High Seas Adventure!

06-13-2022

Yesterday we searched around for a new plan for today, since the ferry to Mull leaves at yuck o'clock each morning and we weren't sure it would be worth it.  I happened upon an Oban Sea Tours excursion that promised two hours on the seas with an experienced tour guide who would teach us about the geology, wild life, and history of the area.  It sounded good to everyone and we booked it!

That gave us lots of time this morning for things like catching up on our email, blogs, laundry, and a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese and toast. 

Early morning collywobbles!

We've conquered the washing machine, finally, and later today we'll learn more about the dryer, too!

I don't know where the time went, but we're ready for lunch!  Ginger finds a way to extend last night's pasta and there is still plenty of salad makings and beets.  And there are still leftovers!

Before we know it, it's time to get dressed for our sea-borne adventure.  Google Maps says it's a seven minute walk and we allow way more than that, just in case.  It is so reassuring to watch the little blue circle march along the correct route!  We arrive at the North Pier and a boat is just pulling in.  One of the young men on board is waving at us, saying we're in the right place.  He tells us about Oban and points out the Suicide Mansion.  It is built on the edge of a cliff and if you go out the front door, you fall off the edge! Once on board he tells us that Oban has a population of 9,000 in the summer and 40,000 in the summer!

North Pier

See coliseum-looking building? It's really no Roman1 A wealthy man named MacCaig commissioned it 
when times were hard and the masons had no work.  It was to be a gallery of his family's statues; but he ran out of money.  Now it's called MacCaig's Folly!

It'ss a little boat and we didn't have many fellllow passengers, which was lovely for uss but
made us feel bad for the hard-working crew!  They have only been operating their tours since
2019.  Cam certainly enjoys his work and makes everyone enjoy his tours.

Some of Cam's mates and fellow guides.

His name is Cameron, but we can call him Cam, and he's a stitch!!  He did his year abroad in the Netherlands and has a degree in marine science from one of the two universities in Oban! He says we can hang out a bit while he indulges one of his vices!  People begin checking in and we wander back so we can board near the front of the queue.  WE needn't have worried, there are only five people who want to be up top, in the elements, and we are three of them!  Connie is secure in the enclosed cabin downstairs.  Cam uses the PA to tell us stories and jokes and extremely detailed scientific tidbits.  He spends a lot of time up top pointing out what we're seeing and hoping to see.

We learn that there are three kinds of diving birds, those who swim with their wings, those you swim with their feet, and those who use gravity! We see a gannet, one of the latter kind.  He's gorgeous!  White with a yellow head, blue eyes, and black wing tips. When they prepare to dive they flap to build up their speed and hit the water at 65 miles an hour!  They have three defenses for their vision: a ring of bone to hold in their lenses, a transparent nictitating membrane, and bubbles in their heads to act like an air bag! Despite that, the leading cause of death among gannets is starvation due to diving-induced blindness! They are huge with a seven meter wing span!

That dark brown stuff is heather.  It will be a riot of purple a couple of weeks from now.  Sigh.

This is the smallest ferry in the fleet.  It only holds 17 cars.  If you want to cross on it, yo have to cut your car in half and glue it back together on the other side!  Or so we're told! This island is so small that there isn't much use for a car and the ones you can see are all beaters!

So many birds!

Seals!

Mom and pup - trust me!

We pass close by a small island with harbor seals and new-born pups!  We learn that harbor seals have squished noses and gray seals have more elongated noses.  We see a new-born pup nursing! 

We learn Lady Island's history. There was a laird who was a terrible husband who finally got tired of hiss wife and took her out to this little island and tied her there, to die at high tide. He then wrote her brother, his laird, to say she had died and that he needed a new wife.  The brother said to bring him her body so she could be buried with the family.  Oops!  He didn't have a body! He assumed she had been washed away with the tide. All the way to the brother's castle he worried about what story he would tell.  When he arrived he began spinning quite a yard, and continued as the funeral feast began. Soon a hooded figure appeared and took it's place at the head of the table! When the hood fall back, it was his "dead" wife!

The miserable man was imprisoned but soon escaped and lived for several years, rejoicing in his freedom and cleverness.  Then, one night, after over-indulging in the spirits of the area, he fell asleep and was discovered the next morning with his throat cut - by another of his wife's brothers!

This is the same kind of hexagonal basalt columns that you can see at the
Giant's Causeway in Ireland.  In fact, they tell the same tale of Fingal the Giant (the Scot) and
Finn McCool (the Irishman)!  This is the other end of the bridge that McCool destroyed!

Cleverly disguised public work something or other!

The Duarte Castle on the Isle of Mull, seat of the clan MacLean
for over 400 years.

This is the big rock that Fingal the Giant tied his dog to.

There is a similar story about a man who's wife was said to be a witch!  He took her to and island and tied her there by her hair!  The tide came up and up and up, but never passed her chin!  When it receded she untied her hair, swam to shore, and took up residence in the forest, foraging for herbs and berries and creating potions for wives whose husbands were unfaithful.  The island is called Maiden's Island and it is said that any maiden who sets foot on the island will never marry!

We've seen puffins, kittiwakes, a cormorant, and many others, but the most spectacular was a white-tailed eagle! The government runs a program to re-establish them in the area. They started with 35 and there are now about 150!

As we head back Cam shows us where three different lochs come together and you can definitely see the contact line!!

I wish I could remember all the facts and fictions!  But soon it's time to return to shore.  The two hours have flown by.  I guess I should mention that those of us on the top deck are pretty wet and salty;  but it was SUCH FUN!!

As we disembark, we thank Cam profusely and ask for a recommendation of a place to get a wee dram to warm up, and some food.  He highly recommends Marky Dan's and says we'll find it as long as we keep the water on our left.  Just look for the sign with a man with a big black beard on it.I t's his favorite pub and we might see him there later.

We set off, with the water on our left and about the time we stop to check Google, we see it on our right! There's a cute little booth just for us and we start out with a wee dram each. Marilyn orders her new favorite Dalmore, and the rest of us order Highland Park 12.  They've only got enough HP for two, so Ginger gets a Dalmore as well.

Next we settle on a starter of smoked salmon pate with oatmeal biscuits and a side salad.  There is a lot of pate and it is delicious. But it's good that we've also decided to get entrees.  Three battered haddock and chips and one scampi with chips. The fish is pretty good and somewhere along the line another round seems like a good idea.  Th4ere's no more Highland Park, so Connie gets Glenlivit to see if she likes it, since that's something she can get at home!  I try the product of the local Oban Distillery and Ginger gets a local brew.  I really like mine, especially with a couple of drops of water, but not enough to cart it all the way home.

There is a group of men speaking Gaelic!  Definitely a neighborhood pub!

In the ladies' room there is a poster for a local music festival.  One of the acts is the Rolling Drones!

Our host, who never stopped moving!

We've agreed that sticky toffee pudding would be grand for breakfast for some of us.  Connie wants a whole one and Marilyn and I will share.  Ginger plans to finish our left-over pasta and salad before we take off.  We'll bring PB&Js along with us and that should clean out the fridge and the larder.

Marilyn and Connie head home while Ginger and I wait for the desserts. They arrive and we hot-foot it back to the apartment.  And we arrive first!

Everyone warms up and unwinds, some with blogging, some with email, some with hot showers, and the day winds down, even though the sun won't set for another hour or two!