Stornoway

tToday was a moving day, from Barra to the Island of Lewis and Harris, the entire length (almost) of the Outer Hebrides.  A combination of roads, causeways and ferries connect this archipelago stuck out in the North Atlantic.  The ferry between Barra and Eriskay, the next island up, was pleasant deepwater sailing.  Sandy and I took to naming the islands that we pass.  We were amazed at how different the islands were from one another.  South and North Uist islands were not mountainous at all.  Acres and acres of flat land that looked as if it might be farmed.  Then Lewis and Harris turned to mountains but unlike the mossy looking green mountains of Barra they were very rocky and considerably taller and steeper.  An interesting fact is that when the ancient super continent of Pangea split apart sending the Americas off on their own, it divided along an ancient mountain system, so the mountains of Scotland and the Atlas mountains of Africa are just the other half of the Appalachians that the Old world hung on to.  We ended the day in a nice pub, I had a Harris Gin and Tonic and Sandy another Cider.  It went well with the locally farmed mussels.  

Aligator Island

Sleeping Lady Island

Barra to Stornoway

The tide goes out and the boats sit on the ocean floor

Downtown Stornoway

Distilled here in Stornoway