Wednesday, July 10th – Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

Today the rainy and cooler weather caught up with us. We feel very lucky to have had such great weather up until now so we’re not going to grumble about a little rain, cold and wind. Well, maybe a little. The wind was really piercing and we were both chilled to the bone by the end of our excursion today. A warm shower felt great at the end of the day. It was a long but really enjoyable day and in a place that quite frankly I never imagined I’d get.

We docked early this morning in Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Islands. The Orkney islands are almost as far north as you can get in Scotland, and walking through Kirkwall, and learning about the history, it almost felt like we’d hit Norway by mistake. The Orkney Islands were part of the Norse empire after they conquered the Pict people, the original people of this whole area. The Vikings called them Pict people because they had many tattoos all over their bodies and Pict is the word for pictures in their language. In the 15th century (1468) the Orkney Islands became part of Scotland (as well as the Shetland Islands) after an unpaid dowery situation between the two countries.

The Star Legend was anchored just off shore at the Kirkwall harbour which was a busy place most days, with the fishing fleet and a ferry depot. Our excursion today was not until 12:45 so we decided to tender in and explore Kirkwall in the morning, grab something to eat and then go on our excursion. It was a challenging exit from the ship to the tender due to the waves and swell, but the crew does an amazing job of making sure everyone is safe and feels that way. It was drizzling as we made our way from the tender dock up the main connecting street to High Street, where we found a lovely selection of shops, bakeries and restaurants. It was relatively quiet through the wet stone streets, with a solo bag piper playing in the mist making it quite magical. A lovely mood. Our destination was St Magnus Cathedral whose unique building could easily be seen from the whole town however it took some time to get there with stops in shops along the way. No one ought to get excited, I didn’t actually buy anything in said shops. But it was fun looking.

St Magnus Cathedral is primarily used by the congregation of the Church of Scotland, but is owned by the people of Kirkwall and is used by whichever Christian religion wishes to hold services or masses in it. The exterior of the church is unique because of the two-tone (red and yellow) sandstone from which it’s made. It was founded in 1137 but was added on to and restored in the 1850s and again in 1913. The cathedral’s beautiful stained glass windows were designed and installed in the 1920s.

It was at St Magnus that we learned there is an interesting connection between the Orkney Islands and Canada. Many Orcadians were recruited to work for the Hudson’s Bay company in their outposts through Canada. In the church we came across a reposed statue of Dr John Rae, an Orcadian, who was an employee of HBC, and explorer of the Canadian Arctic and discoverer of an important part of the Northwest Passage. He is buried in their cemetery.

As we were leaving the church, tourists from one of the mid-sized cruise ships that docked just after we did today were streaming into the church and the streets of Kirkwall were teeming with people. We were really glad we got a relatively early start. Also, because of all the activity, we decided to grab a bite early and stopped in a cafe to get some tea and oat cakes. They were served with butter and shredded cheese, which seemed a very strange way to present them.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this sign and asking someone at the information tent what it was all about. One of the wonderful volunteers who greeted us as we came off the ship explained to us that as part of the pre-wedding rituals in the Orkney Islands, the grooms men and brides maids cover the groom and bride with molasses, soot, eggs, fish guts, manure and various other disgusting substances and take them for a ride in the back of a pick up truck. A BBC article I read on the subject noted that “a Blackening, is known for taking disgusting behaviour to another level.” Apparently there have been complaints that the bride and grooms sometimes use the public toilets (which is where I took this picture) to clean up after the Blackening and the Council has put up these signs to try and put a stop to it.

Our tour for the afternoon started at the dock so we headed back there to join up with our group. We were able to get on the bus that we’d be using a few minutes early and got out of the rain for a bit. Our guide for the day was Andie and he was an excellent guide. Char noticed that he spoke off the top of his head whereas many of our guides have used notes. I was wondering out loud where one of the flags was from among the group that were lining the dock, and the bus driver overheard, got off the bus and went and pulled the flag out of it holder to look at the base of it and then put it back in. He got back on the bus and said, Panama. I asked how he knew the name would be there, and he said because he also works on the docks and one of his jobs is to help the guy that changes the flags each day! They have the country roster of each of the cruise ships crew and passengers and they put up a flag to represent each of those countries on the dock. Every day! Sorry, I digress.

As we drove through the lovely green but windswept and pretty much treeless countryside with various small fields separated by dry stone dykes our guide told us about the Orkney Islands and Kirkwall. There are 60 islands in the group of Orkney Islands, 20 of which are populated with 23,000 inhabitants all together and 8,000 of which reside in Kirkwall.

The main industries on the Orkney islands is farming and its supporting industries, (beef, dairy, sheep), and Tourism. Eighty percent of the land is cultivated and used for farming, lots of which is sheep grazing. They don’t use the wool commercially, but rather sell the young animals for meat. Two hundred and forty cruise ships will stop in Kirkwall this year, mostly smaller ships (average size being only 500 passengers). They also have fish farms in various spots throughout the islands.

The islands are far north, (around 59 degrees north), but they have relatively mild winters due to the warm Gulf Stream waters. In the summer it is light from 5 am to 11 pm but in the winter, the days are dramatically short. Peat was the main source of fuel traditionally but they are gradually changing over to renewable resources. We saw quite a few wind turbines in our travels.

We were traveling across the rugged beauty of the island today to see a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including a stone circle from 3100 bc (800 years before Stonehenge) and a village which was from roughly the same period which was found quite by accident. Both were fascinating. We passed an active excavation site that our guide worked on which has been so rich in discoveries that after this season of digging they’re going to shut down the site, and re-bury it to preserve the site while they spend years cataloging and preserving the artifacts.

In 1850 a huge storm with wild winds removed a whole lot of sand from an area which revealed what is now called Shara Brae (meaning village under hills). It is a village which has been dated to be from 3100 BC, 4000 years before the Vikings arrived or the pyramids were built!. It is believed that a maximum of 125 people lived at this site at any one time but that it was abandoned after 600-800 years probably because it was close to the shoreline and they may have lost even more of the site to the sea than the 10 homes we visited today. It was a bit like a rabbit warren, built into the ground, with tunnels connecting the individual living spaces. The space has been really well presented with a visitor centre and great information posted throughout the site, and we would have probably stayed longer if it weren’t for the cold wind off the water and rain.

Also on the site of Shara Brae we visited Skaill House, the 17th Century mansion of the 12th Laird Major Malcolm MacRae, It has been restored and opened to the public

Then we travelled back the way we had come to a stone circle called Ring of Brodger. It has been dated to be just a little younger than the village at Shara Brae, around 2600 BC. Twenty seven huge stones remain and are arranged in a circle and it’s imagined that there were likely originally 60 but the others have been either vandalized or struck by lightning. It has a ditch around the circle, so it is called a “Henge” monument, like Stone Henge. It’s been calculated that it would have taken 80,000 man hours to dig the ditch. One of the other nearby smaller stone circles does have an astrological orientation, but it doesn’t seem this one does. The stones have been brought from different parts of the island which they can determine by the different types of rock. It’s theorized that this might have been a meeting place with the people from the region that the stone was from standing with their stone around in the circle. One of the “fairy stories” of the area is that the stones were formerly giants that lived on the islands who got together to have a party and the gods gave their permission to do so but said they must finish partying by sunrise. And when they were still partying at sunrise they were turned to stone.

It would have been great to have a longer look and contemplate what it all meant but the wind, cold and rain had us practically running around the circle of stones and back to the bus.

Our guide told us the significance of the area to both World Wars on the way back to the ship. A plane attacked this area of the Orkneys on March 16, 1940 at the beginning of WW II and it killed the first civilian killed in the war in the British Isles.

The Orkney Islands were used as a navy base in both world wars, in an area called the Scapa Flow, where the surrounding islands provide protection and the fleet could be protected on all sides. In WW I 120 ships were harboured there. It was important to keep the navy fleet up in the north of Scotland to keep the German navy bottled up and keep them from getting into the Atlantic.

At the end of the war, as part of the Nov 1918 Treaty of Versailles negotiation, Germany had to hand over their 74 navy ships by sailing them into the Scapa Flow area. They did so, but the German commander had no intention of handing over the ships and communicated with each of the ships captains and in unison on one day in June 1919 they sank their own ships. The British sailers figured out what was going on and managed to save some of the ships, but 52 were sunk. The fleeing German sailers rowed to saved themselves, but the British sailers killed 9 Germans. They were the last military men to be killed in WW I.

Once safely on the Star Legend we hurried to the lounge because the entertainment crew had organized a ceilidh with a local Orkney family group. I loved the music and if there was any question before about whether the east coast of Canada has been influenced by the immigration of people from Ireland and Scotland, that question was dispelled in my mind when I heard their music. I could have been sitting in a concert in any of the Atlantic Provinces rather than in the Orkney Islands the music was so familiar. If I shut my eyes I was back at the Women’s Institute Hall in Stanley Bridge, PEI.

This has been one of my favourite days despite the weather.

Tuesday, July 9th – Isle of Skye

First of all, to those of you who get an email with my blog when I post, I apologize that the pictures don’t come through. I have no idea how to fix that but you can see them if you take the link to the actual blog.

Today my blog is going to be a little different. Today is an important day on our trip. Today was the reason I started on this adventure and my sister joined with me. Today we set foot on the Isle of Skye where some of our ancestors originated. Today we saw and took pictures (granted, from a distance) of the remains of the McKinnon clan castle, named Caisteal Maol or Castle Moyle, in a town named Kyleakin. Today we came within less than 100 miles of where we believe our great, great grandfather, Duncan McKinnon was born.

Today I feel a little like life has come full circle. Duncan McKinnon, my great, great grandfather, had a daughter named Amelia who married a fellow named Benjamin. They had several children, one was my grandmother, Edith. Fast forward and my daughter Gillian and her husband Philip had a son 5 years ago and named him Benjamin not knowing our family heritage. Then they had a daughter just over 2 years ago who they named Amelia Edith and I was so pleased that they paid tribute to my heritage using my grandmother’s name, Edith. (Coincidentally, Edith is also the first name of my sister Charlene who is travelling with me. Because her travel documents list Edith as her first name, the crew is calling her Edith, even though she uses her second name Charlene. She’s even given up correcting them. I’m calling her Edi from now on) When I told my siblings about the name Edith being given to the new little Amelia (“Millie”) my (much) older sister Lynn told me about Amelia and Benjamin to my shock. None of us had any idea. Today has been an emotional day.

I knew that there was Scottish blood in our background but I had no idea it was as high as it is until I received the results of my DNA test. Here are the results:

Then I saw this tour of Scotland with Windstar and I knew I had to do it. But I never expected to be able to get as close to important sites in our family history as we have. Now, with that background to put today into context, we resume to regular programming…. I’m sorry to the millennials and younger who will not understand that reference.

Our morning started off with beautiful blue skies and we were so thankful once again for the wonderful weather we’ve experienced. Our excursion today was to travel from the port town of Portree on the Isle of Skye over the bridge to the mainland to the Eileen Donan Castle. This is the ancestral castle of the MacRae Clan, which had fallen into disrepair but was purchased back by the MacRae Clan in 1911 by Lt Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap. He and Farquhar MacRae painstakingly reconstructed the castle formally completing it in 1932. It is now open to the public and a fee maintains the property. The dependents of the MacRaes do get together there from time to time.

Twenty or so fellow travellers piled on to the bus near the dock and amazingly and with great driving skill on the part of our driver, our bus didn’t scrape the sides of the stone roadway leading up a steep incline out of the harbour with just barely enough room to pass. We got a quick peek at the town of Portree which promised to provide some shopping opportunities before heading out on to the highway. We had a beautiful trip along the coast and through various small towns. Along the way we saw small crofts (farms) with many, many sheep, a thatched roof cottage, a waterfall, a shinty pitch (a game which they claimed was a precursor to hockey in North America), and grand views of the Red Cuillins mountains of Skye.

Finally we crossed over the very nicely designed but controversial Skye Bridge joining the Isle of Skye to the mainland. It seems that most bridges linking islands to the mainland become controversial possibly because there are always those people who don’t want to see their way of life changed. This one had a couple of elements to it. The bridge was financed by a Private Financial Investment program of the government and a Germain company did the planning and development of the bridge. In order to reclaim the cost of the project the company implemented tolls on the bridge that stayed in place until the protests finally caused the government to buy out the Germany company and the tolls were removed 10 years later. The rumour mill claims that a certain woman, now passed, who lived in Buckingham Palace made a call to the German company during their planning stages to ensure her private yacht would be able to get under the bridge. Its centre span is rather high.

We arrived at the Eileen Donan Castle and had an hour and 15 minutes to tour the castle. It feels a little like a cross between a private residence and a museum. Sorry we couldn’t take pictures inside. It was furnished throughout (including some very life-like and a little creepy historical figures), and we were able to tour most areas of the castle. The “keep” or living space was really cozy and warm, and the entertaining space had high ceilings and was rather grand. The bedrooms were tiny, as were the beds. No wonder they had large families back then. The front stairways were narrow enough, but the back staircases were barely large enough for me to get through sideways. There were lots of artifacts on display as well as pictures and some life-like ducks and chickens hanging in the larder along with other animals curing. The brochure notes that weddings can be booked into the castle which would be amazing.

Interesting to us, as Canadians, was that there were two displays that were tributes to Canadian physician, Lt. Col. John McRae who, in 1915, wrote the war poem, “In Flanders Fields”. One of the displays included a huge mock up of the stamp issued by the Canadian post office a few years ago.

We circled around the outside of the castle which is set both strategically and beautifully at the intersection of 4 or 6 lochs (I saw mention in the material to both numbers) to take some pictures, and found that it was already time to get back to the bus. The time had just flown.

We hoped on the bus to head back to the ship but shortly after the bridge we turned off in the town of Kyleakin where we stopped and in the distance and at the end of the street we saw what looked like the McKinnon castle ruins visible on a high point of land. I had spoken to the local tour guide at the beginning of the tour about wanting to see our clan’s castle ruins in Kyleakin and she said that we would be making a Kodak Moment stop there to take pictures of the bridge. When everyone got off I asked the guide if Char and I could get closer to take some pictures. She said she would hold the bus if I hurried down and around the corner where she thought I could get a reasonable picture. So off I went, running! Char came far enough to be able to see the castle ruins and to take a picture of me running. Such a historical event really is picture worthy! My heart was pounding both from the exertion but also because it truly seemed like a momentous moment. You can read about the castle and the McKinnons at this link.

https://ancientmonuments.uk/124930-caisteal-maol-castle-moyle-kyleakin-skye-eilean-cho-ward

Back on board we followed our usual routine of listening to the lectures, attending tomorrow’s port info session and had another lovely dinner in Amphora. By the time we came back to our cabin, no less than 5 people who had been on the bus this morning asked why on earth I’d taken off running down the street at the photo stop. And I’m happy to explain the connection we have to this wonderful place.

Today we stepped foot in Scotland, the land of some of our ancestors, for the first time. I didn’t kiss the ground but it did feel significant.

We are on the Isle of Mull, one of the 80 or so islands of the Inner Hebrides on the west side of Scotland. Only thirty five of the islands are inhabited. The Isle of Mull is the second largest of the inner Hebrides after Skye, and the 4th largest in Scotland and all of Great Britain.

The island has a population of approximately 3000 with 1000 of them living in the capital of Tobermory. The economy of the island is based on fishing, tourism and whisky distilling. The climate of the islands is moderated by the Gulf Stream.

In the 18th and 19th centuries there was a tremendous population decrease due to forced emigration called the Highland Clearances. Starting in 1750, landlords wishing to increase their income evicted those renting small fields and created larger farms to increase farming efficiency and secure better rent. The larger fields ended up making industrialization of farming easier to scale.

Historically, two Gaelic subgroups, the Picts and the Gales were the ancestors, and for 400 years the island became part of the Norse kingdom along with the Isle of Man and Skye. In 1266 the area was transferred to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. These people with Norse Gaelic roots became the controlling clans of the Macleans, MacLeods and the MacDonalds.

Then starting in 1841, when those that had lost their land could not find appropriate accommodation and were living in overcrowded rentals, and had no ability to support themselves were given “assisted passages”. Basically the landlords paid tenants their passage to other countries and the tenants had no option but to go. The Highland potato famine also struck at the end of the period exacerbating the decline in population to the point where the area has the most sparsely populated area in Europe.

Tobermory, the capital of the Island of Mull and a great natural harbour, is in the northern part of the island, and started as a fishing port in 1788. The name Tobermory is derived from the Gaelic “the well of Mary”. It’s said by some that the Virgin Mary had appeared at a nearby well.

When the Spanish Armada were fleeing the English in 1588, one ship by the name of Florencia, anchored in the harbour of Tobermory to take on provisions. A fight about settling the bill broke out and before anyone knew it, the ship was on fire and sank to the bottom of the bay. There was a reported 300,000 pounds sterling of gold on board, and despite numerous expeditions no treasure has ever been recovered.

Of interest to us as Canadians was that in the mid-1800s, emigrant sailors travelled to Canada and specifically to Lake Huron in Ontario and founded the small community of Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. There are twin harbours known locally as Big Tub and Little Tub which provide safe harbour on Lake Huron which can get as rough as the oceans. I have visited Tobermory a couple of times and have even taken a boat tour which takes tourists to see two ships that have sunk into the harbour! Small world.

Charlene and I didn’t book a tour today, partly because the one we really wanted to take was fully booked and partly because we were happy to just have a bit of a slower day. We slept in a little, ok, well one of us slept in a lot! And we got a late start, but took the tender in to wander through the port town of colourful buildings housing restaurants, gift shops, a grocery store, a liquor store, etc. all along the Main Street. Immediately after getting off the ship we saw one of the destinations for a tour today, the Tobermory distillery. It was started in 1798, and has made a scotch whisky named Ledaig for generations.

We thought we might hike to a park with trails along the coastal trail to several waterfalls, but after talking to a local, decided instead to head in the opposite direction because there was a pathway also along the coastal route to a lighthouse! It was the right decision. The pathway was a bit muddy in a couple of places but otherwise easy to walk through the trees and wild flowers along the ocean.

And our weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Again we really lucked out. One of the locals told one of the other passengers that we had brought the sun and warmth with us as it’s been a cold and rainy spring and early summer. It is the first day of sun and warmth of the season.

After 2 kilometres we came to the lighthouse on a point of land along the sound. The lighthouse keeper’s house was large and looked quite luxurious compared to many I’ve seen. It was the perfect thing to do today.

After our return trip down the same pathway we headed back to the ship, and while I thought I’d get my blog done early today, I ended up talking to some passengers and got none of it done until after dinner. I did get a chance for one last shot of the lighthouse as we left port this afternoon. Another interesting and fun day.

Today’s destination was a port in Northern Ireland in a little coastal town named Portrush. We were anchored today rather than docked so had to tender in. The swells were really intense leaving the ship so all hands were on deck to help passengers from the gangway to the tender. Adventure in travel. We are now in the Atlantic, having left the Irish Sea behind.

It was really quiet this morning in Portrush when the group of 15 or so of us met our tour guide David and hopped on our bus on our way to Londonderry (or Derry – explanation to follow) this morning. Portrush is apparently well known for their two excellent golf courses. One has hosted the British open twice in history and will be hosting again in 2026. For you golf fans, Rory McIlroy is from just south of Belfast just an hour from Portrush. We were just minutes into our ride when wouldn’t you know, a Tim Horton’s appeared on the horizon! Haha, surprised the heck out of me. The Americans on the bus pointed it out to me but I already had the picture.

We travelled south west to reach our destination through beautiful pastoral scenery and lovely neighbourhoods of wealthy looking homes. There were rolling hills covered in small farms divided by hedges with hundreds of sheep and a million shades of green. It’s called the Emerald Isle for a reason. The highest point is 2400 feet but it rises quickly from the ocean in places.

We passed a town called Limivady which we were told is where the very familiar Irish song, “Danny Boy” was written however it appears to me that although the person in Limivady did have something to do the song it was not actually written there and so the claim makes for a nice story but is a bit of an exaggeration.

David filled our heads with information along the way, and between him, and the talk by our onboard lecturer, my head is ready to explode. And yet I don’t really have a firm grasp of “the Troubles”, which thankfully are somewhat settled. It seems like it is just under the radar though and hopefully will stay there. No one seemed to want to talk about it and I haven’t read sufficiently to know enough to convey a big picture so I’m just going to stick to some details which we’ve been told about along the way today.

Once we’d arrived in Londonderry we crossed over the Foyle River on a unique two level bridge. The Foyle River flows in to the Foyle Lough and then into the Atlantic. (The Irish call estuaries Lough and the Scots call them Loch). We left the bus at the beautiful town hall in Londonderry and proceeded (after the necessary pit stop) on a walking tour of the city.

It is a relatively small city of 115,000 people but Belfast, the capital is not large either at 291,000 or 450,000 in the greater Belfast area. The official name of the city is Londonderry and those that are happy with Northern Ireland being part of Britain are happy to call it that. However, those Protestants that would still like the north to be separate still doggedly refer to it as Derry. I’m going to call it Derry, as our guide did, not as a political statement but because it’s shorter to type!

Derry is reputed to be the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland built between 1613 and 1618, and our guide had us remembering other walled cities we’d visited. Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia, San Juan Puerto Rico, Quebec City Canada, and Rye England all came to my mind but I’m sure there are others. But then he pointed out that part of the wall has been removed to build the Millenium Forum Theatre.

It was quiet in Derry too, and was spitting just a little with rain as we walked the somewhat wet streets under one of the 4 gates of the old city and up on to the wall. Along the way he talked a little about the ancient history of the city and the more recent Troubles. We stopped at the site of Butcher Gate, named for the butcher shops that historically lined at street nearby and David told us the story of Bloody Sunday, one of the most significant clashes in the conflict.

Butcher Gate overlooks the area of the city called Bogside, where a majority of Catholics lived. On January 30, 1972 there was a civil rights march in the Bogside area, when one of the British soldiers accidentally shot a bullet in the air, which started on onslaught of gunfire from the British soldiers into the crowd. Fourteen people died and many other victims were injured while fleeing or helping the wounded. It was the most people killed in a single incident during the conflict and worst mass shooting in northern irish history. It obviously worsened the hostilities toward the British and the was a surge in support for the IRA.

We went down from the wall, into the city and walked through the narrow streets toward the beautiful St. Columb’s Cathedral which we were told is a classic example of “vertical gothic” architecture build in 1633. I have no idea what vertical gothic means, something else to look up when I have time.

Next it was on to the Tower Museum where we had an hour of free time. There were three exhibits that were really well done. The first was about one of the ships of the Spanish Armada that floundered off the coast, the next was a timeline of the history of Derry and the third was the most exciting to many of our group, the display of props and sets from a well known series now apparently on Netflix called the Derry Girls. It ran for 3 years starting in 2018 and was based on and filmed in Derry. Charlene took my picture on the set for Cara.

After our time at the museum we walked for just a few minutes (but practically straight up hill) to a pub, called the Badger for lunch. We discussed what great shape we’d be in if we lived there because everything is up or down hill. The lunch was a nice shrimp salad, a very hearty and nice tasting stewed beef over mashed potatoes, and a dessert that we couldn’t really identify. The problem with the main dish was that the portion was so huge that it was rather off-putting. Most of us only ate 1/2 of what we were served.

Our free time before boarding the bus to take us back to Portrush we spent walking over to the river to take pictures of the Peace Bridge that we’d seen when coming into the city. It is a beautiful pedestrian bridge over the Foyle River which joins two neighbours that were formerly primarily Protestant on one side and primarily Catholic on the other, which our guide said did help with relations between the two neighbourhoods. It was paid for by the EU before Brexit. One wonders if they asked for their money back.

We piled back on to the bus and headed back to Portrush to take the tender back to the ship. It was our night at Candles, one of the specialty restaurants and we wonderful service and a fabulous meal of Filet Mignon. More beef! I’m going to have to eat only veggies for weeks.

Saturday, July 6 – Isle of Man

Today was forecast to be raining and only about 12 degrees for our planned excursion to the Isle of Man which included a lengthy walk along some country roads, and the coastal pathway. So we were a little apprehensive about whether 3 layers of clothing was going to be enough. It turned out to be a lovely day, although fresh and windy, but with no rain and mostly sunshine. We took our various layers off and put them back on probably 5 times.

Some day I’m going to take a vacation that doesn’t require another vacation upon my return. Today we walked 7.84 km or 12,490 steps. But it was a very lovely 7.84 km full on interesting facts and stories about fairies and Vikings thanks to our outstanding guides, Jack and Tim.

The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea, equidistant from England and Ireland and its strategic location made it important in world trade routes and it helped the allies in the Second World War. It is approximately 33 miles long and 12 – 13 miles across. Its GDP is 6.5 million pounds.

We started our tour of the self governing dependancy of England this morning in the capital and largest town on the Isle of Man, Douglas where the ship was docked for the day. The Isle of Man is owned by King Charles, and he allows the residents of the island nation to live there free from taxes, although the citizens do pay taxes to the government of the island and the island in turn pays England for protection given they have no military.

There are two things the island is know for: the annual Tourist Trophy (TT) motorcycle race and as the place from where Manx cats originated. One of the excursions was a motor tricycle ride around the actual route the race takes, but stupidly we missed out booking it before it was sold out. They, of course, do the track at normal speeds whereas the speeds of the TT racers average 136 mph, and that’s with slowing down to on all the twists and turns of the roads. There is also a shorter race called the Manx Grand Prix for which they are starting to set up the viewing stands and bumpers along the course.

Manx cats are very obviously different from other cats in that they have no tail, or if they have one, it’s just a stub of a tail. They believe this was caused by a really strong mutant dominant gene that has been able to withstand generations of births.

Economically, the island is interesting, and despite the fact that we all visited them today, their tourism industry only makes up 1% of their economy. The island has very favourable tax laws for offshore wealthy investors and it has become an offshore financial centre contributing to 11% of their GDP. On line betting is huge here making up 16% of the economy and 11% is from insurance. The island has a history as a tax haven as there is no corporate tax, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax. (Think I could move my cottage to the Isle of Man from Ontario?) They have a 22% personal tax rate compared to the rate of 20% in the UK.

As with many parts of the world in this area, the Vikings broadened their empire on to this island with their pillaging and waring, and there are Viking ruins on the island that have been carbon dated to 800- 1000. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

A group of 12 of us left the town of Douglas on a small coach, headed for the town of Castletown where our historical walking tour would begin. We were in the able hands of guides Jack and Tim, who were full of tidbits of information, and a large dose of legend and myths. Just after we left Douglas Jack told us he needed our help because there is a belief that there are Fairies living under a bridge we were about to cross and if we didn’t acknowledge the Fairies we may feel their wrath with back luck. So everyone on the bus cooperated with a loud “good morning, Fairies” and we had only good luck the rest of the day.

We arrived in Castletown in no time and had a bathroom break before heading out. As the name would imply, we there is a castle in the town which we didn’t have time to see which has been in use for various purposed for over 6500 years.

We were driven to the start of a country road, just off a highway, where we started our hike. It was a beautiful bucolic walk, with a history lesson thrown in.

In the Balladoole Historic Monument Site, we saw the remains of an early Christian chapel called a Keeill, from the 10th – 11th century. The missionaries of the time had a belief that instead of building big churches for the people to come to, that they should take the religion to the people. And these small Keeills were built all over the countryside.

Further along were graves dating back the 9th century where a Viking ship had been uncovered along with the bones of a warrior and his wife and animals. It was the custom of wives to be buried with their husbands, whether they were alive or dead at the time! It was believed that this would have been an important person because the ship and the bodies would have had to be hauled up the hill to the top of this hill to be buried.

On route to the Coastal walkway we trooped through a farm yard and past a quarry. The limestone from this quarry is out of sink with the rest of the area as it’s black from the volcanic rock all around. Rock from this quarry was used on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

We continued along a road down to the Irish Sea where we joined the coastal walk and followed it all the way back to the town of Castletown. We came upon some ruins of stone buildings in a group across the farm land that were used as training locations for the RAF when radar was first introduced. They were used during WWII to spot planes on route to England as an early warning system. There was also a Ham Radio Station along the coast that the guides didn’t know much about, but was of course of interest to me.

The coastal path ended back in Castletown where we visited the town square which was bustling with a huge big screen tv showing Wimbledon tennis. We stopped for some ice cream before heading back to the bus and then back to the ship. I managed to get some pictures of the Castle but didn’t get a chance to go inside.

We barely got back in time for Char to enjoy some Scandinavian Glogg that they were offering as the special drink today. She said it was almost as good as what her family makes.

We enjoyed a presentation on how to use your iPhone camera to the best advantage and another by a History Professor on the history of the Isle of Man, and our next two stops. So great to get such good information. Then it was time for dinner at the Spanish tapas specialty restaurant with my favourite churro and chocolate dessert. We’re exhausted already but a nap this afternoon helped.

Fun facts:

⁃ The Beegees were born on Island of Man before moving to Australia.

⁃ They derive 6% of their electricity from burning rubbish (killing two birds with one stone).

⁃ There is a tram that runs from Douglas north and another one south that some of our fellow passengers went on today.

⁃ They use Manx pounds in the same denominations as the English pounds but it cannot be used as currency in any of the other countries of the UK. (Although British pounds can be used in Manx)

⁃ It is unsure where the name of the Isle of Man comes from but could have been from the legendary Manannan Mac Lir who protected the island against invaders by providing mist/fog to keep it from view.

⁃ The symbol of the Isle of Man is that of three legs joined in the middle. The motto of the Manx people is that no matter what is thrown at them, they’ll always land on their feet.

Friday, July 5 – Dun Laoghaire.

I can’t get pics to load tonight from our cabin so I’ll add them tomorrow from up in the lounge on the top deck where the wifi will hopefully be better.

Today’s the day! We left our very comfortable hotel in a nice part of Dublin, by taxi at noon today to head to the Carlisle Pier Cruise Ship Terminal in the ocean side town of Dun Laoghaire. We travelled through some really nice neighbourhoods on our way south down the coast from downtown.

It’s always a bit nerve racking on the way to the ship’s port. Will the ship be there, won’t it? Will we find the right pier or will the taxi driver find the right spot, etc? You know, travel drama stuff. Well today all went well. We came around the corner towards the terminal area and there she was, the very beautiful Star Legend. The taxi driver let us off outside the gates and he could have come into the terminal to drop us off, but it was good to dust off our legs for the first time today and walk the 250 ft to the registration tent.

We were a bit early so after dropping our bags at the check in tent, we went for a walk through the seaside town of Dun Laogharie. There were some really nice shops laid out along a main drag which felt very touristy and a small shopping mall with a grocery shop for the locals.

Then it was time to head back to the ship and get aboard. Check-in was done and we were off to check out our room. The room is beautiful as you may have seen on my previous blogs. The Star Legend is almost identical to the Star Pride which I’ve been on a couple of times so it was like coming home. One small snag, the beds hadn’t been pulled apart, and love her as I do, there was no way I was going to sleep with my sister. We were initially told the beds couldn’t be split in this room however, in the end our room steward came to the rescue and found a way to make it happen and all is well.

We toured the ship, had lunch, attended a couple of talks on the excursions available and on the port of the Isle of Man where we’ll be tomorrow and then went up on deck to say goodbye to Ireland, until next time. The Windstar fleet has a sail away protocol where they unfurl the ships flag (or the sails in the case of the sailing ships) to the very stirring music of Vangelis’ Conquest of Paradise as the ship pulls away from the dock or mooring. Gives me a lump in my throat every time.

There was just barely enough time to head to our cabin to change for a lovely dinner in the main dining room. We spoke with a lovely couple from NYC at the next table during dinner which is typical of a Windstar cruise. Very friendly cruisers.

So, not a lot to talk about today. So I’ll sign off and report on our first day at sea tomorrow!

Thursday, July 4th – Dublin

Before starting with an update on our day 2 in Dublin, let me back up a bit. After I signed off last night, Charlene and I walked over to our hotel’s name sake, Iveagh Gardens. The public gardens were really pleasant, if not well kept with several beds of different coloured roses. We even spent some time walking around the maze of boxwoods.

Then we were off to dinner and at the recommendation of our Bell Captain, we headed through a couple of alleyways to the closest pub for dinner. We were a little leery of the “live music” on the second floor that was offered to us because the first level was full, but it turned out to a really pleasant singer, guitar player with a wide ranging repertoire of Irish Ballads, and old favourites including Cohen’s Hallelujah. The fish and chips were great and hit the spot. A really pleasant experience.

Today was our only full day in Dublin, and after a bit of a sleep-in and late breakfast we headed out to jump on a Hop On, Hop Off bus to get an overview of Dublin. We actually Hopped on and stayed for almost two laps around the route to absorb more of the things to see and the commentary. It didn’t cover a large geographic area and we had walked much of it yesterday but so much history. I’ll try and pick the most interesting things we heard about, but there is so much more to this wonderful city.

Yesterday you saw pictures of Christchurch Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We learned a little more about them today and actually toured St. Patrick’s. Both cathedrals were built of wood in the 1000s by the Vikings, then in stone in the 1100’s, and renovated extensively in the late 1800s.

St. Patrick’s is the oldest and largest of the many churches and cathedrals in Dublin and it is rich in history. The audio tour of the cathedral was really well done and interesting. It’s a beautiful and active place with lots of the history explained and educational opportunities even for school children. The Guinness Family (yes, the beer one) spent something like $22 million in the late 1800s to renovate and restore St. Patricks.

As I mentioned yesterday, Jonathon Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels was the Dean of the Cathedral and he apparently gave long sermons, sometimes as long as 6 hours. He was obsessed with people who fell asleep in church and rumour has it that he had wheels installed on the pulpit and if he saw anyone asleep he would have the pulpit wheeled to within striking distance when he would use a stick to prod them awake.

Our HOHO bus took us outside of the core of the city a little today to an area called “Liberties”, where historically there were textile and alcohol factories. The name comes from the fact that this area was outside the walls of the city and therefore were not required to pay taxes.

One of the highlights of the tour for most tourists is the Guinness distillery set nearby the River Liffey for ease of transportation in the early days. We didn’t stop as neither of us are big beer drinkers but one can’t help but be impressed with the huge site. The apparent secret to its success are that hops are roasted at a high temperature (232 degrees) causing the dark red colour of the beer. They brew 3 million pints a day and ship to over 150 countries around the world. (The 3 countries that consume the most Guinness are UK, Nigeria and Ireland.) The facility includes a bar in a building overlooking the complex where one can learn how to properly pour a Guinness, including receiving a diploma to prove one’s competency.

The River Liffey (river of life in Irish), divides the city into North and South and there are 20 bridge crossings, many of them pedestrian only. We are staying on the south side but we crossed over to the north side on our HOHO bus today. The most popular stop on the north side is Phoenix Park where the Dublin Zoo is located along with lots of open parkland and the prominent Wellington Monument. The monument was built to commemorate the victories of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, over Napoleon at Waterloo and the only Prime Minister of United Kingdom to be born in Ireland.

Also on the North Side is the Spire of Dublin, or Millennial Spire completed not in the millennial but in 2003, (bet there is a story there!) which is 335 ft high.

Its nicknames are “Stiletto in the ghetto” and “Rod to God” according to our tour guide.

An imposing O’Connell Statue sits on the north side of the river on O’Connell Street in honour of Daniel O’Connell, who is largely responsible for the 1829 Act of Catholic Emancipation giving freedom to Catholics to vote, own horses and such.

We got off the HOHO at a spot where we could easily walk home and found a really nice place to eat a very late lunch. We then walked back along Grafton Street and even stopped in a couple of shops. One was a Marks and Spencers that I wish we still had in Canada. Another, the Brown Thomas Department Store where I’m sure the gentleman standing outside in the hat and tails scowled as we went past him to enter the store. Every luxury brand you’ve heard of was available. The prices were through the roof. Blue jeans for 315 Euros and a rack of thin, wrinkled solid coloured t-shirts were 250 Euros each. Definitely out of my league.

Fun Facts: (the reader is reminded that much of this and my account from today is taken from accounts by tour guides and here-say and is to be taken with some grains of salt and suspicion).

⁃ The Irish language is the official language of Ireland and it appears first on any formal signage, but is only spoken by approximately 85,000 of the 5 million population, primarily on the west coast of the island.

⁃ English is spoken by most Dubliners, however, I have to say Charlene and I have walked away from a conversation saying, “I have no idea what they were saying” more than once.

⁃ Ireland was the first state to legalize same sex marriage through a public referendum in 2015 when 63% of the 61% of the population who turned out voted in favour of allowing it.

⁃ Just off Dame street in South Dublin is a statue of Molly Malone, who in stories is represented as a fish hawker by day and a lady of the night by night and has many nicknames none of which I can now remember. She was possibly a historical figure and definitely a legendary figure. The famous Irish song by the Dubliners, “Cockles and Mussels” was apparently written about the legend. It has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin.

⁃ We have heard 4 different versions of why the Temple Bar area is called the Temple Bar area:

1. it is an area where lots of lawyers ply their trade;

2. it is where there is a sand bar in the nearby River Liffey;

3. it’s named after the famous Temple family bar;

4. it’s named after the Irish word for walkway which is barre.

⁃ The heart of Dublin was original surrounded by a stone wall (now 900 years old), some small parts of which can be seen standing around the city.

⁃ Handel’s Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742.

⁃ Christchurch Cathedral has 19 bells and has become a place to hangout on New Year’s Eve to wait for them to ring in the new year.

⁃ 2 million people left Ireland during the potato famine in 1840s.

⁃ the average temperature in Ireland year round is 62 degrees, with 3 inches of rain monthly, one of the most rainy countries in Europe (there is a reason it’s so green)

⁃ since its independence in 1922 when the Irish police were established they have not worn guns.

⁃ the movie Educating Rita (1982) was filmed on the Trinity College campus

⁃ Oliver Cromwell is reported to have bedded down his horses in the nave of St. Patrick’s church in the mid 1600s during his conquest of Ireland to show his disrespect for the Anglican religion.

Wednesday, July 3rd – Dublin

After weeks of planning and anticipation (possibly the best part of travel) and some angst over the Westjet strike, Charlene and I met at Gate 58 at Montreal airport to start our Gaelic Exploring together. I had only come from Ottawa, a 30 minute flight that took almost 1.5 hours, but Charlene had been on the go all day. From Comox to Vancouver, and then on to Montreal. Our flight to Dublin was an hour late leaving due to the delay in the aircraft being available, but otherwise the flight was uneventful. The best kind of flights. I don’t know how many times we each said how glad we were that we changed her flight from Westjet to Air Canada over the past few days.

After a bit of rest, a cuppa tea and a clean up, we headed out to explore. We put on 12,488 steps, in all, and covered a good chunk of the interesting areas of Grafton Street, the Liffey River, and Temple Bar area. There was a sprinkling of rain early on in our walk but eventually the sun came out and it was lovely and warm with mostly blue sky. Not something I’d expected from what I’d heard or the forecast.

Our hotel is just a 10 minute walk from the heart of Dublin, just south of 22 acre St. Stephen’s Green Park. St. Stephen’s Green Park is Dublin’s oldest park which can be traced back to medieval times when it was used for grazing live stock. In 1635 the city assembly passed an ordinance that the space be left green and still today it provides a real oasis in a busy city centre for its human inhabitants as well as its wildlife.

Fusiliers Arch at the north west entrance to the Park was built to commemorate Irishmen who died fighting for the British in the Boer War in South Africa. It later became a focal point for other struggles that the Irish had, this time against the British in the 1916 Easter Uprising. There is so much history in this city, and along our tour, that I’m not even going to try and cover it.

Next we headed north toward the river and along one of the main shopping areas, Grafton Street. Grafton Street was pedestrianized in 1983 and it and the surrounding streets were bustling with locals, tourists and what seemed like a large number of young people/students. There were familiar named shops from home and others that are unique here such as department store Brown Thomas. Colour was everywhere.

We felt the need for a bit of tea, and maybe a scone and found the perfect place to find both in a cozy, library-type environment. Turns out it was also a tiny theatre and we were sitting on what can become the stage.

We wandered down a small side street off Grafton and found the really lovely St. Teresa’s Carmelite Church. It was build in 1792 and was full of multicoloured marble but felt restful, warm and inviting, not cold like marble might make it feel. It took up a full block in the middle of the busy shopping area.

Next it was on to the Temple Bar area, where of course the famous Temple Bar is located but also hundreds of other establishments providing sustenance and fun. However, I was surprised to read that since 2001 consumption of alcohol is down almost 20 percent in Ireland and thousands of pubs have closed in the last 10 years. Even Guinness launched a non-alcoholic beer in 2018.

The sun was full out while we walked along the Liffey River and over one pedestrian bridge and back on another. The Ha’ Penny Bridge which is pictured here was built in 1816 and got its name for the sum that people paid to cross the bridge rather than take the ferry. The Quays on either side are dotted with restaurants and bars and even mid-afternoon were hopping.

We walked further west past the city hall and on to Christ Church Cathedral before turning to head back to the hotel. The front of the church is shrouded and under construction so we didn’t get a good look at it. We did peek into the Dublinia, a museum taking visitors back to medieval times of the Vikings. I don’t know a lot at all about the Viking history in Ireland and we were hoping to take a walking tour to hear about it, but it’s either sold out or they’re not offering it til mid-July. I’ll have to do some reading.

The imposing St. Patrick’s Cathedral and gardens was our next stop. The attached garden is really pretty and there is a wall of commemorative plaques to the Dublin-born and world renown writers along the end of the garden. Among those recognized is Jonathon Swift (author of Gulliver’s Travels) who was dean of the cathedral for some time and is buried in the church as well as Oscar Wilde, and Nobel Prize winners George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heaney.

Our walk wandered back to the hotel where we crashed. Trying to stay awake until a reasonable time tonight is going to be difficult. We’re debating dinner at the hotel dining room or an Irish Pub. Might leave the pub until we have more energy tomorrow.

Why have I become a Gaelic Explorer, you ask? Some time ago, I spit in a tube and sent it away to one of the companies that analyzes your DNA and determines from where in the world you come. (People have been asking that for ages.) I knew that some of my family came to Nova Scotia from Scotland but I had no idea how much of my DNA originated there. Pretty concentrated in this region! So I decided I ought to step foot in the land of my ancestors at least once in my life. And although I’m loath to leave my cottage in the summer, from what I’d read and heard about Scotland and Ireland, it seemed like it was a sacrifice that would make sense.

I started looking for tours of the region and was considering a small group land tour but then I saw that Windstar, my favourite small cruise ship company, had a special on their ‘Gaelic Explorer” so I jumped at it. And I was surprised and delighted when one of my sisters, Charlene, who obviously shares my DNA, decided to jump with me.

The cruise starts July 5th from Dublin, Ireland and ends in Edinburgh on the 12th. We’ll spend a couple of nights in Dublin to explore and catch up on the missed night’s sleep and 3 nights in Edinburgh to explore and complete one of my bucket list experiences.

This trip has already provided a bit of an adventure with Westjet possibly going on strike in the next couple of days and us scheduled to depart Ottawa and Comox on July 2nd. I was booked to fly on Air Canada, but Charlene was flying Westjet. So instead of sitting on the edge of our seats for the next few days, I changed the flights last night and Charlene is now flying Air Canada. The added bonus is that she will meet up with me in Montreal for the flight to Dublin.

I know you’re anticipating a detailed blog, based on previous experience, but I may disappoint you. I haven’t had a chance to do advance research and there is so much history and culture in this region that it’s a little overwhelming. I promise to at least post some pictures along the way.

So let the Gaelic exploring begin…..