The Orkneys

Our final area to visit in Scotland: the Orkney Islands. But first, we had to get there! We rose early enough and could have left on time, but our host could not get online for us to pay our bill. We had to be at the ferry by 8:15; we were still waiting to pay around 7:45. Our map originally said it was a 20-minute trip, but it changed to 37 that morning. We sped out of there and headed to Scrabster, where we hoped to catch the ferry. When we pulled in, the lot was deserted. We pulled up to a deserted check-in booth and then to a deserted drive to the ferry, when a guy came running up with our tickets and let us in, even though we were late.  So we made the ferry.

I have a history with big ferries. A few years back, we took the ferry from Holyhead to Wexford, and I wound up sitting on the top deck in the dark in the very cold, trying not to puke. The seas today were choppy, and the ship was lurching, and it took about 30 minutes for me to lose the color in my face and head for a lower deck. Vicki brought me some of the wrist pressure bands to help. I sat in misery, ready to run to the can if I needed to puke. But I made it. Now I have to worry about the return trip. 

Watching the horizon in this video Vicki took brings it all back:

 

Once in port, we took off for our rental. We are never quite sure that we will get what we expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. First, the host had upgraded us to the corner unit, which had an extra wall of windows. It was quite welcoming, plus we can watch the weather change every five minutes. Some photos:

This is the back - we are in the right unit. 

This is the front, with our rental car.

Beautiful views and some fungi in the yard:

We went to see the Stones of Stenness, raised about 5000 years ago. Archeologists suspect that they were used for something ceremonial. There were originally about twice as many stones. 

Driving around, we could change weather in less than five minutes. And it could go from raining and overcast to this in less time:

We drove back into Stromness, hit the COOP (grocery), and went to the Ferry Inn for a drink before having dinner next door. We wound up with a great bartender who educated us on both Orkney gin and whisky. I got to try three more single malts, all outstanding.