Isle of Skye, Scotland
We spent our second day in the Hebrides on the magnificent Isle of Skye, easily the most majestic of the islands. Skye, like Rum, Mull and Arran is the remnant of a 65 million year old volcano. Scientists come from all over the world to examine these rocks because they allow us to look inside the volcano, to see the form and composition of the magma chamber -- to, in a way, dissect the volcano. Aside from providing so much “inside information,” the rocks of Skye provide an incredibly scenic panorama. The Cullin, the black 1000m. high mountains of the interior, are often hidden by clouds produced by the mountains themselves but today they were visible much of the day. The Cullin are considered by many to be the most beautiful mountains in Britain and today they were really on display. We had a wonderful hike along a large inland loch which took us deep into the island’s interior. We took zodiac cruises around the margins of Loch Scavaig, the sea lock where Endeavour was anchored, and we paddled our kayaks among the loch’s many small rock islands. These rocks are a favorite hauling-out place for the many common seals that have their pups in the loch. As the pups played around our Zodiacs and kayaks, the adults watched us from the warmth of their basking rocks. There was hardly a breath of wind all morning and the loch was like glass, reflecting the Cullin and the great glacially polished monoliths which surround the loch. It was a most memorable day on Scotlands’s most beautiful island.
We spent our second day in the Hebrides on the magnificent Isle of Skye, easily the most majestic of the islands. Skye, like Rum, Mull and Arran is the remnant of a 65 million year old volcano. Scientists come from all over the world to examine these rocks because they allow us to look inside the volcano, to see the form and composition of the magma chamber -- to, in a way, dissect the volcano. Aside from providing so much “inside information,” the rocks of Skye provide an incredibly scenic panorama. The Cullin, the black 1000m. high mountains of the interior, are often hidden by clouds produced by the mountains themselves but today they were visible much of the day. The Cullin are considered by many to be the most beautiful mountains in Britain and today they were really on display. We had a wonderful hike along a large inland loch which took us deep into the island’s interior. We took zodiac cruises around the margins of Loch Scavaig, the sea lock where Endeavour was anchored, and we paddled our kayaks among the loch’s many small rock islands. These rocks are a favorite hauling-out place for the many common seals that have their pups in the loch. As the pups played around our Zodiacs and kayaks, the adults watched us from the warmth of their basking rocks. There was hardly a breath of wind all morning and the loch was like glass, reflecting the Cullin and the great glacially polished monoliths which surround the loch. It was a most memorable day on Scotlands’s most beautiful island.
