This morning we docked in Kirkwall, Orkney. No zodiac landings. I have to admit I love getting in and out of the zodiac, it makes me feel like a true adventurer, although the deck hands and the naturalists/experts are so good at what they do, they make it a breeze to get on and off the bouncing boat. But the wind in your hair, the occasional splash of ocean water on your face, the smell of the exhaust from the motor and the rush of seeing the ship or land, as you approach, add to the whole experience in my opinion.
We were docked were exiting the ship today and I could hear a bagpipe! It was very loud, so I looked around the entrance to the ship where I was signing out to see if there were any speakers around (You beep your card when you exit and enter so that the staff can keep a watch on who is still on land!), but there were none. Then, once my head popped out of the ship I saw him. A bagpiper playing between the boat and the row of busses ready to cart us off to Skara Brae. Five thousand year old stone-age ruins. Fascinating. The grass top was gone, exposing the intricate passageways that would have been below ground. They lived in the dwellings with their animals who seem to have provided warmth, and they seem to have had a pretty advanced sewer system. A little “room”, more of a recessed area in the wall where apparently there was a hole in the ground with a creek below. There were other interesting features like what they seem to think are “dressers” and holding tanks for water which may have been used to boil their food with hot stones.
Then the funniest thing happened. There was a fenced in area behind the ruins which had horses. So I approached the fence and to my surprise the horses approached as well. One came right up to me so I petted it and all of the sudden the wind picked up and my cap flew off. Right into the pen, behind a barbed wire fence, an arms’ reach away, but since the fence was tight even for my arm, it was unretrievable. I was afraid he’d start eating it. Then thought maybe he’ll be so kind as to “retrieve” it for me, but it seems his training did not include playing tricks with visitors. So I asked a guest for his walking stick and proceeded to ring the hat onto the stick and bringing it back up right along the edge of the fence. While leaning over, maneuvering with the hat while the wind was blowing hard (have I mentioned the crazy wind? 10-40 knots on any given day!!!) the horse had a grand old time playing with my hair and head and then must have smelled the alpaca on my scarf and decided he would BITE the scarf! So I played tug-o-war with him and got it back. I thanked the horse for a good time and walked inland toward the visitor center wiping off the slobber.
We got back into the bus and headed to Ring of Brodgar which is 2500 years old. Tall stones like the Standing Stones of Callanish. Very interesting rock formations which archeologists are still unsure of what they were used for. Lichen growing everywhere, which of course led to another science lesson. This time Eric was right there, so we talked about the different types of lichen (licken? can’t get it straight). It turns out Algae are a one celled plant whose main job on Earth is to photosynthesis. And the symbiotic relationship of the different types of algae with the different kinds of fungi makes lichen, a very interesting “thing” to look at! Greens, blacks, yellows, plantlike, mosslike, fascinating.
We had lunch then went to Maes Howe, another neolithic structure that looked like a hill from the outside and was chambered on the inside. The part that I found most interesting was the Viking Graffiti inside! There were “words” inscribed and some drawings as well. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the alphabet looked like trees with branches (no leaves).
We got back into town and went to St Magnus Church. Also interesting and beautiful inside. The history behind the building of the church is also very interesting! Magnus (before he was a saint) sacrificed himself instead of having his people slaughtered. So he took an axe blow to the head and was considered a martyr. The story is MUCH more complicated, but the church seems to reflect a well-respected man as the inside is phenomenal. His nephew built the church in his honor at which Magnus was sainted. In those days they did not need proper canonization by the pope, but by popular “demand”. In 1919 when the church was being renovated a a piece of the “wall” (totally overgeneralized) was loose, upon looking inside they found a pile of bones with the skull containing an axe wound conforming to the story of St. Magnus. The relics were restored and placed back in their previous resting place.
We then left the Cathedral and walked back to the ship stopping to window shop as all the stores were closed do to it being Nordic Days. There had been a big parade in town, which we missed, with people all dressed in their traditional outfits.
We made it back to dinner and a show by Julie Fowlis, the woman who sang Touch the Sky for the Disney Movie Brave. She entertained us with beautiful songs in Gaelic (which they pronounce “Gahlic” in this area). She also sang a translated version of the song Blackbird by the Beatles and made it sound magical. I asked her (for my students’ and daughter’s sake) if she identified with Merida. She said yes, and beyond that, at the time she was recording the song, she had a baby and was pregnant with her second child and wished them the same spirit of independence and fight that Merida had.
It was a a beautiful ending to another beautiful day.