Heather has a sleep in and Allan introduces me to Richlin and Paloma the goats who keep the grass mowed between the house and the 16th century Bothy (outbuilding for Scottish cowboys or farmhands).

I know I have to find a way to plug my lap top in to start journalling and Add, Heather's lodger, and his friend Ewan start problem solving the box of international plug-ins I had bought at the airport.

They have never seen a three prong plug and try a combination of three attachments stacked together, hmmm, looks pretty scary but it's working! - so far so good!

Taker away the presence of humans and compare the landscape and it is easy to see why the Scottish adapted rather well in the Canadian Maritimes and Upper Canada (Southern Ontario) The Prairies was another matter and they suffered greatly on the ‘cheap’ plot of land they could call their own.

Add the presence of humans and Canada is made of wood and cement (sod on the early prairies); Scotland’s architecture is stone and hedge. Little villages still reside in stone structures that speak of another era. Cobble stone roads and pathways and overgrowth of hedges and ancient trees are the face of the Scottish personality – valuing their heritage, nature and strength of character all shining through.

Heather and I set out for the Isle of Mull. She has only had one nights sleep to overcome her jet lag from her two week tour in Eastern Canada and now she is heading out with a stranger, into the unknown.

We had to book our ferry from Oban to Craignure on the Isle of Mull so we must complete our 3 hour journey through narrow roads, competing with sheep and tourists to get their on time. We don’t have a B&B booked for our two day stay but I’m not worried yet.

The lochs (lakes) and hillsides are picturesques of course! We’re on time for the Oban ferry and stop in at the Tourist center where they pride themselves in helping tourists book accommodations. It’s a grrrreat feature! With some difficulty they find us a spot for tonight anyway. Tobermory is booked solid because of a Mod (singing festival) so we take probably the last room on the island.

The ferry is like the B.C. ferry line on Canada’s west coast and speaks a similar language, heaving and grunting like an oversized mechanical whale. The crossing takes about 45 minutes and the scenery is very different from British Columbia. We see a proud and lonely lighthouse and a castle. The stronghold of the Clan MacLean, Duart Castle was also where ‘Entrapment’ was filmed with Sean Connery.

From the ferry we only have to drive 6 miles to the B&B which is also in the direction of Iona. We’re going there tomorrow anyway so it’s very handy.

We are greeted by Helen at a beautiful country B&B. Oh we are also greeted by the turkey in the tree. Yes, a turkey in the tree, fanning his feathers – I guess that’s HiYa!

Back          Next