Don’t Break a Leg Day! 15th Feb

Today is a major event day - last year in Bali I broke my left Tibia and Fibula and as it was a compound fracture I had to have emergency surgery in Bali. Back home it took 5 months to discover that the “Bali Job” was not correct and I had a superbug infection in my bone as well so it was never going to heal. After a second lot of surgery in Perth to re- break my fibula and completely redo all the metal work for my Tibia as well as 3 months of antibiotics and another hospital stay it - a broken bone was a major problem! Episodes in a wheel chair, walking frame, elbow crutches, walking stick and finally walking on my own has taken a year and I still walk with a limp and have pain. In April when I get back all the metal work has to come out so it’s more surgery and recovery time. So basically the 15th Feb 2019 will cost me at least 18 months out of action!

So my aim for the day was NOT TO BREAK A LEG - or any other bits of me for that matter - happy to say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Although I did have to fend off freezing fingers, not slipping on steep slopes to photograph sheep and not being blown-overboard on the jetty to try to get a Skye Bridge photo.... here's how the day unfolded.....

We woke up in the exquisite opulence of Kinloch Lodge after our special Valentines Day meal last night. A leisurely morning, then down to another culinary feast from Marcello Tully - we had the award winning pinhead porridge with cinnamon followed by Eggs Benedict (Vince had salmon and I had ham). But as you’d expect we also were given pots of tea, plunger coffee, little scones with butter and three different jams. Toast and freshly squeezed orange juice - I had trouble fitting it all in.

We got the name of an exquisite Muscat that we had last night so we can chase a bottle of it up sometime, and also the contact for the International Otter Survival Fund as we are interested in checking that out.

We reluctantly left the comfort of the Kinloch Lodge and out into the blustering wind, rain and hail to head back to reality.

We drove back Eastward, towards the main road into Skye, but pulled off at Dumfearn to check out those crazy fluffy sheep (the black-nosed Swiss Valais) that our friend Penny, the photographer, had told us about a few weeks back at dinner. Sure enough we saw some, only a couple but the were sooooooo cute. Even though it was pelting rain and hail, I had to get out and try to get a shot or two. The farmer was very friendly and said it was okay. I was like a drowned rat and my hands completely frozen when I got back into the car.

As we headed back the way we came I saw some spotted pigs. When Vince stopped the car and I got out they both came bolting over to me wanting food. I had a long lens on so couldn’t really get a good shot, especially in the pelting weather, but I did go back to the car and get some of the food our crofter friend, Alan, had given me - and they went crazy for it!

When we reached the main road instead of turning left towards Portree, we headed right and went back over the bridge (closed for high sided vehicles due to the high winds) into Kyle of Lochalsh then onwards to Eiliean Donan Castle. We stopped to try to take some shots but the weather was horrendous and I had to keep wiping my lens every shot.

The Island the Castle stands on is thought to be named for Bishop Donan, a 6th Century Irish Saint who came to Scotland about 580AD. But the first fortified structure wasn’t built until the early 13th Century to decent the lands of Kintail agains the Vikings who raided, settled and eventually controlled much of the North of Scotland and Western Isles between 800 - 1266.From the middle of the 13th Century it belonged to the Lord of the Isles, as the seas was the main highway and feuding clan chiefs held power depending on the number of men and “birlinns” (ships) they had.

Over centuries the Castle has expanded and contracted in size, at it’s larges in the medieval times with towers and a curtain wall encompassing the entire Island with its main keep on the Island’s highest point. It got to about a fifth of this size by the end of the 14th century, thought to be because less men were needed to defend it. The hornworm was added to the east wall for a canon firing platform by the 16th Century.

It played a role in the Jacobite risings of the 17th and 18th Centuries when ultimately it was destroyed and for about 200yrs it lay neglected and in ruin. It was bought by Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstarp and along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, dedicated 20 years to restoring the Castle to her former glory. It was rebuild according to a surviving ground plan and was completed in 1932.

Elian Donan Castle is one of the most famously photographed Scottish Castles, and is featured in many films. It’s one of the places we though about for our wedding vow renewal (1.1.2020) but it closes during January. Vince got a good shot today!

On the way back to Skye I tried to get a shot of the Skye Bridge, but again the weather was just dreadful and I ended up soaking wet and bedraggled, with no real success of a good shot.

We headed back over the bridge and it felt like we were “coming home” - its kind of weird but nice! We would really love to live here - its such a beautiful place and stress just melts away - even if the weather isn’t always great!

We stopped in to see Alistair, the Butcher in the Portakabin and got a roast for tomorrow and some other meat for during the week, then it was on to the Co Op for our weekly shopping.

The weather just didn’t let up all day and we just headed straight home on the Uig road back to Willie McLeod’s and our beloved “Pointy Mountain”.

We unpacked the shopping, got the fire on, and dried out our wet things. I had already precooked our dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese and Garlic Bread to make life simple and we settled in for a quiet night.

We have had an invitation to go to our friend Ian and Gills for dinner next Sunday so that will be such fun. We will have Alan, the crofter, over for lunch tomorrow, then we are invited to dinner at Kay and Nigles in Glendale on Tuesday - for a remote Island we seem to have more friends and social engagements than we do back home in Australia! LOL! I guess that’s Island Life! - BRING IT ON!