Puffins!!

Today we are on "holiday" going to the northernmost island of Unst to see the puffins. Pete is letting us use his father's car when we need it for the next 2 weeks....that's so nice of him. His father has recently moved in with them as he has early/mid stage Alzheimer's. He brought his car but does not drive it...so that's the car we're using. Here's a photo of the unusual key to the car:



For those of you who don't know, the British & Scots drive on the left side of the road...that also means that the steering wheel on the car is also on the opposite side...so it's on the right side. We could only have one driver for insurance purposes so Sara is the designated driver. I think Pete took her for a very short drive to give her the basics. Try to envision driving in the left lane and at an intersection making a right turn...you swing wide to stay in the left lane...and it's different when you look left and right before a turn...cars approaching from the right will be the ones to watch out for.

Here's Sara as we start to head down the road:


Here's what it looks like as you encounter other cars:



We drove north on Mainland Shetland to catch the ferry. We went from Hillswick to Brae to Toft, then took a ferry to Unsta on the island of Yell.






We drove north on Yell to the port of Belmont, then hopped another ferry to Uyeasound (pronounced You-ee-sound) on the island of Unst.
Here's a map...the upper 2 islands are Yell and Unst: (click on the map to enlarge it)




We drove around Unst looking for the place where we will stay tonight. This might surprise a lot of you...but it was the only place available on the whole island. We are staying at a youth hostel. Yes...I said youth hostel!! You might have thought I got that out of my system many many years ago and here I am in my 60's still at it! For those of you who might not know about youth hostels ...they are "minimal" abodes ...an inexpensive way to spend a night. ... usually the beds are dormitory style...quite a few people in a bunk beds room (men and women are separate) and you have a one bathroom/shower for all (shared). I spent a total of 12 months back in 1969 and 1972 backpacking and hitchhiking across Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Scandinavia staying at many youth hostels...some fine, others I wouldn't describe as fine. They ranged from castles and chalets to Mussolini's mistress' mansion to a former prison (as I remember it). The price was usually 50 cents to 1 dollar per night....any more than that and it was maddening. Needless to say, the hostel here on Unst is minimal...but we have our own room...2 beds...a shared bathroom with 2 other rooms on the upper floor, a very nice kitchen shared with all staying here, a room without a key. The warden wasn't there when we arrived but our name was on the chalk board in the entryway so we went to room #6 and occupied it. The sign says the warden won't be back until 7:00 PM tomorrow...so I assume we pay then. The cost is 15 pounds ($25) per person per night....highway robbery in the day!...but pretty cheap in today's world.

Here are some pictures of the hostel:















Our room:


Here's the view out our window:


We needed to find a place for lunch so we found a cafe attached to a grocery type store (an old fashioned grocery store). We picked out a few items in the store and warmed them up in the cafe, got some tea and sat down to eat. There was a nice couple next to us from England who shared some of their apricot torte with us...we had a very nice conversation.

As we drove around today we had to be careful of sheep all over the road...they aren't contained in a fence much. Here are some sights we saw just driving around:








Left and started looking for Hermaness where the puffins are. I won't tell you how many times we got lost and had to stop and ask for directions (think in terms of 8-10). We have a brochure with a map of Unst, but I use that term lightly. The map looks like they had a contest for 3rd graders to see who could draw the best map of the island. In some places, it looks like they had to break for recess and never finished. Here's the map:



Anyway, it's fairly useless and compounded with the fact that the highways are not marked (except 1 or 2). When we ask for directions, the replies can be not too easy to understand...and never very specific....like they might say..."just go nordway (north ward)...or turn by the police station or the bus stop. So it took us awhile to reach Hermaness...but we did...and we parked in the parking lot and had been told earlier that we would have to hike to the cliffs where the puffins are. I don't remember anyone saying anything about the start of the trail being straight up. It was what I call a Holy Crap! trail. Luckily I was able to use Sara's monopod (for her camera) as a walking stick...it proved to be very helpful.

The hike was very strenuous but incredibly beautiful. Pebbles paved part of the trail, then composite slats, then just walking on peat trails...very spongy. Supposedly the trail was supposed to be 1 1/2 miles long....but no way...I'm guessing they were off by another mile!! It took us quite awhile of stopping to rest as we kept going up and up. People that we passed along the way (they were coming down) assured us it was worth the hike up. The scenery was absolutely beautiful...walking along rich peat bogs and grass covered hills,

The start of the trail:












but nothing prepared us for what we would see when we reached the top of the cliffs...it took our breath away.










Within the first 2 minutes we saw a puffin and flipped out.








They are so cute!!

We took many photos, but for me, the wind was blowing so hard it was difficult to hold my camera steady so many of the photos were blurry from the motion. Sara did much better and she had the amazing zoom lens to capture fantastic pictures. Here are some photos of the puffins and of the free roaming sheep that are all over the hills:










This one is beside his little nest on the cliff:








And the sheep that roam free:









This one was rubbing against a peat cut-out to scratch itself:








Here's Sara taking photos:









And here's some of the magic she does with her photography:



Here's a gannet (bird) soaring around the cliffs. They are a majestic bird and fairly large. They fly effortlessly.






And here is the northernmost point of Great Britain:



The pointed white island in the top center is called Muckle Flugga. Just don't try to say that quickly 3 times in a row!

One more photo before we start our decent down:



The bonxies (arctic skuas) ???? are very large birds and very terretorial. You have to be careful of them as they will swoop down on your head. We were told to wave a stick above our head if one starts attacking. Here's Sara prepared to do battle...luckily she didn't have to:



Here are some bonxies that were close...but didn't bother us:


The hike down might sound easier since it was mostly all downhill...but don't let that fool you. Putting on the leg brakes for 1 1/2 (or 2 1/2) miles is no picnic. My calves, knees, and feet were talking to me before I got to the bottom. At least it went faster time-wise. Here are some photos going down:







This photo shows how far we hiked (sort of). The closest item of reference in this shot is the white house... on the right side of the photo...the little tiny dot ...try clicking on the photo to enlarge it. That white dot is a house that's very close to where we parked the car:




Coming in to the home stretch:



We arrived at our car at 8:00 and started looking for a "grocery store" ( I think there's only 2 on the island)...remember this whole island has a population of 500. Both grocers were closed (at 5:30) . We went to the restaurant at the Baltasound Hotel (one of 2 restaurants on the island) and they were all booked with reservations but the waitress checked with the chef and he agreed to allow us to get a meal there.

Sara got haggis...not the exact original...but little bite sized balls with the same ingredients. Now if you don't know what haggis is made of, do yourself a favor and don't look it up. It's the scottish tradition, though, that compelled Sara to try it. I took a bite and it wasn't bad tasting...I do know what's in it and that prevented a second bite....but at least I tried it.


What I did enjoy was a locally brewed beer...called Simmer Dim!


Went back to the hostel and visited with some of the people there. I took a shower there...you have to pay 20 pence to plug a water meter...but whatever. Went to bed with a double dose of ibuprofen!

Location:Unst