The seas calmed more overnight so we could actually sleep without being jolted awake every few minutes. It felt good to wake up and not be exhausted. I realize that yesterday had me more than a bit unsettled, as I had never been through a storm on the open seas. Everyone was staggering around as if they were drunk, holding on to handrails or chair backs or each other. Now things are settled as we head into Lerwick (which means muddy bay in Old Norse) Shetland Islands in Scotland, pulling into the dock about 7am. We have a quick breakfast in the room and head down for the UK Immigration check of passports, which went very quickly, and then back up to ready for our 8:30 departure.
This morning we went south on this, the main island, to visit an ancient archaeological site called Jarlshof (a modern name). En route, we learned about the Shetland Islands, 16 inhabited islands out of 200, with a total population of 23,000. There are virtually no trees here, all of them having been harvested millennia ago, and for some reason never reforested. Barney immediately wondered why Alaska does not export across the northern passage to here, though it seems that importing from Norway would be easier. Most houses of the pre-modern era are of unmortared stone, including prehistoric sites, and of course fences everywhere. Along the way we saw remains of some broths, the stone towers which may have housed chieftains and also served as fortresses, there are 120 of these in the Shetlands. Later we barely made out through heavy mist the Mousa Broch, on an island in the distance, it is 90 feet tall. Our guide told us that their native language here is a mix of Old Norse, Scots, Dutch, and German, and for many years it was suppressed, but there is now an effort to teach it and have children learn to read and speak it. En route to the Jarlshof site, we literally crossed the runway of the airport here (there is a crossing gate to stop traffic as needed). There is another small airstrip on the island of Foula, where only 28 people live, they take care of the grassy airstrip themselves.
Jarlshof was an impressive site, with the remains of a 15th century Laird’s house surrounded by prehistoric, Iron Age, and Bronze Age stone buildings, from wheelhouses built like the spokes of a wheel to Norse longhouses of stone. we were able to walk through the various remains, with their tiny open windows and small doors. It was very windy, though our guide said it was not too “fresh” today, she said that the islands are quit windy with a top recorded wind speed of 197 mph! This is way above the top hurricane level, so it must have really been rough. To and from Jarlshof we saw lots of sheep with lambs, some cows and quite a few Shetland ponies … we will see more this afternoon.
A quick lunch (we tried the Pool Grill and Barney really liked the burger, I had Salad Niçoise), and we were off for more sights up north on the main island. The afternoon involved more of a drive, with travel through the scenic Tingwall Valley (lots of peat areas) and past some of the lochs, with a stop at an overlook to see Scalloway Castle in the distance, the former capital of the Shetland Islands. The biggest moment was of course the visit to the Shetland ponies. A woman who is a breeder and enthusiastic had a paddock of ponies who we could admire and even pet.She noted that they are very long-lived, they frequently live to more than 35 years, and she had one that lived to be 45, which is incredibly old for a horse. There was a fairly young foal of a few months, a beautiful dark grey (with almost a touch of blue), who let me pet his nose. Most of the ponies were grazing, really ripping at the already-short grass with their teeth, so I picked some grass from outside the paddock and offered it to the foal and he took it from me … quite exciting. The ponies are certainly cuteness embodied. Most of the women were extremely engaged, oohing and aching, while most of the men looked on from the side. The Shetland Islands are certainly beautiful, with rolling green hills, small villages, and the sea everywhere. After returning to the ship, we watched the departure which involved a tight turn, then to dinner (I had a delicious lamb shank, Barney had a very nice steak). We took a nice brisk walk after dinner, it was a bit windy but still nice, and read before retiring.
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