West Loch Hotel Tarbert

Some of the older historic sites - apparently prehistoric people put cups (or something) in the same place and caused marks in the rocks. Kind of funny that they always chose their meeting places way up on top of hills. Getting too much exercise today.<br><br>Also got to see another one of the canal locks.<br>

... Victorian times, all tapestries, wall plates and Russian dolls. There is an open fireplace, a piano and bare wooden floor and tables.. There are candles and wild flowers, casks of live beer, and a grand selection of Russian vodkas, wines and imported beers. For us what we found most exceptional was the freshly cooked food in the Russian style made with fresh ingredients, many gathered from the wild. Having been sailing for a while we were in real ...

20th - 24th August - Isle of Islay<br><br>Our first stop on our tour of Scotland was at Islay, best known for it's peaty whiskys and excellent seafood.<br><br>During our time on the Isle we stopped at no less than 8 distilleries (touring 2 of them) including:<br><br> Lagavulin<br>Ardbeg<br>Laphroaig<br>Bow more<br>Bunnahabhainn<br>Caol Ila<br>Bruichladdich<br> Kilchoman ... phew!<br><br>A little tip, if you're thinking of going ...

... new travel partner, as you can see from the pic attached. His name is Harris, and although pretty small and fragile, he seems well up to the challenge. He'll keep me company along the way, through the sunsets, and the paddles, and the white sands and hot sunny days....jealous?:)<br><br>I'll make sure I keep you all up to date with everything thats going on, and obvioulsy a steady stream of photos too<br><br>We'll keep you posted!<br><br>Leonie and Harris<br>xxx <br><br> <br>

... round to Brodick...just the minor problem of the Sannox Pass. It was a fairly long climb, but I didn't hate it. This brings me to wonder if I've become corrupted? I don't hate the climbs any more, but at least I'm not ready to enjoy them until they're over. <br>I do enjoy the way back down though - open road with a clear view and the bike likes to fly :-) I think the weight of the luggage may help slightly. At least it's good for something.<br>

... Finlaggan, ancient gathering place of the lords of the isles where they met for council meetings. Just ruins now, but you can still feel the power of the place, out on a small island in a loch surrounded by the windswept moor. Saligo Beach, wild, crashing waves, grey seas covered by fog, and totally deserted except for the ever-present sheep. The small fishing village of Portnahaven, where we ran into (almost literally) the GoogleEarth car with camera ...

... the simplicity of the liveaboard lifestyle and the friends that we made during our sojourn down to Greece and Turkey. We will always recall the thrill of dropping the pin in a new anchorage and then seeing a boat and crew that we recognise. We have indeed been very lucky. We hope that the photos in this blog give you some notion of why we love being here in Kintyre ...

... a solicitor in Athens - useful when things go wrong and a boat turns into a large heap of firewood in an instant. However, as is usual in this yard, the lift went without a hitch. Humorous interlude:- While waiting to lift us Nico was admiring the wee baby on the Baltic trader and said "Isn't he beautiful?" "Yes" says Bob (typical Brit engineer) "and they're very cheap to make!" End of humorous interlude. We were next. In order to get hoisted one needs to reverse ...

... who had been down working on Aztec and who popped round as we were refuelling. We won't be seeing them again this year as their plans take them south to Brest. Who knows, perhaps next year in the Baltic? That would be nice. A bit more shopping, then blogging, paper read and bed. Tomorrow is windlass day. Fingers crossed!!