BikeVermont Scotland Tour
Day 6
Friday, 29 June 2001


Today's the day for our excursion to the Treshnish Isles and the Isle of Staffa. It's pouring rain in the morning, so the trip is postponed until noon, hoping for clearer weather. This gives me time to take a few photos of Tobermory. At noon the weather clears, right on cue, and we take vans across Mull to the Ulva ferry dock, where we board the excursion boat. Our first stop is Lunga, one of the small islands in the Treshnish Isles. We quickly discover one of the puffin colonies and are amazed at how tame they are. We climb the heights of Lunga to reach the big colony of nesting seabirds, mostly guillemots. We come upon some naturalists who are camped out on Lunga, doing their annual bird count. Then we pick our way back down to the puffins, where Lisa and Saunie have set out a magnificent picnic for us. The naturalists claim they are out of whiskey, so we share ours with them.
   The final stop is Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa. The island is composed of hexagonal columns of basalt, caused by the rapid cooling of lava.
   Total miles: 0 (yeah!)