Our stay is in the village of Portree, the capital of the island. It’s a gorgeous setting overlooking a sheltered bay and surrounded by hills – Ben Tianavaig to the south and Suidh Fhinn or Fingal’s Seat to the west, both about 1000ft and Ben Chrachaig to the north.
The village was created as a fishing village at the beginning of the 19th century by the then Lord MacDonald. The name Portree or Port Righ, ‘King’s Port’ in Gaelic, is popularly thought to derive from a visit by King James V of Scotland in 1540 but the name really comes from the Gaelic for ‘Port on the Slope’.
Both of us are feeling better after a good night’s sleep. Bummer for us though as the one-man, ‘best-of’, tour company we had booked and paid for months ago ended up being hospitalized (an amputation!) and pretty much shut down business within days of our arrival (monies returned). A shortage of touring options and a cruise ship in the area made a replacement impossible. Quite sad as a tour of the Skye highlands was expected to be a highlight of our holiday. Guess a return trip is in order.
Perhaps for the best, we spent the day wandering the shops of the village and harbor area. In the main square, a young lad on a bagpipe was busking on a borrowed instrument to raise money for his own. We saw a pretty cool exchange as an American tourist from Michigan who was touring the country playing bagpipes in local sessions joined the kid for some play. The American was a seasoned bagpipe player who had brought his own pipes to Edinburgh to have them refurbished by the manufacturer. The shop gave him a new set to use while his were being repaired. He saw the young boy playing and offered his new set to the boy to try out. We have never seen a child as excited as this one as he tried the new pipes. Then the older gentleman then played a few songs with the boy. A memory not to be forgotten.
Dinner in at ‘Antlers’ in the hotel and another early evening. Old people at work.