Going on up to the Spirit in the Skye - Part 1 of 2

The Isle of Skye is probably the most popular island in Scotland for tourism, and is convenient accessed either by bridge, or by a relatively short ferry ride.  When the Egsgards sign up for adventure, we take it all the way.  Why take a bridge when you can take a ferry? I'll tell you why.  Because if you are like me then even those little ripples in the ocean crossing will turn you into a green, crazy person sitting out on the deck in the freezing cold repeating the words "stare at the horizon" over and over....and over.  I made it, thank goodness, and minutes after we drove off the ferry it felt like it was worth it.  The Isle of Skye is a stunningly beautiful mix of rocky coast, open tundras, mountains and quaint villages.  At some point during our stay I asked Erik how he would describe the characteristics of Skye and he replied "Barren, rocky, mountainous, harsh, and unforgiving".  So, I wouldn't put exactly that on a tourism poster, but it is true.  The craziest part is that it is insanely beautiful!

Our first day on Skye we went to Dunvegan castle (13th century - clan McCleod), a must-see on the island.  This castle is particularly famous for the fairy flag it houses.  The fairy flag was a flag that was given to the chief by a fairy to protect the clan in battle (that would be the Coles Notes version of the story).  The fabric of the flag has been dated by experts to have originated in the Middle East between the 4th and the 7th centuries AD.  That rates "Crazy old' on my timeline.  We then proceeded to the Talisker scotch distillery before we headed back to Portree (the town where we were staying).  Erik had signed himself and the kids up for a boat cruise (notice how I was not signed up?) that headed out of the harbour for some wildlife viewing. The kids were thrilled as they saw Puffins and some other sea birds.  The highlight was the Scottish Sea Eagle that came swooping down right beside the boat to grab some fish.  I've put some pictures down below, one of which is a picture of the harbour front where you can see the colourful buildings lining the pier.  I propose a contest!!!!  I am challenging you all and the first to answer this question correctly will win a turkish delight (I had first put Haggis but then thought it might get complicated if |I had to mail it).  The question is under the picture.

Swooping sea eagle

The Egglets

Portree harbour.  See the pink building?  That is our hotel - guess what it was called?

That night we went to a wonderful sea food restaurant, and most amazingly, it had no kids menu!  We warned them ahead of time and they were surprisingly agreeable to it.  They felt special to be the only children in the restaurant and they gobbled up their McSalmon (just kidding) like they hadn't been fed all day....which may be the key for all us parents with picky-eaters.  The funniest bit, was the way Rowan looked across the table at  me with my enormous bowl of fresh mussels (she actually had to kind of look over the bowl which may be an exageration) and she was trying really hard to be mature when you could tell she was horrified that we were eating them.  When I offered her one, she violently shook her head and said "No thank you".  

More later!