Skye - northeast coast continued

 

After leaving Lleat

the next place we pulled over was Kilt Rock,

basalt columns that look like folds in a kilt.

Not to mention the huge waterfall, falling over the cliff

to crash on the beach, way below.

Cliffs marching south and

clouds still over the mountains behind.

 

We stopped at a cafe called The Hungry Gull. It was attached to a small grocery store so we had no great expectations. It was wonderful, mostly vegetarian, all homemade. We had tomato, chickpea and chilli soup with a hunk of homemade bread and blueberry scone with lemon curd for dessert.

Fortified, I impulsively took a road with a sign..To The Beach. A one lane track and sheep had the right of way.

We drove past the beach to a pier, where the sheep

were eating seaweed. I wonder if that makes their meat salty.

We walked out on the jetty, saw a guy snorkeling and another one swimming (he was from California and said it wasn't that cold!). We saw a seal, popping its head up periodically, as it swam in to the bay and back out again. I never got my camera focused in time.

Blue sky was creating deep blues and turquoises in the sea.

Barnacles and kelp on the rocks.

I assume the pier is used by the salmon farming organization.

We drove back to the beach, dodging sheep again,

The rocks at the end of the beach were inhabited by

Rock Pipit's, jumping around, picking flies off the seaweed.

Some less committed swimmers, a deaf dog who chose to ignore his masters gestures from the top of the path, children searching for dinosaur footprints in the rocks and Heather and Don getting their toes wet by letting the surf wash over the tips of their running shoes.

 

Next we started to drive the Quiraing road. A one track road. This has to be experienced. It is one car wide with nasty gullies on either side. The instructions are to remember where the lay bys are so you can back up to them and let on coming cars pass and not to cause a queue, so go into a lay by to let cars pass from behind. It is a dance of stop and go, in and out, fast and slow. With a wave of "thanks" from us and from the passing car. Stressful but quite civilized.

I pulled over and while Heather and Don were taking pictures of the Quiraing (A mountain formation), I took a picture of the moors in the opposite direction.

 

We had a brief drive further up the coast to the end of the peninsular but my leg started to cramp from the stop and go. so we turned around and Don drove back.

We had the ingredients for chilli but none of the spices. So improvise with you find in the cupboard.. ....Brown sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, cinnamon. Jamaican jerk, Louisiana Hot Sauce. It wasn't bad.

Cigi ready for Fall. Photo from Chris