Scotland Adventures: Isle of Iona

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Iona: Scottish Carribbean

After our visit to the Isle of Staffa, the last leg of our Three Isles tour was a late lunch stop at the Isle of Iona. We had time there to visit Iona Abbey, St Oran’s chapel, and the ruins of the Augustinian nunnery. This island is the site of what’s believed to be the birthplace of Christianity in the UK, with the arrival of St Columba, who arrived in AD 563. After wandering the historical sites, we relaxed by the crystal blue waters along the shores & enjoyed a glass of wine before catching the ferry back to Mull, coach ride across Mull, and final ferry ride back to Oban. See the rest of my highlights from this whirlwind adventure in the Highlands of Scotland: Part 1 of 6: Edinburgh Part 2 of 6: Oban Part 3 of 6: Isle of Staffa (& Puffins!) Part 4 of 6: Isle of Iona Part 5 of 6: Orkney Island Part 6 of 6: Dunnet Head

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Scotland Adventures: Isle of Staffa

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Isle of Staffa: Puffins

Our primary reason for visiting Oban this trip was that it was the departure point for a tour to visit the Isles of Mull, Staffa, and Iona. I was so excited for this day because it would be my first ever chance to see Puffins up close, but turned out to be so much more than that. We booked the Three Isles “Early Bird” Excursion with Staffa Tours, and were on our way at the wee hour of 7:30 for the ferry to Mull. Once on Mull, we took a coach across the island, which took about an hour, with fun narration along the way by our driver to help us learn more about the island & its culture. From the coach, there weren’t really any great photo opportunities, but the real treat was waiting at the end the next leg of this tour: the 45 min boat ride out to the Isle of Staffa. It was a foggy day, but as we approached Staffa, the fog seemed to part, revealing a view of the massive Fingal’s Cave directly ahead. Upon landing, for those of us who wanted to see Puffins, we were instructed to climb a steep staircase (just steps from the boat) then to walk along the top of the ridge until we saw the marker indicating we were at the viewing point. From there, we were told, the Puffins should simply start to appear. We did … and they did! I got to see so many Puffins (close up, thanks to my zoom lens), that it actually brought tears to my eyes. After tearing ourselves away from the Puffins, we ventured back toward the boat landing and past it along the basalt shoreline to get a close up look at Fingals Cave. This massive “hole” in the side of the island, with the ocean  waves crashing deep inside, was even more impressive up close. Feeling thoroughly awe-struck, we met our boat for the next leg of the tour: a stop on the Isle of Iona. See the rest of my highlights from this whirlwind adventure in the Highlands of Scotland: Part 1 of 6: Edinburgh Part 2 of 6: Oban Part 3 of 6: Isle of Staffa (& Puffins!) Part 4 of 6: Isle of Iona Part 5 of 6: Orkney Island Part 6 of 6: Dunnet Head

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Scotland Adventures: Oban

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Oban: Boat on the Harbor

With daylight that stretched into the late evening hours, and a midnight “dusk” that literally takes your breath away, the quaint seaside village of Oban was the perfect gateway to our journey out to the Isles of Mull, Iona, and Staffa. Along the waterfront, during our visit, was a fun display of artwork by the town’s children: wood planks featuring their hand prints, names and ages, and decorated uniquely by each. They stretched the entire length of the waterfront, and under the magical evening light, were fun to study, imagining the faces that went along with each of the tiny hand prints. See the rest of my highlights from this whirlwind adventure in the Highlands of Scotland: Part 1 of 6: Edinburgh Part 2 of 6: Oban Part 3 of 6: Isle of Staffa (& Puffins!) Part 4 of 6: Isle of Iona Part 5 of 6: Orkney Island Part 6 of 6: Dunnet Head

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Scotland Adventures: Edinburgh (Take II)

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View of Edinburgh from the Botanical Garden

I call this “Edinburgh Take II” because this was our second trip to Edinburgh, though I’m sure we’ll be back for takes III, IV, V…and hopefully more. We were just there for a short time, and we were tickled to explore even more of the city than we were able to on our first short visit (almost exactly a year prior in 2015). To start, we couldn’t resist a ride on the hop-on-hop-off bus. The tour helped us re-acquaint ourselves with the city and suss out the things we didn’t want to miss this time. The sun was out and shining bright, which made for a beautiful walk around the Royal Botanical Gardens, and a delicious lunch nearby at Earthy Market & Restaurant, with a vegetarian spread that even my meat-eating husband loved…with a side of cold beer & white wine of course! We ended our stay in Edinburgh with a sunset walk along the castle wall, and excited to move on to the next leg of our journey: Oban. See the rest of my highlights from this whirlwind adventure in the Highlands of Scotland: Part 1 of 6: Edinburgh Part 2 of 6: Oban Part 3 of 6: Isle of Staffa (& Puffins!) Part 4 of 6: Isle of Iona Part 5 of 6: Orkney Island Part 6 of 6: Dunnet Head

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About Me

I’m a California girl, who relocated to the beautiful state of Maine in 2004, because…MAINE.