Islay
Trip Start
Jun 13, 2009
1
4
6
Trip End
Jun 28, 2009
Islay,
Scotland,
United Kingdom
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Next day, we were back on the west coast at Oban, and from there drove to the ferry at Tarbert and crossed over to Islay (pronounced Isle – luh), home of Laphroaig Distillery, among others. Laphroaig is Bill’s favorite Scotch, or at least the first real single malt he ever tried, so he has a soft spot for it. I think it tastes like liquid peatmoss. He also belongs to the Friends of Laphroaig, and so is entitled to a free dram of Scotch annually, the only catch being you must collect in person. So, Islay was a main destination for us in planning this trip. It’s a small island, absolutely stunning, even in the rain and fog. It’s the only place we stayed for 2 nights, in a b&b in a 200 year old country manor house full of elegant antiques on a hill overlooking the farms and fields below. Wow. What a life. The weather turned and our 2nd day there was sunny and warm. We drove all over the island
Oban
. 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 mounted on top. It’s not posted yet, but look for us standing by the side of the road. Also there I finally got to see some of the shaggy island cattle that show up on postcards. Kildalton Cross is one of the few remaining intact Celtic crosses. It dates from the 8th century. The Laphroaig tour was fun, led by a local girl now at uni in Glasgow, with a small tattoo on her wrist and lots of black bracelets. Bill got to sign his name in the ledger that records all the Friends’ memberships, and plant a little American flag in the field where his “plot” is located. Each Friend owns a square inch or square foot or some such novel marketing ploy. We toasted my mom on her birthday (June 22nd) at the Port Charlotte Hotel restaurant, which was the best meal I had on the whole trip. It was thanks to her good investments, and hence my inheritance, that we were able to make the trip in the first place. 
