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...  

Coast of Southern Spain

Fishermen

After a few days in La Linea we again started to sail the southern coast of Spain (the Andalusia region) on our way to Cartagena - our winter home.  The landscape is like none I have seen before - arid and barren.  Home to mountains and tumbleweed!  Turns out is was the ideal location for filming all those "spaghetti westerns" of the 60s and 70s.  Some of the sets are still there but have now been turned into amusement parks.  Sadly, we did not make it to Tabernas where many of these sets still exist.  We will have to make a point of visiting on the way back out!  

South Coast of Spain

 There seems to be a permanent haze all along the coast - air pollution.  You don't notice it so much when you are off the boat albeit it is very noticeable when sailing along the coast. 

Beach at Cabo de Gata

Our first stop past La Linea we decided to go to a marina.  What a mistake - the harbour master was a complete curmudgeon and the marineros did not assist at all with the med mooring.  As we were novices to this type of mooring we could have used a little assistance!  After that we tried to anchor when possible and were much happier.  At this one little beach there was a fellow running a little business making mojitos for the sailors at anchor.  A mobile "bar" in a dinghy!  He was pretty proud of his mojitos but they were indeed very tasty.  Enterprising fellow!  

 The other noticeable feature of this region of Spain is what many refer to as a "sea of plastic".  The town of Almeria (as well as the whole area) is the site of the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world!  As barren as the area is you would think nothing would grow.  As it turns out the area supplies the vast majority of winter vegies and fruit to the rest of Europe.  The hills are alive with all these polyethelene sheets that make up the greenhouses allowing them to grow vegetables year round.  

Almeria Greenhouses

 And what goes well with fresh vegetables - fresh fish, of course.  The fish are not just caught but farmed.  Lots of folks to feed!

Commercial Fish Farm

A different landscape for sure - other worldly.  It looks pretty inhospitable but then you come across these great towns and cities - suddenly you see the beauty. 

Building right out the hills

One of my favorite sites was seeing how they just carved these buildings right out of the hills.  So amazing how folks adapt to their environment! 

Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar

Much of Gibraltar consists of this very large limestone rock.  The top of the rock being a nature reserve and the inside of the rock filled with caves and tunnels.  Although, Gibraltar sits on the south coast of Spain it is actually a British territory.  Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain many, many years ago following a war and has remained under British control since.  Since at least a full one half of all sea going commerce comes through the Strait of Gibraltar its strategic significance is well understood.  There has been ongoing tension as Spain believes that Gibraltar is rightfully theirs... but the good folks of Gibraltar disagree, as does the UK.  Now, of course, Gibraltar is a tourist attraction as well as an important spot for the shipping industry.  The town itself sits at the bottom of the "Rock" and is largely self-governed.  We decided to stay in La Linea, Spain which is literally across the street from Gibraltar.  

Town of La Linea across the Gibraltar runway

In order to visit Gibraltar you must go through customs and then walk across the runway for the airport!  Seriously, you have to cross the runway to get to the town.  Now its not a busy airport so its not a problem... but the novelty is interesting!   The top of the rock is worth a visit if for no reason other than the monkeys.  There are many Barbary Apes that live on the top of the Rock.  They are really just monkeys - but they are wild.  My water bottle was stolen by one quick monkey right off the bat!  He was on and off my back before I was even sure what was happening:).  

There is a tram that you can take to the top of the Rock OR if you are very enterprising you can take some steps all the way up- 1,398 feet!  We took the Tram.  It was July and a hot day (a good reason to carry a water bottle which was promptly stolen!) so the steps were not sounding too appealing.  We bought a round trip ticket which turned out to be a mistake.  The tram drops you at the top but from there the tunnels, caves etc are all downhill.  That means if you want to take the tram back to town you have to walk back to the top to catch the tram!  They forgot to mention that part :(.

Tram cables and Bay of Gibraltar

We were steadily going down as we were visiting the sites and by the time we reached the Moorish Castle we saw that we were almost all the way down.  From there it was an easy decision to skip the tram and walk on down into town.

Moorish Castle

Baby Barbary Apes catching a ride on Mom

If you were really lazy you could just hire a "tour" car to drive you all over the Rock.  And if you are a very lazy monkey you just catch a ride on one of those cars.

Lazy monkeys riding around on cars

Over the years and through more than one war Gibraltar has been strategic due to its position at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.  Most definitely during WWII Gibraltar was hugely important as evidenced by the tunnels and gun sites. 

One of the many caves

I am certain the numerous caves came in handy as well for housing troops and supplies.  But for now all we do is visit and look at the tunnels, caves and battlements.  We receive a history lesson on their significance in the various wars but thank goodness its history... no war now.  

Queen Charlotte's Battery