HIghlands and Islands: On to Lochinver

On Tuesday, May 29th, our NatHab group left the Coul House Hotel and headed northwest. Portions of today's  journey followed the route of the North Coast 500, a 516-mile loop designated in 2015 to promote tourism in each county of the North Highlands of Scotland. The NC500 was and is a success, drawing autos, motorcycles, campers, and bicyclists.

In this map our start is in the lower right corner, and the first two stops are shown, Loch Droma at the location symbol and Corrieshalloch Gorge in the upper left.

When we stopped at Loch Droma Jonathan and Louise brought out spotting scopes.

The sharp-eyed among us spotted a Black-throated Diver (Arctic Loon) in the loch, and as it began to swim, its mate and a chick came into view. This is the best photo from my point-and-shoot, zoomed in and heavily cropped! (Click on the image to enlarge, and look between the two trees.)

Louise spotted a golden eagle in the distance above the ridge of Sgurr Mor, and we watched it being harassed by a raven.

It was a short drive on to Corrieshalloch Gorge. From the parking area we could see down a green valley to Loch Broom.

A descriptive sign about Corrieshalloch.

After a few switchbacks down the side of the gorge we arrived at the footbridge: limit six persons at a time.

Here's a closer look at the bridge.

No jumping up and down, please.

We could see a waterfall plummeting to the deepest point.

Jonathan led us along the loop trail on this side of the gorge.

On the far side was a typical Scottish scene of demarcated wildness bordered by clear-cutting and tree plantations.

Our path returned to the parking area, where Jonathan, Louise, and Jim popped open the back of the van and plied us with various biscuit ("cookie" to us Yanks) and drink options. They were wont to do this all through the trip, and we never complained.

A sign explained the formative geology of the phenomenon.

It took a long time.

Some information was also posted in Gaelic. Eastern Gaelic, in Scotland pronounced "Gallic", and Western Gaelic in Ireland form the ends of a continuum of related dialects.

Our snacking finished, Jim drove us northward down the valley of Loch Broom, and after a brief stop in Ullapool we continued north to Knockan Crag, a famous geological site. The rugged highlands were on full display.

The famous Scottish Highlands landscape isn't natural, in the sense that it was caused by humans, but that's a topic for a later post.

A sculpture on the path displayed the geological layers that had caused disputation, through the paradox of having older rock on top of younger rock. (The layers are named but you'll need to click on the image to see 'em.)

It was a brief walk to the exhibit,

which included statues of advocates of the two sides of the argument, which were, 1) it must be a mistake, older rocks can't possibly be on top of younger ones, and 2) we can't tell you why the layers are "flipped," but the aging is correct. Although the theory of plate tectonics was still decades away, the conundrum was settled in 1907 by proposing a thrust fault that had pushed older rock up and over the younger.

We got our first good look at a red deer, a one-antlered male. Our group had been in Scotland briefly enough that this still caught our attention.

Then it was up to the ruins of Ardvreck Castle, at 58º North latitude, the same as Juneau, Alaska.

The explanatory sign.

A closeup. The abandoned castle was badly damaged in a 1795 thunderstorm.

Not much remains of the backside. Susan, from our group, is waving from the grassy edge.

The view from the castle mound back to the lake includes the ruins of Calda House, built by the MacKenzies in 1726, possibly using stones from the castle, and which burned down in 1737. (The MacKenzies backed the losing side in the 1745 Jacobite uprising, and their estates were seized by the Crown. Not a lucky bunch.)

A closeup of Calda House.

On our way back to the van we did some serious botanizing which included orchids. Here Jonathan lends his expertise.

Spoiler Alert. If you are thinking of signing up for this NatHab trip, don't follow this link to a spoiler regarding our visit to Ardvreck.

From Ardvreck Jim drove west to Lochinver, where we dropped off our luggage at the Inver Lodge Hotel (a Telsa Model S in the parking area caught my eye) before heading up a long, meandering road to Clachtoll Beach. The beach has an extensive campground and is very popular, particularly on a hot (for Scotland) and sunny day. A small promontory separates a narrow beach, in earlier days used for landing fishing boats,

and the main, recreational beach.

Jagged rock formations guarded the southern end of the beach inlet. Note the hiker on the skyline.

With our binos Joan and I scanned the waters, spotting a distant bird or head of a seal, and then we explored the tidal pools. As did the oystercatchers.

In one pool we discovered possible sea slug (a widely used term for marine gastropods that have no shell, or appear not to.)

 A fuzzy closeup.

Not a piece of kelp.

Has this Tuesday been long enough for you? Don't worry, almost there. Back to Inver Lodge Jim drove. Joan and I threw open the window to our second-story room and blocked the door open with my boots. We were rewarded with a cross-breeze that began to temper the boiling-hot south facing room. Soon it was dinner time, and very good that was.

The view from our window.

We again pulled the obligatory duvet out of its cover, and slept comfortably under the simple sheet of what was left.

Tomorrow: the isle of Handa.

Galapagos: Floreana (Part 2 of 2)

After the first two activities of the day, and before lunch, it was time to go snorkeling for the second time on this trip. Both the advanced and the beginner groups would swim just off Champion Islet, the advanced snorkelers on the more active side in terms of current, and the beginners on the calmer side. However, unlike the first snorkeling trip for beginners, there would be no beach; we would slip into the water from the zodiac and never set foot on a solid surface. This was enough of a step-up in challenge for me that I decided to again use the snorkeling flotation vest, and leave the underwater camera behind. (I will have underwater photos, just later in the trip.)

Lynn Fowler, the expedition leader, accompanied our beginner group. I enjoyed it and felt a sense of accomplishment, although this was the first time I'd swum in a group. I needed to stick close to Joan, my snorkeling buddy, without bumping into anybody else. One highlight was when Joan spotted a chocolate-chip sea star.

After lunch Lynn gave an absorbing presentation on her graduate study work in the Galapagos. To quote from the Lindblad web site:

Lynn completed a doctorate (also at the University of Florida) in 1983, based on her research of the giant tortoises of Alcedo Volcano on Isabela Island, where she spent a year and a half living on the rim of the crater collecting data.

Then the Islander began to sail around Floreana to the site of the first "post office" in the Galapagos. In this photo, taken from the stern, Champion is on the left and Floreana on the right.

It's a wet landing at the post office beach.

Here's the post office. It was established by whalers in 1793; seafarers would deposit letters in the barrel and pick up the ones they could carry onward.

Vanessa explained the history and operation of the post office.

Then all the letters and cards were brought out of the barrel, and the destinations read out by our three naturalists, Vanessa, Christian,

and Jeffo, whose picture hasn't appeared in this blog until now.

There were one or two Ohio-bound pieces, but none close enough for Joan and me to consider hand delivering.

After returning to the Islander there were two activity choices: kayaking and zodiac cruising. Joan and I opted for the zodiacs, but saw some of the kayak operations. Here the kayakers are being helped into their vessels from the embarkation zodiac. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The kayakers' zodiac kept an eye on things after all the kayaks set out.

This zodiac cruise was the best so far. Early on we approached a beach full of resting sea lions.

The sand must make a great back-scratcher.

Some sea lions were enjoying the surf.

At least one was determined to investigate us.

Sally Lightfoot crabs, and oystercatchers.

Here's a brown pelican.

I love this picture of the snoozing sea lion and the sally lightfoot.

This great blue heron didn't want to pose for me, but instead sat stealthily in the mangrove, where these birds nest.

Two kayakers passed in front of a large mangrove thicket. These salt-tolerant plants have extensive underwater root systems that provide invaluable shelter for young fish and turtles. The extensive nutrients in the brackish water (sea water diluted by freshwater seepage) also encourage bird nesting. The endemic and endangered Galapagos penguins of Isabela island depend on mangroves.

This clump shows that the tide is in.

Kayaks as well as zodiacs must take the channels between rocky islets.

Other tour boats are at anchor here, but we seem to own this patch. The Islander does have the 2pm-6pm slot.

A visit from another Islander zodiac.

Rick shares our zodiac, and he's having a great time too.

Sunset comes quickly at the equator -- the sun doesn't approach the horizon at an angle, but drops straight down.

It's time for everybody to return to the Islander and the evening program.

Not to mention dinner!