Our first hike: Boreraig and Suisnish crofting villages

On Monday we woke up early for our first hike. Glen gets oatmeal and I get eggs. Traditional Scottish vegetarian breakfast? Our hike is scheduled to be 10 miles, but I believe we only did 6 in the end. Our group takes a long time to get ready. How on earth do we get those gaiters on? Getting dressed is complicated - gaiters, rain pants, rain jacket, hiking boots. Now where do the hiking poles go? We WILL get faster by the end of the week. Today's weather - sleet, sun, rain, wind, quite warm at times. We see the deserted crofting villages of Boreraig and Suisnish, as well as an abandoned marble quarry.

We saw a 'standing stone' - people don't know why its there. Is it to mark a burial ground? Is it really a table that is turned on it's side? Is it used to give directions to UFO's? No photo of this - need new batteries!

One strange sight we saw today was fighter planes flying at incredible speeds between the mountains. Do they know something we don't know?

We walked among sheep today, as we did every day. There were sheep everywhere. As its lambing season, there were also many lambs, who always ran to their mothers when we got close. The sheep also graze on the mountains and cliffs here. There is sheep poop everywhere. We walk by a sheep station today. No one lives there, but its still used.

Skye is not as pristine as our trip to California last year. We do see trash, especially on the beaches where it must wash up with the tide. Part of our walk was along the cost. We can see Rum across the ocean.

Words we learned today:


We had dinner at Creelers again. We talked about politics a lot. Glen kept apoligizing for our government.

The mountain in clouds in front of our b and b A very well preserved crofter house Inside the house
View of the village Quarry Our group
Hitting the trail - a nice wide one today See, Scotland isn't bright green. A lot of brown heather here. It is cold here. Notice the fleece hats and gloves
Learning about geology Stopping to enjoy the view No matter where you are on Skye, you are never far from the ocean
Approaching the next crofting village A house or livestock enclosure? Stopping for lunch in the village
View from the village away from the ocean. Notice the sheep on the mountain Sheep on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Approaching the sheep station A working quarry. Finished our hike for today. There are many, many Glens here. Walking home from dinner.