It was a smooth sailing from Aberdeen. On the open observation deck a bird spotter type said to me that he had just seen a whale. That's kind of gobsmackingly rare and sadly although I looked and looked I didn't see it. I booked a cabin in advance for this overnight ferry and it was small but modern and comfortable. It was a 4-man cabin with no window but each bunk had a thick curtain for privacy. In the ship's reception area, tv screens were advertising Paul, a sic-fi comedy about an alien showing in the ship's cinema. Super I thought, but when I went to the cinema it wasn't listed. So I asked in the shop and she said that the tv showed the sort of films that the cinema would show. Ok, so is Paul showing tonight? No. I'm writing this on the ferry down to Orkney and it's not showing tonight either. Ho hum.
I decided to go to bed early, around 9 pm and I found I woke up again at 11. I think I was awoken by the sudden stillness of the sea (the boat had stopped in Kirwall, capital of the Orkney Islands). I woke again later in the night and then slept in fits and starts through to 6:30 when I decided to get up (in time for docking at port at 07:30). So I got up at 06:30 which was a lesson learned from the mad rush last year in Brittanny where everyone was expected off so that the next load could get on. This time Sod's law dictated that as I was walking off the gangway I heard an announcement telling car drivers that once off they could come back in for breakfast and please to leave the cabins by 09:30. So the rush was a waste of time. I got off anyway and stood outside the nearby Coop in the cold, (it was only 57 degrees C) waiting for it to open at 08:00 for breakfast, then on getting to Lerwick I waited another hour for my tour. It's a good thing I had podcasts to listen to.
But the tour was worth waiting for. This was called seabirds and seals. If you ever get the chance to go to Shetland you must take this tour on the boat Dunter 3. We sailed out in this jet boat (because propellers can't operate in shallow water) across the seal and bird breeding grounds in Bressay island (I see now why some seals are speckled, it's because in their natural habits the rocks are speckled, it is very effective camouflage) and then jetted across to the island of Noss which is a national park, and what a park! The steep and stepped cliffs are home to around 10,000 Gannets and thousands of other sea birds. It is an awesome sight to see all these gracious birds swirling overhead and squawking at the tops of their voices. We were warned to cover our head in case they spat at us for fear of risk to their young. I'm not entirely sure what spitting means, but these birds were able to projectile shit quite menacingly.
I think I was the youngest on board by about 20 years but the others on-board were just as excited and awed by the spectacle. We got so close to the cliff that they really towered above us and the birds were only a few meters away. We went from nesting site to nesting site. The only way I can think to describe it is that it was like one of those Attenborough tv programs life of birds or whatever, and you're right in the middle of it. And there was more, because we could go in shallow waters, we were taken under natural rock arches and into caves, actual caves! In the second cave they got out the mini submarine. This was a small remote control submersible with propulsion and a tv camera. This broadcast live video back to the boat so we could see what was under the water and what a contrast to the stark sandstone above! It was completely alive with green, cabbage and red seaweeds; starfish, anemones, squid, krill, plankton and lots of coral animals.
After that, it was time for lunch. What else but fish and chips? But when I went to the fish bar I saw, there was no fish, everything but fish. Maybe Shetland is out of fish? So I had a smoked sausage and chips. Very tasty and sustainable. I'd have had haggis and chips if they had offered it though. The town centre in Lerwick has a pedestrian zone with shops and... cars. That's nuts, cars just drove through the pedestrians all the time. For access only, apparently but I saw a few tour vehicles going through there. Anyway, I rang ahead to book a taxi from Kirkwall in Orkney to my hostel so I'd arrive before it closed (1of2 taxis on this trip) and then walked to the Museum.
Shetland Museum and Archives is ok. It tells the story of Shetland in a fairly straightforward way. So, it was Pictish and Celtic before the Vikings came and chucked all the existing British Isles inhabitants into the sea. That appears to be the gist of things. So Shetland joined the lands that became Norway, which became part of Denmark. Fast forward a few hundred years and the King of Denmark wants his daughter to marry the Scottish King. Fine but he doesn't have any money for a dowry. So he mortgages Shetland to Scotland to pay for it. A mortgage. This meant it was Scotland's until Denmark could pay for it back. It then said that Denmark tried several times to buy it back but failed each time - and it leaves it at that. What? I need to look this up because this sounds fishy and a bit unjust to Britain unless we really did screw Denmark, in which case why wasn't there a Falklands style war? I got a hint of ever so slight ambivalence to the British having sovereignty here. Only a hint. Who opened the Shetland Museum? Looking at the plaque outside, first listed is none other than the Queen of Norway and second fiddle below is Charles and Camilla. Fair enough, she out ranks our heir, but the situation of Shetland being British was described to me by a museum guide as a historical accident. Providence surely? No? LOL. Shetland retains strong family links to Norway, who are the second most common visitors. Oh and both the flags of Shetland and Orkney are in the Scandinavian cross style although both include saltire blue to throw a bone to Scotland. Nod, wink I get you, ok. They ain't getting it back though (too much oil).
Anyway shortly after this I was accosted politely by a museum guide, did I know about "Fair Isle" wool? No (of course not). I was then given a personal and passionate tour of the museums wollen artifacts. Did you know you can make lace from wool? It was a firm favorite of Queen Victoria and the fair isle pattern on jumpers was made popular by, erm King Edward the abdicator, whose pattern included a swastika. No kidding. A key feature of 'Fair Isle' (which is a southerly Sheland island) is only 2 colours per pattern row. Fair isle is inspired by other patterns (looks a bit Ikea/Scandinavian - surprise!) but is ripped off with many foreign goods describing themselves as Shetland wool. I was a shown a poster for the US market which said English Shetland wool jumpers made with Australian wool. She didn't say it but I felt insulted for her. I tried to explain and ask about EU protection (which is all the rage these days) but she didn't seem to understand. Maybe the Scandinavian influence would undermine any claim for originality. But the wool itself does appear to be original in that all the animals are adapted for the Shetland climate. The sheep have different finer wool to other sheep. They are not sheared but, essentially combed.
They had some boats in the Museum and I had a quick look but my time was up so I left for the ferry. There's not much else in Lerwick anyway, Lerwick is really all about eco tours, occasional festivals and bird watching. On the way there I turned on the phone to see voice messages telling me that my guided tour around Orkney was on so that's what I'll be doing tomorrow (I had been on the waiting list). As I was on the phone one of the huge gulls "spat" on my shoulder. I didn't deserve that, as I did buy some souvenirs. Bah.
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