I woke up on July 30th to rain pounding against the window but by the time I'd washed my face and read my Scriptures, the rain had stopped and there was a rainbow across the harbor. That's one of the ferries docked--I think it's actuallly the one I would take to Eigg.
The sky was still grey but Mrs. Watt told me at breakfast that she was sure it would clear. Scottish breakfast--mmm. Started off with porridge of course. I actually ate porridge almost every day that I was in Scotland, it's so good and filling. Then I had black pudding (tastes good but don't as
k what's in it), mushrooms, tomatoes, an egg and toast. I filled up because I had a long way to hike and I only had a roll, fruit and chocolate for the hike. Oh and water of course. Lots of water in my platypus.
The taxi came promptly at 9 o'clock and Mary, the driver, said she had another couple of women to pick up. They were Dutch and doing the same hike as I was but they walked off quite purposefully once we were deposited and so I hiked the trail by myself. Which was okay as it meant I could speed up or slow down, sit and look out at the loch, think my thoughts, etc.
Make Tracks had given me one-page laminated maps for each hike. One side was a map of the trail and the other was text describing the 'markers' to look for to know where I was. For this hike it was important to keep to the time marked for the hike because the ferry boat (captained by Mrs. Watt's husband) would arrive at North Tarbet Bay, pick up whoever was waiting and leave. So I'd have to be there.
As it turned out I needn't have been concerned because I arrived at the Bay way ahead of schedule. The hike hadn't been difficult at all. It was relatively flat all of the way and hugged the shores along the loch. There were a few parts where I had to scramble over rock but, compared to some of the hikes I've been on in Santa Fe, very easy. And very beautiful too, as the photos will show.
k what's in it), mushrooms, tomatoes, an egg and toast. I filled up because I had a long way to hike and I only had a roll, fruit and chocolate for the hike. Oh and water of course. Lots of water in my platypus.
The taxi came promptly at 9 o'clock and Mary, the driver, said she had another couple of women to pick up. They were Dutch and doing the same hike as I was but they walked off quite purposefully once we were deposited and so I hiked the trail by myself. Which was okay as it meant I could speed up or slow down, sit and look out at the loch, think my thoughts, etc.
Make Tracks had given me one-page laminated maps for each hike. One side was a map of the trail and the other was text describing the 'markers' to look for to know where I was. For this hike it was important to keep to the time marked for the hike because the ferry boat (captained by Mrs. Watt's husband) would arrive at North Tarbet Bay, pick up whoever was waiting and leave. So I'd have to be there.
As it turned out I needn't have been concerned because I arrived at the Bay way ahead of schedule. The hike hadn't been difficult at all. It was relatively flat all of the way and hugged the shores along the loch. There were a few parts where I had to scramble over rock but, compared to some of the hikes I've been on in Santa Fe, very easy. And very beautiful too, as the photos will show.
Early morning sunshine--almost looks like moonshine, doesn't it?
What surprised me was that I only saw one boat on the Loch the whole time I was hiking.
The path followed the loch which had so many small inlets and several tiny islands.
Sheep of the day. Daddy looked at me quite balefully while Junior snuggled with Mum.
The ruins of Inverbeg Chapel. It was built around 1780 and the people in Morar worshipped here until a new chapel was built around 1836.
This was the only difficult part of the hike--picking my way across rocks. But as hikes, go it was very easy, very flat and very scenic.
Although I'd been alone on the hike, there were several people already at the Bay when I arrived. Some had been camping nearby, and the Dutch women were there too. And a half hour later, people who had started after we did on the trail arrived. So all told there were about 18 of us by the time the boat came in. One man had deer antlers that he said he'd got from someone who said that they'd come off a deer that had got caught in a bog and died. I was about to experience these bogs the next day.....
The ferry couldn't come all the way into shore so it sent the small motorized dinghy for us.
The antlers come aboard.
The ferryboat ride reminded me somewhat of the boat rides we used to take in Vancouver over to the Island and along the coast. Magnificent mountains in the distance.
And almost deserted; no cottages like you would see in Georgian Bay or some of the other lakes in the US and eastern Canada.
I confess I wouldn't have actually "seen" the seals if someone hadn't pointed them out on the distant rocks and if I hadn't had a telephoto lens. I also saw some dolphins but I wasn't able to focus fast enough.
The ferry ride back to Mallaig took a little over an hour. After we arrived I went over to the Tea Garden because I was starving and just caught the tail end of luncheon service. Hadock and chips of course :) Then I stopped into the local gift shop and chatted away to the proprietor, Ian, who had been so pleasant the day before. After that I went back to the B&B and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and getting ready for the hike the next day.
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