Daddy, I Want a Pony!!

We boarded the overnight ferry from Orkney to Shetland around 10pm and after such a stormy day, most of us just went right to sleep. The crossing was much calmer than our first ferry had been, so Anna and I slept very well. I woke up early and decided to take a bit of a walk around the deck. The sun was just rising and it was beautiful and peaceful, it got me hoping we wouldn't have a repeat of yesterday's weather.

The ferry was again, much like a mini cruise ship and I believe you saw our cabin in Anna's post. It was quite comfortable all in all, and I'm looking forward to going on an actual cruise now. The crew on this ferry was much better than the first. Very kind and helpful, so that was nice.

I love the wind and rain and storms, but I didn't want to miss out on another day's sights. Luckily, the day proved very fine. We were met at the dock by our local guide, Mike, a very tall, very Northern Scot. "Ladies and Gentleman" was one of his favorite phrases and I believe he said it without even realizing it most of the time. Our items of interest were on the "left-hand side" or the "right-hand side", which all of our guides have said, but I noticed it most with Mike for some reason. Maybe it was his particular accent.

The scenery of the Shetland Islands surprised me. I didn't know what to expect, but obviously I wasn't expecting much. It is beautiful! The weather is very temperate for being so far north. It straddles latitude 60 degrees, about 600 miles north of London and 400 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is as far north as Cape Farewell, Greenland; Anchorage, Alaska; and St. Petersburg, Russia; to give you an idea.

As I'm sure you have guessed, this is the home of the Shetland ponies. They are adorable and I did take more pictures than this so you can see them up close when we get home. I just wanted to illustrate how small they are. Mike is a tall man, but he is still a man, just look at that little guy! I wanted to bring one home as a puppy. They wanted to come as well; when we started to get back on the bus that little brown one came trotting after Mike. He told us one time one actually got on the bus before they could stop it. They seem more like dogs in temperament than horses. Can I have one, Daddy? Please! Sadly, they would probably die in the desert I'm living in, but one day... One day I shall have one!

The coastline is magnificent! I need to get out a thesaurus; I'm sure I'm sounding very redundant. The pictures are my proof though, you can't argue with me. Scotland has got to be the most beautiful place on the planet. I don't have my map right in front of me and so I'm not sure if we stopped at Stenness or Sandness for these pictures. I'm bad about that, I know. If you are that curious, however, we can just go back and I'm sure I'll be able to find them again.

We got out and walked around the cliffs here, though we were careful to follow the "rules". There turned out to be just one rule: Don't fall over the edge. I don't know if you can see from the pictures (click on them to make them bigger), but the edge is very fragile and standing on it would certainly send you down to the bottom. I took a couple of videos of the waves crashing to give people a better idea of how it looked to be there, but I'll save them for when I get back. (Don't worry, family, they are only a few seconds long. ;))

After the exhilarating cliff walk we stopped at a little museum that had much information about the Shetland woolen trade and practice. It was a quaint little spot and worth the stop. Anna and I stopped at a yarn shop later on in Lerwick and will be bringing home many new projects. Mike was full of fascinating information about the Shetlands and his love of the islands was evident in the extent of his knowledge and in his enthusiastic delivery.

These signs are everywhere up here, "Dunna Chuck Bruck". To me, it seemed like it was saying "Don't throw your stuff away", but that's how they say "Don't litter!" I loved it, so I snuck a photo of it from the window of the bus as we were driving by. Mike introduced us to the Trowies, Shetland's version of a troll. Believe me, it is much better than the trolls you are thinking of, I am sure. These are more like wildlife sprites than the hairy, scary trolls that live in dank, dark places. These little guys are generally harmless and in some cases helpful, but if you come across one, don't look it in the eye.

The sky has been nearly as beautiful as the land on this trip. I've taken many pictures of it as well as the flora and fauna. Who knows what I'll think of everything once we get home. Its starting to feel like a dream already. Our last stop of the day was to the Shetland Jewelry store to get a little lesson on how they make their wares. There was also an opportunity to make a few purchases.

We came back to our hotel after a very lovely day of sightseeing and enjoyed another excellent meal with our tourmates. Anna and I spent a couple of hours in the sitting area catching up with email and blogging. Way up here in the Shetlands they have internet! No one else has an excuse now, I've decided. Cheers!