Day 17 - Loch Ness to Portree (Isle of Skye)

It was a fitful night’s sleep. The room heater was set and locked. The only way to regulate the heat in the room was by opening and closing the window throughout the night. The particleboard doors were so thin, I could hear the guest directly across the hall snoring. In the morning, the shower would not kick in and our water was the equivalent to glacier melt. In the Rule Binder, it addressed this potential problem along with how to fix it, but it did not work. I actually had an inductor shower exactly like this one in my home in Ireland, so I knew how they worked. The water was so cold, that I gave my self a brain-freeze while trying to get the soap out of my hair. I have not had a shower this cold since bathing in the snowmelt waters of the Andes on the Inca Trail with my friend Mo. At least there we could squeal at the shock of such cold water and then laugh about it, but when you pay $105 in cash, you expect to have a shower. There also was very little water pressure.

Breakfast was only served between 8:30 and 9:00am. Most B&Bs serve breakfast between 8:00 – 9:00am. With all the guests getting ready at the same time in order to meet the small window for breakfast, I’m not surprised there was no water pressure. Breakfast was a ham and cheese omelets. The OJ was served literally in shot glasses. The owner had still not yet introduced herself to us. The B&B was a cash only operation as per the reservation confirmation. Upon checkout, the owner did not introduce herself, she only apologized that she had not been here to check us in. We told her that Harriet had done an excellent job. She asked how our stay was. We told her the shower did not work. Instead of apologizing, she proceeded to tell us it was only 2 months old and that we obviously did not read the manual in regards to trouble-shooting it. Then she said you have to turn the dial to the red section. Her next statement was, “You should have come over and got me.” Since this was a cash place, any good business owner as an act of goodwill would have just said, “I’m sorry. That’s not an acceptable experience and given us 10 pounds out of the 70 back. She just took our money and walked back into the kitchen. She will not be getting a favorable review on Hotels.com.

Rain, Rain, Rain…As we drove north the highlands remained shrouded by mist and rains. Every now and then we got a little hint of what was out there, but it was really frustrating. 

We arrived at Castle Eilean Donan just as the rain stopped…or so we thought. By the time we took a few photos and walked to the ticket office, the black clouds rolled in, the winds came up and the sheets of rain returned. Everyone took refuge where they could. We waited out the heavy rain in the gift shop until it got too crowded and then found a little spot outside under a breezeway. The rain finally turned to a drizzle and we ventured towards the castle. Matt thought it looked like Castle Anthrax.

The legend of Eilean Donan goes like this: The name Eilean Donan traces its name back to a colony of otters that once lived on the site. The King of Otters had chosen the site as his residence, and was easily recognizable  to all by his coat of pure silver and white. Eventually, on his passing, his glittering robe of silver was buried beneasth what is now the castle foundation. In recognition of this event it is from the Gaelic for otter (Cu-Donn) that the island is said to take its name. 

The castle was founded in the 13^th century. After the destruction of the castle on May 10, 1719, and the subsequent crushing of the Jacobite rebellion one month later, Eilean Donan remained in ruins for nearly 200 years. Then in 1912, Major John MacRae-Gilstrap began restoring the castle of his ancestors to its former glory. The rebuilding took 20 years. Once rebuilt the family lived in it as their second home. All their furnishings still decorate the castle (no interior photos allowed). Today, the clan’s chief returns each year for a clan reunion held in the castle. Castle Fun Fact: The 1999 James Bond Movie, “The World is Not Enough” was filmed here as well as the 1986 movie, “The Highlander.”

We left the Castle just as more rain was coming. Our next destination was the Isle of Skye. As suggested in our guidebook, we stopped at the Co-Op in the last town before crossing the Skye Bridge to the island. We stocked up on snacks and water and after eating a couple of sandwiches in the car we were off. I had envisioned the Skye Bridge as something close to the water and very long. But this bridge was more like an extended overpass by California standards. It was however, a very big deal to the locals and very controversial when it was built 10 years ago. The Isle of Skye greeted us with more wet and windy weather. Again it was frustrating not to be able to see the highlands.

We arrived at our B&B and were greeted by Catoarina (Katarina). She’s run the Drumnell B&B for 26 years. It is a charming traditional home painted farmhouse red. Our room was decorated in a proper English style with a nice view of the water. A cozy tea cart in the corner had a hot pot of tea, biscuits and water. This was a perfect place for us to spend 3 nights. 

Because the weather was so bad, a bay cruise was not going to happen, so we filled our backpacks with clothes and walked downhill for 5 minutes into town to the Laundromat…good times! Of course as we walked to town, it began to pour again. It was raining so hard that it was pointless to try to do anything other than watch our laundry spin on the wash cycle and then for the dry cycle. At least while waiting, we met a family from Canada who gave us the low-down on a few places on the island. 

By the time our laundry was done, the rain had turn to a drizzle. We walked down to the harbor to check it out and the sheets of rain hit again. We took refuge in a doorframe. After about 30 minutes we gave up and struck out to find a more permanent shelter. The rain was coming down again, so we ducked into a little café for an early dinner. I had a chicken pastry pie that was perfect for coming in from the cold. Matt had a burger that would defy most seismic standards. 

Unfortunately, after dinner, we had to walk home in another heavy down pour. We just put our heads down and trudged up the hill to Catoarina’s home. When we walked through the door, she was there to take our jackets and help us dry off. She was so concerned about our well being and insisted we go straight up to get warm and have a cup of tea. It rained non-stop all night, but still never got truly dark due to our latitude. 11:00pm is still only twilight here.