Mull Island....

July 10, 2014
Loch Buie, Mull Island, Scotland

Slap! Ouch! Slap! Ouch! When it's not the midgies biting us, these large biting flies have found us! And they hurt!!! Midgies are tolerable, I'm finding. And only come out morning and evening. The biters are all day long whenever we stop. No protection on the bike.

This island has what they call single track roads...one car wide. And pull offs frequently on either side of the road. So it takes patience to drive and bike here. And planning. And give and take. I rather like it. We're respected and drivers are pulling off for US!!! What a change!!

Went to our first castle today. Duart Castle built by the MacLean clan in the 13th century. But more amazing was the restoration done about 100 years ago. The place was a crumbling rock shell and was fully restored to a residence for that time period.



Then later we opted to take an 8 mile road to a dead end at Loch Buie because a local we met last night said it was his favorite spot. It's beautiful with the steepest mountains surrounding us. But my favorite is this little store in an old tiny post office that runs on the honor system! They have drinks and cheeses and fruits and ice creams and frozen meats and jams and post cards and...and...and...and no one is there. There's a locked box to put your money in and a basket to make change from! The way it should be, hey?



So that's where we're camped tonight. With a family in a camper van from Switzerland. They roasted sausages from the shop over a camp fire. Fun to watch.

We are wandering and really taking our time now. It's a treat! We have plenty of food. Water runs off the mountains. And no place we have to be for a change. Idyllic!

July 11th
Zero day. Too beautiful here and everything we need: fresh mountain water and food at the "honesty shop", along with some hikes to do. We hiked to see a stone circle, but I don't know what one is. Perhaps from Celtic times. And we followed a dirt track for quite a ways along the shore. Sun. Must. Clouds. Sun again. Must be in Scotland!

And a nap! Great day! And Mull Island sausages and snap peas for dinner, bought at the little store and cooked over our Pocket Rocket. With mashed potatoes...yum! But those midgies are out tonight because there's no breeze to be felt, so early into our tents. Tomorrow we have to cycle back over the mountain that April pushed Wildfire over to get here. Never nice knowing what's coming:(




July 12, 2014
Heading to Fionnephort, Mull Island, Scotland

Rain! Rain! Rain! Heavy rain. Light rain. Mist. Constant mist. And even when it wasn't raining today we were wet from the rain and couldn't get dry. And it's been raining for the last four hours almost steadily. Had a challenging time finding any place to camp. There are no little roads off the main, single track road. No places running down to the shore. Just wall to wall ferns! When we did find a place that someone had mowed back, there would be a no camping sign, that it was a picnic area for a local inn. The last time we saw that, I decided "Tough!" These are desperate measures. So we rolled the bikes down onto the rocky shoreline and managed to get a tarp tied up between the rocks and the trikes. Shelter while we waited for a break to try and out up our tents. After we got our tents up while it was only misting, April says, "How high do you think the tide will come tonight?" Yikes! Well let's ponder this and watch from underneath our tarp. The grasses appear to be different at different levels. And there's seaweed on the rocks up only so high. I think it will be close, but I believe it won't reach our bikes or our tents...and it didn't.



So here I sit, damp clothes and socks and jackets all around me...my pants hanging suspended from loops in hopes of drying tonight...right! But a supper of Incredible Curried Chickpeas by Jamie Oliver, although I heated, was delightful. And munching crackers, cheese, cookies and chocolate because there's not much to do in a tent for hours on end:). Thank goodness I have a thick book with me! Ah, Scotland...if it's not the midgies, it's the rain...I'll take the midgies, please.

July 14th
Iona Island, Scotland

Yesterday we had the distinct pleasure of being photographed for the Scotland Field magazine with Tom..., a freshly knighted professor of history from the University of Edinburgh. We were stopped by the photographer as we cycled by an old mechanics garage with old gas pumps outside and asked if we wanted to be in the photograph. Why not? So he lined us up by the pumps with the knave behind us leaning on an odd tire jack, I think. Then he kissed our hands:). The photographer asked if he could also photo us on the road for a later issue about traveling Mull Island and got a picture of us coming down the road together. We had to do a do over because traffic got tied up behind us! Pics to follow if I get them!

This Iona Island is so quaint and we had a lovely day of touring yesterday. There's a ancient nunnery and abbey here. And just lovely rocky hills.







In an old cemetery I found my grandmother's name although the Katharyn isn't spelled the same.



Since wild camping is frowned upon here in the island, we decided to use the campsite...besides, it had hot showers and it had been over a week since we had one! Sweet spot we mowed grass to camp on and even a picnic table.
Rained during the night, but stopped this morning so we decided to break camp since we could tolerate the winds...besides our tents were dry. By the time we got packed and pedaled out to the road, the rain started. By the time we cycled the 1/2 kilometer to the ferry we were drenched. Now what to do. Go across to Mull in the rains and see what comes or go back to hot showers. We should never gave left, but sitting all day in a tent is pretty boring.

So here we are in a cafe with wifi, writing and posting blogs, charging our devices, and catching up on the news back home. Is the World Cup over?
It's not all fun and games touring the world. Sometimes you make a bad decision and have to figure out how to cope with it.

Livin' the life!

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