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Had a swell time today! The sun shone, though it was cloudy by the end of the day, and it stayed dry. Was very windy though.
I started by driving 1.5 miles all the way to Fionnphort, where I boarded a little boat for the trip to Staffa Island to see Fingal's Cave - the Scottish end of the Giants Causeway, Fingal being the name of the Irish giant.
During the 50 minute trip, we saw both Common Seals and their larger cousins, Grey Seals. Also plenty of bird life. There was a bit of a swell, but nothing too much. However, as we got close to the island, we could see that the seas around the landing area were very rough, so Skipper Dave decided it was too risky to land. Disappointing, but as the first time he went to Staffa was when his father took him in 1954, I am more than happy to bow to his experience! However, he did take us all the way around the island, and the sea got choppier as he did so. On the way back it was rougher with lots of spray. I could've gone under cover, but where's the fun in that? Evidently, the rough swells had come from the Caribbean and were the remnants of a hurricane - so I can blame a hurricane! In total, the trip lasted 2.5 hours.
I, along with most of the passengers, were dropped off on the island of Iona, opposite Fionnphort. The island has a long association with Christianity, when St Columba established an Abbey there in 567. Despite numerous raids by Vikings, the abbey thrived until the dissolution in the 16th century. It fell into ruins but in 1900 work was started to restore the church, which took 10 years. Since then, the islanders have restored a lot of the other Abbey buildings.
Iona is a beautiful island, and I only had time to explore the northern half. I climbed its largest peak, Dun I (pronounced done-ee) which gave stunning 360 degree views. Then I walked along some of the northern beaches, which consist of beautiful white sand and massive rocks and rockpools. They are known as Monks Beaches because the Vikings killed a lot of them there!
There is a regular ferry between Fionnphort and Iona which runs every 30 mins and takes 10 mins, so after nearly 5 hours on Iona, I caught it back to Mull, where I then enjoyed a meal in The Keel Row, the only pub in town. I tucked into a sirlion steak, fantastic proper thick chips which were crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, and a pleasant salad. This was followed by treacle sponge and custard.
I then took the 1.5 mile drive back. So that's a total of 3 miles driven, but I've no idea how many sailed or walked!
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