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Orkney Islands June 11, 2005
| This is as far north as we go. It's not at the Artic Circle, but the temperature is only 10 (sorry, that's Celsius, in US terms it was 50). This is the island called "Mainland" and it's the largest island in the Orkney. Orkney means "islands" (plural) so saying "Orkney Islands" is a bit redundant and as some have said "I was on an Orkney Island" is a contradiction in counting. The main port is small (but then Scapa Flow which is not small is on the other side of the hill you see here (If you've forgotten, Scapa Flow was large enough to house the bulk of the British Fleet in WW II)). |  |
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Guess what, we got on busses (no lighter this time) and rode across the island. Then we parked outside an exhibit hall and took a walk back 5000 years in time. The house on the left was buried in sand until a storm exposed it, but has been dated as about 3100 BC. The roof was wooden beams covered by fir, then covered by dirt. The entrance to the house was a tunnel underneath my feet. You're looking at their main display cupboard and the beds (2 of them for the entire family) are on the left and right sides of the house. |
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They have reconstructed one of these homes (actually, I think they built
from scratch to modern peoples sizes). It's not until you walk in that you realize the difference in scale to the room above. It looks "right", but much taller. |
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This is the Ring of Brodgar. Probably built by the people who lived in the home shown above (or their tribe at least). It's a 104 meter diameter circle and originally had 60 stones in it (it now has 27). |
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Our final stop for the day (and for the tour) was St. Magnus cathedral.
At the time this was constructed, the water came to about where these cars
are parked, so the brought the stones (which are imported from other
islands) right to the shore line, then put them in place. The church was consecrated in 1140, but wasn't finished until 1400. |
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We got back just in time for lunch, but didn't leave dock till after I'd had (one too many) desserts. So I want up on the fantail, and we went right by (no digital zoom required, and didn't even use all the zoom lens) this lighthouse. A nice end to a nice cruise. |
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