Atmospheric—a
word over-used in my travel books.
Therefore, a word that I resist using at all. Yet here I am about to declare both the
Orkney Islands and the Isle of Skye atmospheric. As in marked by an atmosphere—aesthetic,
emotional, ephemeral.
The Orkney Islands
At
the end of our first module, we had a long weekend for travel, which I spent in
Orkney. I traveled on my own, relishing
some downtime and the chance to reflect.
My journey began with a train ride to Aberdeen, which I thought of as
merely a stop—until I was there. Being
the third largest city in Scotland and the center for the North Sea oil business,
it’s a busy place. While there I had
time to wander and to visit two museums.
#1—The
Gordon Highlander Museum covers the several hundred years of Highlander
military history with volunteer docents who are veteran Highlanders. Mike Taylor guided me around, providing lots
of information and stories.
Gordon Highlander Motto: Bydand, a Gaelic word translated as "steadfast" or "stand and fight"
#2—The
Aberdeen Maritime Museum covers whaling and oil drilling in a building squeezed
into a downtown street—with great views over the busy harbor.
Including
a view of the ferry I would take to Kirkwall in Orkney.
Orkney—an
archipelago of 70+ islands north across the Pentland Firth from the main part
of Scotland. My interest in it is in the
Neolithic sites—standing stones, ancient villages, and burial tombs. These 5000 year-old structures are
fascinating to me—as are the mysteries surrounding the people who created
them. More recent evidence of Viking
residents—a mere 1000 years ago—adds another intriguing layer to the history. Favorite sites:
#1—The
town of Birsay offered wide views of the Atlantic Ocean, St. Magnus Church, the
Earl’s Palace ruins, and access to the tidal island on which the Brough of
Birsay sits. It also provided delicious
ice cream and friendly locals on a sunny Sunday afternoon—a needed diversion
while I waited for the tide to go out far enough so I could cross over to the
island. The brough was a seat of power
for the Picts and the Vikings.
Can you see the causeway leading to the island?
Within the foundations left of the brough is the Norse sauna
#2—The
Ring of Brodgar originally had 60 standing stones; now 27 remain. Unlike Stonehenge, this one is not so heavily
visited, meaning you can walk close to the stones.
#3—Maeshowe
has both Neolithic and Norse history, as it was built of sandstone slabs by the
ancient peoples for a burial vault and contains runic carvings thought to be
left by some Vikings who took shelter there during a storm. They wrote profound messages like “Ragnar was
here.”
#4—Skara
Brae sits on the coast—a settlement of houses also made of slabs of sandstone,
with evidence of fields and livestock and fishing activity nearby. Some parts of the houses show and others
parts are still under the turf (left so to help preserve them). Since visitors cannot go in the houses, the
visitor center includes a replica that you can go in. The house seems cozy with a hearth at the center,
and stones arranged into shelves and beds, tables and benches.
The settlement is right on the coast, so even with a seawall, erosion is a problem.
The guide talked of storms that send waves well into the settlement.
The replica
The
Ness of Brodgar is another even larger ancient settlement discovered a dozen
years ago when a severe storm blew away some turf to reveal it. In the years since, archeologists have been
working on it. The site is open to
visitors only in July-August when the work is being done, work which is
reportedly about 10% finished. For now,
we have to be satisfied with looking at the excellent article about it in the
August 2014 National Geographic and planning
our next trip to Orkney for a July or August in the not-too-distant future.
The Highlands
This
past weekend was the house trip to the Highlands—something we all have been
looking forward to since before we arrived.
We traveled together, 45 of us in two buses with two tour guides,
Graham and Richard. First we visited
historical sites like the Highland Folk Center, Clava Cairns, and the Culloden
Battlefield Museum/Monument. Part of
their claim to fame is their more recent connection to the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
These books and the new television series of them are quite popular here
and abroad, presenting an interesting historical, though fictional, journey
through Scotland.
We
stayed on the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. Before I left home, everyone I met who had
been to Scotland told me I had to go to Skye.
Now I know why. This volcanic
island draws travelers and outdoor types with the special allure of its
stunning coastline and its Red and Black Cuillen Mountains. The island’s name comes from Old Norse for
“cloud island,” an apt label since it is usually shrouded in mist. Fortunately, we hit the jackpot. High clouds with some blue patches blessed
our visit. I suppose the clouds might
have added to the “atmospheric” nature of the place, but I was fine with seeing
the tops of the mountains--and all of the other beautiful sights we could fit into a day:
We
dipped into the fairy pools—our faces for beauty and our feet for luck.
We
picnicked in the sun at the harbor in Portree. It
belied the joke: What makes a Highland picnic? A sandwich and hypothermia.
We
gazed at the Kilt Rock. Kilt in Gallic
means “pleated.” Can you see those
smooth pleats down the side of the cliff?
We
took a hike up to the Old Man of Storr—touching it for luck, already feeling
like some of the luckiest people in the world.
The pointy one on the right was the goal
And I made it!
On
our drive home we took in more beautiful vistas:
Eilean Donan Castle
The
Five Sisters—viewed from across Loch Duich
Ben
Nevis—highest mountain in the UK.
Glencoe—the
narrow valley with a sad history of clan clashes.
This
blog post could be so much longer. Each
of these weekends was crammed with seeing and doing. Kind of like drinking from the firehose. All so interesting but lots of absorb! Perhaps the best part for me is having the
pieces start fitting together—what I have read about the culture, the history,
and the places now is matching up with what I am seeing. The big picture is emerging. During the next couple of weeks, my
intercultural communication class will be doing several field trips to increase
our understanding of the local culture and people. We all look forward to adding that insight to
our big picture of this place.
