SPOOKY HOUSE AND SHEEP MOB

On Saturday we missed the best weather window so far, however for the evening we wanted to attend a concert of traditional music by students from Lews Castle College, ad sometimes paddling has to give to culture. Anyway, the window of opportunity lasted about three hours, so not much was missed. The concert was fine and it had a raffle. Sadly we missed on all prizes containing wine whatever quality, yet we won as well. We won a tea light holder which could be placed in an empty bottle of wine and was made from glass. Something very practical when one travels by kayak. It now lives in the bow of my boat and awaits a very special occasion when it would be lit.

Later we found that the island was last inhabited by the 1930s. There was a chapel close by, locked, and apparently used biannually, which didn’t add to our feeling of welcome.

We decided to leave and paddle over to Harris. Trying to avoid Levenburg we ended in a very small bay close to half built house surrounded by sheep. Obviously they must have been missing their humans, they seemed to be very pleased to see us first. They were following us round, bebeing and memeing, coming right close. At some point, once we cleared our tent patch from all the golfballs and pitched it, they entered almost inside. Going to pee seemed to be impossible as one became surrounded by desperately sounding animals. Once we retreated inside, it did not stopped. Lying in the tent we could still hear it: thump thump on the canvas, and I imagined the sheep pulling their sleeves up and trying to build some kind of poogloo around us. Sweet dreams.