Day 5 Breathe the air


 

Firstly just to warn you guys... this blog day doesnt contain any CraZy shit, no great adventure, no pain or suffering.

You may ask what is the point of reading onwards and you may well decide that if im not in mortal danger, you will skip this one and wait for the next... up to you!

I woke really early... 5am early having just about managed to get to sleep through the drone of the one annoying arsehole that every campsite has. It would have been totally unbearable of a) I did not learn through his droning that petrol was cheaper on skye and b) if I hadn't known that payback for him would be a bitch at 5:45am when I revved up  my car, loudly packed up my tent and thundered past his motorhome.

Half of that was true... I quickly and quietly packed up what remained of my campsite, shut my car door as quietly as possible and trundled down  the road as quietly as my car could manage. The difference between me and the campsite arsehole!

I had a long drive, around Loch Carron and over the sea to skye, except it was over a nice bridge with beautiful views. I passed someone walking to work over the bridge and thought how nice it was to walk to work with that view every day, but I also wondered if she noticed anymore.

Skye surprised me... some. lovely high hills and desolate valleys with mountain roads winding round them. I had to. slow down or stop for the lambs as they bounded over the road which made me chuckle. As the nearest island, I assumed Skye would be well populated but it seemed fairly sparse.

I spend the journey wondering where the paths started that led upwards and looking at the few houses with large windows and beautiful views and wondered if it was as nice in winter as it was today...

For today the sun was shining. There was no wind and rain, the sky over Skye was almost blue. and. I hoped. that it would stay that way a ferry hop away on Harris.

No brealfast this morning so my mind turned to the ferry and whether there would be food on board. Having eaten some kind of combination of cupa soup, rice,  pasta, pasta sauce, pepperoni and kidney beans every day so far, I dreamed of more but would settle for a little less.

The ferry terminal at Uig was not the bustling port I had imagined. Some world weary attendant took my ticket and told. me tomdrive down lane 1... i was about 5th in the queue and had a fair wait, but eventually we were waved onboard and I scurried up the stairs, ordered a hot chocolate and toastie and sat down... oops forgot to. mention the salted caramel  muffin... well I. am on holiday!

The journey passed pleasantly enough and I drove off the ferry without my satnav on, pressured into makimg a right or left decision. and chose left. When I finally got my sat nav. up and running it rerouted me down a single. track road through some forgotten communities, lost in the ages. Not able. to turn round meant I drove the full circle back to the port before heading the way I should have done in the first place.

Harris has hills, plenty of them to get lost in and lots of rock... rocky hills in fact. It was wild and desolate and entirely to my liking.

I settled in fornthe drive to the campsite butnas itnwasna transition day, I went with the island flow and dawdled along, stopping every now. and again to photograph a nice view or gaze up at the hills. I stopped for lunch and ate cheese rolls and read my book. I definately wished I had stopped at the Pizza shack I drove past, seeing it too late to be able to screech to a halt in timely fashion and on the single track road, it was too difficult to turn and go back...

To make it worse, my brother gleefully informed me when he heard this story, that he had had Dominos last night! Thanks bro!

I was aboutnready for bed when I arrived at the campsite I had planned tonstaynat for the next 2 nights but I sat in my car and ummed and ahhed about my plan. The campsite was basically in the sand dunes, you just pitched your tent wherever. The sand dunes were a way away from my car and my chosen possible spot was miles. away from the actual sea. I knew that the tide was out but still... I had hoped to just drag my kayak to the beach and off I go, but this was a long way to. drag it... not ideal launching place at all. Also, the nature of the site meant I would have to leave my bike and my kayak on my car, in the car park, out of. my sight. Anyone who has read my blogs before knows that I have turned down places to stay because they wouldn't let me keep my bike in the room.

That said, this place was supposed to have a pretty low crime level and it would take a lot to steal them off my car. So I took a deep breath and went for it. A tenner for 2 nights was a bargain and by walking back and forth to my chosen tent site, I managed a good bit of mileage hauling my kit over the dunes.

I had picked my spot because I could see the sea from there and it was still a bit sheltered from any wind.

I couldn't have found a more perfect spot. It was so calm and peaceful and the air so fresh that as I wondered along the beach, I settled into this place. I would work out the kayakking logistics tomorrow... eat pasta and tinned tomatoes tonight, in front of a roaring fire,  reading my book and watching the sun go down..

So that is what I did😁🌞

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