Scotland is great!

6 August 2018

We have been sailing in the Hebrides for a few days now and again I am amazed about how great it is to be here. Friendly people, beautiful green landscapes, castles, the diversity on and below the water and thousand and one possibilities for us to go to with the ship.
To name a few:
We were in a small bay at the northeast side of Jura, Kinuachdrachd Harbour, and the guests when on shore for a walk. They met two very friendly people that are living in the house where George Orwell wrote ‘1984’ and the guests immediately got a tour of the house and of course we invited Jamie and Damaris Fletcher to come to the ship, so we could give them a tour as well. 
The next morning, we floated in the Gulf of Corryvreckan. This passage between Jura and Scarba has a very strong current. A good spot to show how strong nature is! 
And a few hours later we passed Staffa to show another wonder of nature, the huge basalt columns. The columns were formed within a single, massive flow of lava as it cooled and solidified in a very gradual, controlled manner. As the material cooled its volume shrank slightly and the narrow spaces which separate the columns were created. 
After a few days everyone is used to the seals and gannets. Just like the cormorant, auks and guillemots. But the white-tailed eagles and minke whales do get their full attention. This morning we were sailing on the north side of Mull and we were looking at Glengorm Castle when we spotted two white-tailed eagles. Because everyone was looking at the sky we almost did not spot the minke whale at 5 meters from the ship.. And this is just the beginning!