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Orkney Part 2
St. Magnus Way: Egilsay In which Lis begins her pilgrimage and sees a rainbow. For a while now I’ve been interested in pilgrimage walks, and the one major goal I had for this time off was to walk the Way of St. Francis in Italy. But as I was thinking about going to Orkney, I considered starting with the St. Magnus Way walk, which follows the possible route of transporting the body of the martyred saint from Egilsay, where he was killed, to Birsay, and then eventually on to Kirkwall, where his bones remain today. St. Magnus was killed on the island of Egilsay in 1117, and this island is…
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Orkney Part 1
Kirkwall and St. Magnus Cathedral In which Lis arrives in Orkney and practices the discipline of non-consumption. Off the ferry at 23:00, in the dark, and I got the one bus driver who, contrary to everything I’d read, could not direct me to the hostel. In fact, he dropped me at the wrong stop and gave me bad directions. But I found my way soon enough and my room key was left in an envelope for me at reception. In the morning I set off to find coffee, breakfast, and to explore the historic city centre of Kirkwall. One great thing about Orkney is the strong culture of art and…
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Aberdeen and Stonehaven
In which Lis visits a castle and acquires a new Aunt and Uncle (on loan) Aberdeen, The Granite City, has beautiful architecture. I only stayed one night on my way to Orkney (the ferry leaves from Aberdeen). In the morning, I went to the nearby town of Stonehaven to find a castle. The coastal path from Stonehaven brings you to Dunnottar castle, on a site that has been used by the Picts (5000 BCE), St. Ninian (400 AD), and then the current castle was built around 1500. There’s a ton of history to explore at this single site. Tzip2 found the lion’s den. I found a garden. Another glorious walk…
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Cupar, Scotland
In which Tzip2 is reunited with an old friend and Lis does some custom embroidery. From Edinburgh, I made a short journey to Cupar, where Ruth, Jason and E live. Ruth is the second person that I originally met in Inuvik, NWT, who lives in Scotland. I’d been to visit Ruth and her family several years ago here, and it felt very homey to return. Last time the child was very small and he loaned his Dogga to Becca and me for the time we stayed. This time was the same, and Tzip2 and he, I’m sure, had lots to catch up on (as did the humans.) We consulted an…
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Edinburgh
In which Lis crosses the pond and reunites with a friend she met 20 years ago in the Canadian Arctic. Somehow, everyone I know in Scotland I met in the Canadian Arctic. The tables have turned since the Gesch sisters met some backpackers from the UK in 2006 (I think) in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Now I’m the one with a backpack and Scotty and his family offered wonderful hospitality. (The wee child greeted me at the door with a hug, a card and a stuffed penguin, and a house tour.) I felt immediately at home with Scotty and Kaire and had grand chats about travels, life struggles, butterflies and bees,…
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Curt and Cow, the matriarch of the herd
Still testing this blog
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Getting ready to go
Leaving soon to wander and wonder.