Scotland - Day 10

Today I made the brief trip from Fort William to Oban and made my first and only somewhat regrettable mistake on my journey. I had hoped to make it to Oban in time to make it to Iona, the tiny island that is considered the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. To get there, you have to catch a ferry from Oban to the island of Mull, take an hour plus bus ride across Mull, and then take another ferry to Iona. Because it’s such a process to get to Iona, where you supposedly get about 2 hours, you have to catch the first ferry of the day.

I knew this schedule and thought I left enough time. However, I got held up on the journey by some unforeseen delays on the road (I should have learned to expect these by now – they happen wherever you go – it always takes longer than you think). I still made it to Oban with time to spare, but ended up going to the wrong side of town. Once I figured out how to get to the ferry, I got close, but again had trouble finding the correct parking lot. When I finally figured out the right parking lot (and I wasn’t totally sure), I realized I only had a few minutes to make the ferry. But suddenly my stomach felt very upset and I lost my motivation to hurry to the ferry. In a couple minutes, I heard them call out the last call to board and realized I really wasn’t going to make it. Soon enough, I watched the ferry head off for Mull.

In retrospect, I was disappointed I didn’t make it all the way to Iona. It would have been a beautiful day to see the island. And actually what I most wish I could have experienced was the bus ride across Mull, which is usually fully narrated by the bus driver with all kinds of interesting tales. I shouldn’t have cut the timing so close. But luckily, I did find an alternative so as not to waste the whole day. I took a ferry to Mull and then a short ride bus ride to Duart Castle.

 This is the home castle of the MacLeans, which is still lived in by the chief of the clan. Unlike Eilean Dolan Castle, which is used as a vacation home, my understanding is that Duart Castle really is a full-time home. It wasn’t particularly unique from the other castles I saw, but I do love castles, and I found an interesting story, below:

One benefit of missing the trip to Iona was that I ended up taking what was maybe my best photograph of the whole trip:

The ferry to Mull.  I love this photo, with the lines of the boat and dock  almost intersecting with the lines of the clouds.

One thing my journeys to the Isle of Skye and Mull has led me to further grasp is that Scotland is not only an island nation, but also nation of islands. There are quite a number of populated islands on the west of Scotland, several of which are quite large (among them Skye and Mull). There is quite a network of ferries to move about the islands. I remember learning that Great Britian always had a powerful navy, but it never occurred to me how central water travel was to the inhabitants of the island, probably even more so in Scotland than England.

To conclude the day, I chose a local pub for dinner called Cuan Mor. I really liked the interior – wood and metal, mostly collected from beaches along the west coast of Scotland. In contrast to my expensive and disappointing dinner the night before, this dinner was relatively inexpensive and delicious. The main course was absolutely delicious: chicken stuffed with pork sausage and pistachios, in a Drambouie cream sauce, on a layer of mash potatoes. Simply excellent. (Although I could have passed on the beer – similar to a number of other Scottish beers, I wasn’t a big fan, probably in part because it’s too smooth and not carbonated enough for my taste).