Isle of Lewis

Day 5: Thursday

Drive towards Aird Uig.

We first stopped on a very very large, white sand beach. The wind was so strong that sand was lifted and was flying around; sand, mixing with the froth from the sea, would create large banks of froth (right). Some people there were playing with kite, and two guys were having fun with a sail carriage (char a voile).

Aird Uig: horrible dump in beautiful landscape. Can't believe didn't take paté with us.

Around Uig are many little lochs and streams. The weather was extremely changeable: one second you catch the deep blue reflexion of the sky on the loch, the next second it's raining.

Here the sun shines (temporarily) on the hills, towards the centre of Lewis.

Evening: bbq, too much wind, lamb chops charcoaled (but not ruined, pfew). Got burnt.

Weather: Sun+Clouds+Rain+Wind. That's right. ("We had weather" means "all of it".)

Day 6: Friday

Drive after Stornoway, Lighthouse. Then north towards the "Bridge to Nowhere".

Rain, sun, beautiful sandy beach (again? Yes) This one is called Traigh Mhor. You could even go and surf there, if it weren't so damn cold.

Dinner at Bonaventure, the restaurant at the end of the universe (in Uig, see Day 5; it is supposedly the most westernly French restaurant in Europe). Excellent food, mainly seafood. Count £25 per head plus wine, and bring your cheque book (no cards accepted!) Narelle's birthday celebration (although it's tomorrow, the restaurant was booked out. Damn locals eating out.) They used to have a Web site, but they've inexplicably disappeared from the Web leaving behind them a trail of broken links. (Which is a shame because statistics show that an average of 15 searches per month lead people to our site looking for information on Bonaventure.)

Day 7: Saturday

Back to the "Bridge to Nowhere." Started walk thereafter towards Port Ness, the most northernly village on the isle (at the "Butt of Lewis." Aha). But but but, after a few miles, ran into the beginning of a peat factory. Gave up as soon as mud started to sneak too far up (unless it was gravity increasing?).

Picnic close to the beach. Interesting weather effect: we're in the sun, watching storms running at sea about 3 miles from us; you see the rain falling, and you see blue sky behind the curtain of rain.

Back to Stornoway, looking at a porpoise in the port; our coats are real waterproof. (Came up wiht my most brilliant pun so far: Now, my life has a porpoise.)

Try for the sunset on Callanish Standing Stones; Sun is shy and hides behind the clouds, but we still got some good shots.