Iceland & Scotland Day 5: Shetland Island Traffic Jam
I do believe I’ve picked the wrong time to try to write this post because we’re all so tired we’re slaphappy. I’m not even sure what I’m laughing at, but tears are streaming down my eyes as 4 giggles fill the small ferry cabin.
We spent all of 8 hours on the Shetland Islands, but even in that time we managed to see up close 15 pigs, 6 bunnies, 0 whales, 34 ponies, 6 puffins, 1 otter [crossing sign], 30++ lambs and 1 seal, according to Lucy’s spreadsheet.
When I heard we were taking a guided tour of the island, I immediately envisioned a tour bus packed with rubber-necking tourists (and Stella apparently envisioned a cranky old lady), but instead we got our own personalized tour with Sarah, an older Yorkshire woman who had lived on Unsk for 23 years, guided for 17, and knew a wealth of information about Scotland and the Shetlands – both past and present. She gave us the flip side of the Brexit opinion, saying that the Islands needed to gain independence from the EU in order to protect their fishing trade since Europeans are able to come fish in their waters drastically cutting down on their industry. It was interesting to get the rural versus city opinion as this reason actually sounds plausible. The island itself is quite self-sufficient as they grow their own food both on land and sea, and they even manage not to export anything instead recycling as much as possible; their streets are colorful because the concrete is filled with tiny shards of vibrant glass.
Not originally a Scottish territory, apparently a Danish prince hocked the Islands to Scotland in order to marry a princess, an apparently beneficial arrangement. The Scandinavian influence is easy to see, particularly in the houses, both old and new. Even now, many people import Scandinavian kit houses because they’re much cheaper and quicker to build.
The history of previous life in the Shetlands is laid out for all to see as there are many stone croft house ruins, museums of relics, and even an almost-intact broch remaining from feudal times. But, even with its quaint antiquation, there are some modern movements. The main one that comes to mind is the small airport on the South end of the island. The runway goes directly out to the water so that departing planes appear as though they’re going to skate over the surface of the ocean. In fact, the area is so small that the highway actually runs right over the runway!
Taking a car tour around the entire North and South boarders was a beautiful way to see the contrasts of the countrysides; the South (where we went first) comprises of rolling hills of peat and sandy beaches and the North consistes of more rugged rocky lands and the same type of beaches, trading brown and white sand for red. The only connector is the highway, which was quite interesting as most of it is a single track road – but not a one-way street – with small pull-offs every 100 meters or so to allow cards to pass each other. This seems like a great idea for locations with little traffic as it cuts down on almost half of the roadway meaning less destruction of the beautiful scenery.
Though we came to tour the island, our main objective was to feed the ponies, and we had no shortage of opportunities to do so as there were at least a hundred of them in paddocks or roaming free. The adorable petite ponies were incredibly soft and quite nice, eating the carrots out of the girls’ hands.
Probably my favorite part of our excursion was standing on the edge of the northern cliffs, imagining soaring into the fresh breeze with the puffins and the gulls and landing atop the ragged rocks to feel the spray of the slapping surf. I could have sat on that clifftop meadow for hours, simply taking in the incredibly clean air and listening to the birds talk and the water gush. All around the island, the water is the bluest of blues, more vibrant and clear than I've ever seen.
We had a lovely fish and chip lunch in the north at a small one-woman-owned restaurant for which the owner grows and raises most of the food, and sources it locally when she can’t. The tomato on my salad tasted exactly like advertisement tomatoes look like they should, and the fried haddock tasted like it was fresh from the sea. The scone and tea were delightful as well, and I had to be “that person”, getting a photo of my treat in front of one of the windows overlooking the sea before actually eating it.
If I had to pick a spot to build a vacation home to live in during the summer, I think it might be the beautiful Shetland Islands where I could eat locally, play at the beach while looking at the mountains, pet endless numbers of cute animals, and run through the rolling hills with an infinitely beautiful vista.
After our full day of touring, we got back on the ferry traveling back to the mainland where we will join up with the rest of our crew tomorrow.
Taking a car tour around the entire North and South boarders was a beautiful way to see the contrasts of the countrysides; the South (where we went first) comprises of rolling hills of peat and sandy beaches and the North consistes of more rugged rocky lands and the same type of beaches, trading brown and white sand for red. The only connector is the highway, which was quite interesting as most of it is a single track road – but not a one-way street – with small pull-offs every 100 meters or so to allow cards to pass each other. This seems like a great idea for locations with little traffic as it cuts down on almost half of the roadway meaning less destruction of the beautiful scenery.
Though we came to tour the island, our main objective was to feed the ponies, and we had no shortage of opportunities to do so as there were at least a hundred of them in paddocks or roaming free. The adorable petite ponies were incredibly soft and quite nice, eating the carrots out of the girls’ hands.
Probably my favorite part of our excursion was standing on the edge of the northern cliffs, imagining soaring into the fresh breeze with the puffins and the gulls and landing atop the ragged rocks to feel the spray of the slapping surf. I could have sat on that clifftop meadow for hours, simply taking in the incredibly clean air and listening to the birds talk and the water gush. All around the island, the water is the bluest of blues, more vibrant and clear than I've ever seen.
We had a lovely fish and chip lunch in the north at a small one-woman-owned restaurant for which the owner grows and raises most of the food, and sources it locally when she can’t. The tomato on my salad tasted exactly like advertisement tomatoes look like they should, and the fried haddock tasted like it was fresh from the sea. The scone and tea were delightful as well, and I had to be “that person”, getting a photo of my treat in front of one of the windows overlooking the sea before actually eating it.
If I had to pick a spot to build a vacation home to live in during the summer, I think it might be the beautiful Shetland Islands where I could eat locally, play at the beach while looking at the mountains, pet endless numbers of cute animals, and run through the rolling hills with an infinitely beautiful vista.
After our full day of touring, we got back on the ferry traveling back to the mainland where we will join up with the rest of our crew tomorrow.