The Crossing - Day 4 - Dunna Chuck Bruck

September 8

There are a lot of things here that are hard to puzzle out.

Like this. What is it?

And this?

And this.

And this.

Why would an otter cross the road?

And this?

Oh, I might know that one!

OK. So we arrived at Lerwick (in the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland) and embarked on a 6-hour taxi tour with 7 other couples in two vans.  

Quick first impressions: Lerwick has a lot of charm and a lot of matching stone buildings. Outside of Lerwick the main island is desolate and nearly treeless. There are more sheep than people. There are a lot of knitting shops for such a small population. The weather is not that great.

What about the ponies? Yes, there are lots of them. They are outrageously cute.  Acccording to the Shetland Museum the ponies have been here at least 3,000 years. They were used as work animals. Some worked in coal mines and never got to come out. Now they are more likely to be pets.

They are very tame (as far as I know) and if you pet their heads they will nuzzle you and get mud all over your jacket.

Back to the tour. Our first stop was at a place called Mavis Grind. It was sort of an isthmus where you could throw a rock from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. (Maybe "you" could, but I don't think I could - I throw like a girl.) We also saw some tank traps from WWII, and the otter sign. We saw some dark heads in the water. Theey were either otters or seals. My money is on seals.

Next stop, a lighthouse at Eshaness. The light part is now automated so they don't need the house part. It is rented out as a B & B. There are some very dramatic cliffs near the lighthouse.

A stone's throw away ( if some sort of a giant threw it) is a small cemetery. There was a very interesting grave, which said:

DONALD ROBERTSON, born 14th January 1785

died 4th June 1848, aged 63 years

He was a peaceful quiet man and to all appearance

a sincere Christian.

His death was much regretted which was caused by

the stupidity of Laurence Tulloch in Clothister (Sullom)

who sold him nitre instead of Epsom salts by which

he was killed in the space of 5 hours after taking a

dose of it.

We saw some areas where peat had been harvested. They still use peat. Lots of sheep. Interesting rock formations.

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Scalloway Castle, built in 1600, belonged to Patrick Stewart, the Earl of Orkney. As Rick STeves would say, it was evocative. If you are an Outlander fan, you can imagine Jamie and Claire in the Great Hall of the castle.

The museum in Scalloway was very well-curated. In addition to information about the castle, the museum had dislays about the Stone Age inhabitants of the Shetlands, the geology, the ponies, the fishing industry, and the "Shetland Bus." The Shetland Bus was the method by which the Norwegian resistance smuggled arms and supplies into Norway during WWII and smuggled refugees out of Norway. They used fishing boats and other small boats to make the risky journey. Close friendships developed between the Norwegians and the Shetlanders and remain to this day.

Our final stop was Clickimin Broch, a round stone tower built in the second century CE, possibly earlier.

In the evening we were entertained by the Hilarious Marriage Match Game Show. Cruise Director Paul is very good at off-the-cuff quips and he knows how to make it very funny.