July 4, 2024 (Day 14): Shetland Island, Scotland
Today was another tendering day, but since our tour was with the ship this time, we automatically got a priority tender so there was no worry about missing it – also, we are pretty sure they took down twice as many life boats to bring people back and forth as they had the day before.
Neither of us really knew anything about Shetland, other than the fact that it had ponies, so we booked a general countryside bus tour, and quickly learned that there is, apparently, a show called Shetland that probably half the people on the bus watched, and the tour guide faithfully pointed out landmarks they might want to see. I’m not going to lie, both of us were fairly miserable today with no sign of our colds lightening, so I don’t remember much at all of what the tour guide said. The countryside was, however, gorgeous! Apparently, Shetland has an open roam law (I think that’s what it was called?), which means that people can walk anywhere they want, no matter who owns the land, and even camp or picnic on their land, with the expectation that they will clean up after themselves. I understand the appeal of that on one side, but on the other side, I feel like I would get very irritated if people could meander through and use my land whenever they wanted. I saw no signs of destruction, however, so I assume that the (granted, very small) population truly does make sure not to hurt the land.
Our first stop was by a local jewelers, with unique, if very expensive, pieces, and we actually got to go to the back of the shop where they explained how they made the molds for the jewelry and then the jewelry itself and then we go to to walk around and look at the tools and watch jewelers in progress. She said that they are so careful with their supplies that they even sweep the shop every day and save the dust, which has gold grindings in it, which is then sold to another company for a fair amount to be used for other things. We admired everything, but didn’t buy anything other than a cup of tea.
We drove through more countryside with a couple photo opportunity stops, lots of stories about Scottish history, a surprising amount of World War II history, sites related to the show Shetland, and how Shetland ponies used to be used (specifically, working mines, because they were small and sturdy enough to do so), and then drove by some! You can see how windy it is based on their manes and the trees behind them. We were told the wind was nothing compared to how it usually was.
The next official stop was at the Shetland museum, next to the Scalloway Castle, which was under construction and therefore unavailable to see. The museum was tiny but interesting, and filled with WII artifacts, since it apparently was a strategic location, and apparently the locals had a secret transportation method they called the Shetland Bus – which the museum describes much better than I can: The Shetland Bus Story
We explored the museum, took pictures of the outside of the castle, and bought some local snacks just for fun (for the record, their marshmallow filled chocolates are WAY better than the ones we have in the States). Oh, and we discovered more Shetland ponies in the back, so obviously had to get a picture with them.
The ride back to town was mostly just more gorgeous countryside, and I was delighted to catch a glimpse of some heather beginning to bloom. The historical buildings in town were made of stone, same as in Edinburgh, and also lovely to see and we enjoyed going through a few shops to find souvenirs, including stumbling across a goat standing outside of a Goats Milk Store. We finished it off with some local fish and chips (actually wrapped in paper!!) and retreated to the ship, ready to be warm again.
Just as it had been in Ireland, it was sad to see the last of Scotland, but we are about at the point where we are ready to go home and get rid of this miserable cold and cough. We also, courtesy of my sister, found out why our hotels in Amsterdam (coming up in a couple days), were so insanely expensive. Apparently, our weekend in Amsterdam is the same weekend Taylor Swift is coming to visit! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Taylor Swift music (or, at least her country music – I haven’t decided on her pop yet), but the price we paid for the hotel, especially when we aren’t even there to see her, was not worth it. My one comfort is maybe I’ll run into Taylor Swift and can take a picture with her and make my sister insanely jealous…that’s likely to happen, right?
Forest Idylls 