Viewfield House, Portree, Isle of Skye

My Hebridean adventure ends on the Isle of Skye. The Isle of Skye is considered part of the Inner Hebrides. It is also known as the garden of the Hebrides. It is filled with wild flowers that line the roadside and also unused fields. It lacks the drama of the Machair of the Outer Hebrides but is not any less delightful. Portree, the capital of Skye sees a lot of visitors, a lot of Asian visitors. Most visitors to Scotland, besides visiting the biggies like Glasgow and Edinburgh, also visits Inverness, Loch Ness and Skye. So accommodation is really tight in Portree. I'm staying 3 nights, each night in a different place. Last night was at a B&B outside of town. Tonight I'm staying in this 200 year old mansion. Tomorrow I'll be moving to a hostel downtown. That will signal the end of this trip, as I return home to complete the ebook on the Hebrides, both Inner and Outer! I love the wildness of the Outer Hebrides and I find nothing in the city that could compare to it. I see a field of beautiful purple thistles and I want to run through it. Of course that's not advisable, I'll get pricked in the bottom before I could get very far. Its been amazing! Its hard to top this!

My last day in the Outer Hebrides

This is my last stop, Stornoway, in the Outer Hebrides. I'm leaving from Tarbert tomorrow, taking the bus there and then a ferry will take me to the Isle of Skye. Getting accommodations in Skye was a nightmare. I spent most of yesterday making my onward arrangements but I did 2 places to stay in Skye, one for 2 nights and the other for the 3rd night. It is very expensive too if you can find any rooms. I've been told Skye is very beautiful. I shall miss all the wild flowers. It was planned a year ago to be here in July to see the beautiful wild flower fields called Machair. Its going to be a book on the Hebrides. I was at the Inner Hebrides last year. I want to come back. It is so beautiful and unspoiled and the people are so nice.

The Outer Hebrides

This was a week ago at the start of my Outer Hebrides adventure. I'm still in the Outer Hebrides wending my way North covering a lot of ground in a short time meeting some of the friendliest people and seeing some of the most wondrous Machair. The Machair is unique to the Outer Hebrides and is absolutely stunning. That is the reason why I'm here. There are fields and fields of Machair everywhere. There are wild flowers everywhere and beautiful scenery, beaches, rock outcrops and wild life. This was taken at Barra airport a week ago.

Howmore

This was my hostel yesterday, at first sight, a very dismal and dumpy place but I had the best time here. I stayed a night here. I was alone, then I was joined by Steve, a bicyclist and mush later Alan, another bicyclist. All three of us talked the night away. I didn't know Howmore was so small. It had no shops, cafes or anything. I had a bar of chocolate with me. I told myself, half of it is for lunch and the other half for dinner. But when Steve arrived, he boiled some pasta left over by another party and there was half a can of canned tomatoes left in the fridge. With that I made a sauce and had enough for lunch and dinner. This trip was all about serendipity. The hostel was right smack in the middle of a mach air and I had the best time of my life living on such minimal of things. There was of course no Internet and I was off the grid for 24 hours.

Home

Home is Southern California, home is Los Angeles, home is Hollywood, home is the Pacific ocean! While I love to be home, I love to wander also. I'm going wandering in a few days and be away for a few weeks. But I can't wait to get home and to entertain again. I wander the whole world over looking for wild flowers and going next week to do exactly that, look for wild flowers. In March this year, I didn't have to wander far, just 30 miles away, to the hills and to this magical canyon which was ablaze with the wondrous sight ever, wild flowers everywhere in them hills. I've never seen Southern California so glorious. I love you, California!