taken. Fortunately she returned about 10 minutes later with potatoes and a bowl of ...

... get IN the houses. Absolutely amazing. Near the Broch of Gurness we stopped to watch seals cavorting on the beach, which was great fun. We also toured Kirkwall and saw the huge Norman cathedral, St. Magnus, which totally dominates the skyline from the distance. We saw the Nordic saga, but with such tongue in cheek that when it traces the genealogy of the Norsemen, the photos are of people like Nicholas Cage, Bruce Willis ...