Dunnottar - Epitome of a Castle

My idea of a castle is a stone structure high up on a cliff overlooking the sea.  It would have one way in and that entry would be heavily guarded.  Impenetrable, formidable, majestic.  That castle is Dunnottar Castle in Scotland.  Built on a rocky headland and surrounded on three sides by the North Sea.  The steep cliffs drop an impressive 160 feet!  Scotland has many, many castles but none as impressive as Dunnottar Castle.

The castle looks as though it was just born out of the rock. This narrow stairway is the only way into the castle (you can see it at the bottom center of the photo, winding around the rock).  The castle is in partial ruin with the remaining structures dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.  

But the castle actually dates to medieval times.  Vikings laid siege to this castle!  In 1297, William Wallace (Braveheart) captured the castle from the English during the Scottish Wars of Independence.  He was only 18 years old at the time!!  Story has it that he came up through what is essentially the sewer grate.  Having spent considerable time at the castle as a child he was very familiar with its layout.  A nice advantage!

And then in 1651, Oliver Cromwell laid siege to the castle for eight months.  Devil was trying to steal the Crown Jewels of Scotland.  But the clever Scots had lowered the Crown Jewels down the steep cliff and into a fishing boat.  The fishing boat was being manned by the wife of the minister in a nearby town.  She took the Crown Jewels and hid them under the Altar of the Church.  They remained there for many years.  Now of course they are on display at the Edinburgh Castle.  

Lions Den

Down in this cave like area is where they kept the lion!!  We asked about the lion den and the workers at the castle assured us that indeed they did at one point in history keep a lion there.  

Michael on the top floor of the castle

You can see what a viewpoint you have from the windows.  You would be able to see ships coming from miles away.  And they were sailing ships, so not very speedy.  Plenty of time to prepare for a siege.  

Royal Emblems

Clock!

 

 

Castle Cistern

 The castle became the home of the Earl of Marischal whose job was to protect the King when he was in parliament.  And now the castle is privately owned along with all the land around the castle. 

Its easy to wander around the castle and get lost in imagining what life must have been like.  To wander up to the top floors and imagine looking out to sea and seeing Viking ships on the North Sea.  Our trip to Dunnottar Castle was one of the best sites of our entire trip.  If you were to see only one castle in Scotland this in my view is the one to see!  But we saw many more... more on that in the next post.

Isle of Skye

Just before the Skye Bridge

Scotland in September was very rainy.  It actually rained nearly everyday, some days it rained the entire day.  Sadly, the sky was gray and overcast - not good for pictures.  Nonetheless, we were on a quest to see as much the highlands as possible.  The Isle of Skye is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides and is connected to the mainland via the Skye Bridge.  To see the other islands you must take a ferry (or private boat).  We had actually booked a boat trip to visit a few of the other islands but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate.  The boat tour company ended up cancelling all boat trips for our scheduled day.  It also was too muddy and slippery to do much hiking -darn the luck.

One of many waterfalls

On the drive to Skye we were amazed at the number of waterfalls.  Some small, some majestic.  Everywhere it seems water was flowing down the mountains.  The largest town on the Island is Portree, a port town.  The tides there are 15 feet or more!  So... most boats are on a mooring ball in the harbor.  Boats tied to the pier or the land, on the other hand, just ride up and down with the tide. 

Low tide

The town itself is quaint yet touristy.  Portree is where most visitors find accommodation when visiting the highlands.  It makes sense to stay there but without a car your sightseeing is limited.  Even though driving was a nightmare we were glad we had the car.  Did I mention the "single track roads"?  Many of the roads are only large enough for one car (single track) so if you meet another car coming the other direction someone has to get over.  They have little spots at intervals where that is possible.  But it is only possible at those spots - everywhere else there are just large ruts off the side of the road.  Very rugged.  Needless to say the tow trucks do a lively business.  As well as the folks that sell tires!  You would think that folks would slow down knowing that there could be a car coming toward them right around the bend.  They don't... scary:(

Portree

 Our plan was to drive the Trotternish Loop - a loop road around the north end of the Island.  But again due to weather, all the hiking we had planned was out.  Too wet and treacherous.  At best we were able to drive by and catch the sights from the road.  

Portree

 In my mind that just means we will have to return and visit all the places we missed!

Old Man of Storr

We did drive at least part of the Trotternish Loop.  The Old Man of Storr is a Scottish icon.  Legend has it that it is the gravesite of a giant that lived on the Trotternish Ridge - the pinnacle rock is his thumb. Nice legend but the truth is the land formation is the result of a landslip.  Again, gray, rainy day leads to bad pictures.

Another Waterfall

One day on the drive to Skye from Strathcarron we picked up a lady that was hitchhiking.  Turns out she was Dutch and 65 years old.  Just out traveling by herself.  It was the weekend so she was unable to use public transportation.  We had a cup of coffee with her and then drove her to Skye.  I love the way Europeans just live their lives - they don't seem to suffer from all the angst and chronic anxiety that we Americans do.  Its so nice.  

Kilt Rock

Another Scottish icon is Kilt rock - named for the resemblance to the pleats on a Kilt.  Once upon a time this was dinosaur land.  I found that surprising given the climate and latitude.  But Scotland was not always where it is now - it drifted north from way down south.  Crazy how land masses moved around eons ago.  

Trotternish Loop

Another interesting fact is that Scotland, and particularly Skye, is the scenery of choice for many movies.  Who knew?  As a matter of fact they were filming yet another version of "Fast and Furious" while we were in Edinburgh.  We loved visiting but I don't know that I could live there.  So rugged and just maybe I am not that tough.  But beautiful beyond belief.  Really, you just have to get out and see the beauty of this planet we all live on.  Its stunning.  Hopefully, future generations will be better caretakers than our generation has been!  Scotland also is home to many, many castles.  From the highlands we are headed to Aberdeen.  That will be our "base" for touring castles.  So next up - Castles!

Scottish Highlands

Scottish Coast

After 90 days in Europe all non-Europeans must leave.  We knew we had to go into Schengen visa exile but decided since we were on this side of the pond we may as well go visit Scotland.  Our plan was to rent a car and do a two week road trip through the country starting in the highlands and eventually backtracking to Edinburgh.  We arrived in Edinburgh and picked up our rental car the next morning. Sadly, our timing in Edinburgh was not going to coincide with the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Fringe Festival.  Next time. 

Rental cottage in Strathcarron

 Quickly, we figured out a road trip may not be as simple as it seemed for us crazy Americans.  Not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road - but the drivers seat is also on the wrong side of the car!!  That does not seem like a big deal ... trust me, it is.  We have driven on the wrong side of the road before and you get used to it - but the car being backwards from what we are accustomed to - well that completely threw us off!!!  So before setting off into busy city traffic we thought it would be prudent to do some practice driving in the hotel parking lot... just to get used to the car.  Issues like shifting with the left hand, rather than the right.  We thought we were being wise and cautious and for that we were rewarded with a parking ticket by the hotel.  Apparently, they do not allow practice driving in a rather empty parking lot of the hotel Moxie...who knew?           

Heather

 We had rented a cottage in Strathcarron (in the highlands) which was about a five hour drive from Edinburgh.  For that long drive we were treated to picture perfect scenery.  Remote was the word that kept coming to mind - very, very remote.  And wild.  The heather was in bloom - a carpet of purple covering the mountains.  We were just in awe... taking in the stunning beauty of the highlands.

Highlands

The family that owned and rented their cottages own thousands of acres of land.  A throwback to the clan history of Scotland, I presume.  They have gardens on their property so magnificent that the royal family have visited.  We just couldn't get over how beautiful it was, there was a waterfall right outside our bedroom window!  And sheep... lots of sheep.

Home of the folks renting us the cabin

Can you imagine having this view every day?  Sure it rains alot but without the rain you would not have the lush, verdant landscape.  Always a trade off!

Baa, baa black sheep

 Every evening as they were putting the sheep up for the night I would watch this one black sheep among the white sheep.  One in every crowd - or so the story goes!  He usually did not get too close to the cottage but I did manage to get his picture, finally!
Strathcarron was our planned staging ground for visiting the Inner Hebrides.  We had an agenda that involved driving to the Isle of Skye nearly everyday.  Next up - the Isle of Skye.

 

Grafitti

Sao Miquel, Azores, Portugal

Before I move on to Scotland and London, I wanted to share some images of some great grafitti.  I found as we walked around various towns in different countries that I was drawn to the grafitti.  So... I told Michael that I thought I would do a post with nothing but European grafitti.  Here it is...

Sao Miquel

 I love this image because the ocean looks like the living thing that it is.  You can see all sorts of fish within the waves (and even a frog), as well as boats.  The longer you look - the more you see.  

Cartagena, Spain (my favorite image!)

As we were walking around Cartagena I looked up and saw what looked like some nice grafitti on the sides of buildings.  So we went on a mission to find the grafitti.  We discovered a visual feast! This is no ordinary grafitti mind you - these were signed works by local artists.  It was some sort of project to promote art.  

Cartagena, Spain

Spaniards are serious about art - while we were there the Prada Museum in Madrid had loaned prints to Cartagena that were on display (outside) for visitors to see.  Proudly displayed near the start of Calle Major (major pedestrian walkway) it made for an inspiring walk into town.  

Cartagena, Spain

You can see that there is a fence protecting the art pieces - so shooting photos through the fence was the best I could do. 

Cartagena, Spain

There were also great pieces of grafitti on store fronts in Cartagena.  We found one street with quite alot of grafitti as we were searching for a pastelleria.  Found the pastelleria and fortunately they were closed - saved me from eating all that yummy Spanish pastry!

London, England

While in London we went on a quest looking for Banksy grafitti.  We found this tunnel where there is alot of grafitti - but no Banksy grafitti.

London, England

The London tunnel was more in line with common perceptions of grafitti - always being painted over by the next grafitti "artist".  Nothing is sacred or protected.

London, England

A few people milling around in the tunnel.  Safe in the daytime - not in the night.

London, England

Folks clearly trying to express their views.  Trying to get their message out or maybe just vent.

London, England

And... apparently there are some of the better artists that are always trying to "one up" each other.  They paint over each others work routinely.

London, England

Looks like the little girl is the only one taking time to smell the roses - everyone else is consumed with their electronics.

London, England

And I will end the show with a traditional work of grafitti - painted and then painted over once and then again and again until its an amalgamation.  Next trip to London I am going to work harder at finding Banksy grafitti.  With fame his/her art became elusive.  Sometimes its up and gone in a day.  With luck we will find some!

Beautiful Cartagena

Talaria is the white hulled boat with the red stripe (and the US flag)

Here we are proudly flying our American flag in port at Yacht Port Cartagena!  It was a bit of a squeeze getting in there but we made it.  What a nice surprise Cartagena was - so beautiful!  

Cartagena, Spain

Jeff, Mel, Joe and Mike

 Our goal was to arrive with enough time to enjoy Cartagena and enough time to prep the boat for the winter before our departure. We gave ourselves two weeks - one week for play and one week for boat work.  We were no sooner docked than we received a visit from "the twins".  Joe and Jeff are from California and were the unofficial welcoming committee at YPC.  It was nice to be greeted by fellow Americans.  They came on board, had a glass of wine and invited us to dinner with themselves and another American couple.  We had a fabulous dinner at a little street Cafe in Cartagena.  As the conversation wore on we discovered that we and the other couple had mutual friends.  Talk about a small world!  So, of course, we took a picture of the four of us and sent it to Dottie and Will (our mutual friends).  A great night!

Cartagena

 Cartagena is an ancient city, it has been inhabited for 2000 years and was particularly prominent during the time of the Roman Empire.  In 1988, the second largest Roman Theatre on the Iberian Peninsula was discovered in Cartagena.  There is also a whole Roman village that was excavated.  Amazing!  

Roman Theatre

Roman Theatre

There are even Roman ruins under the floor of the department store in town.  They put plexiglass down so you can see the Roman ruins under the building.  

Roman Theatre

 We are just in awe of the level of skill required to construct the theatre.  Limited tools and just a tremendous amount of hard, back breaking labor and ingenuity. 

Roman Theatre

All this history that until now has just existed in books for us is real.  History just comes alive when you are in its midst.   Truly a trek back in time. 

Roman Village Ruins

We just love Cartagena and are so glad we had at least a week to explore.  The only thing we did not like was the cruise ships that show up daily.  Huge ships that unload hundreds of people make the town feel claustrophobic and commercial. 

Temple in the Roman Village Ruins

Michael and I got to where we would try to walk into town BEFORE all the "tourists" got off the ship.  And stay on the boat until they all got back on their boat!  We just prefer the quiet.  Due to Visa restrictions we will have to leave the EU and head home for awhile.  But... we decided to do a road trip thru Scotland before leaving.  And a few days in London.  More on that later...