Scotland Day Three

As I sit on the bed in our room, I feel like I'm still vibrating. We spent a lot of time on the "coach" today, and let's just say rock and roll has a new meaning for me. After a "full Scottish breakfast," which includes eggs, baked beans, haggis, roasted tomatoes, sausage, bacon, porridge, black pudding (you don't want to know), fruit, fruit juice, tea, and a selection of cold cereals, we boarded our coach and headed toward the western tip of the island, Fiannphort. No, I can't pronounce it, either.

The distance is only about 30 miles. An hour and a half after we left, we arrived at the ferry stop. The road is one-lane, and it is very rough and bouncy. The bus had to stop frequently to pass an oncoming car, or to let an overtaking car pass. Every 1/8 to 1/4 mile, there is a wide spot that will allow vehicles to pass, and we seemed to stop at most of them. Anyhow, we finally arrived about 11:00 and boarded the ferry for the 10-minute ride across to Iona.

Iona was the island where St. Columba arrived in the 563, to establish Christianity on the island. The story is that he arrived with twelve others, and they proceeded to evangelize first Iona and then much of the rest of Scotland. He built an abbey on the eastern shore, which continued to house monks for several hundred years. He died on June 9, 597 in the church, having risen in reputation and power to the point that he "ordained" the king of Dalriada, which included much of Scotland. Many kings of Scotland were buried on Iona, as it was regarded as a holy place. At the abbey, there is a shrine that marks his burial place, supposedly. In the 800's and 900's, others came and started rebuilding the structure, and parts of the current building apparently date back to that time.

In the 1100's, Somerled became "Lord of the Isles," a title that is now held by Prince Charles. His son Reginald brought Benedictine monks and Augustinian nuns to the island. From that time until the Reformation, there was an active abbey and nunnery, which comprise the buildings that are now present.

In the 1500's, the Reformation stopped all that. Abbeys and nunneries became part of either the Church of England or the Church of Scotland. The structures fell into disrepair, and in the 1800's, it was decided that they should be rebuilt. Final rebuilding happened in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now, the site is a monastic-type community in which people from various faiths can come for week-long prayer and meditation visits. Some of what they do sounds pretty far out, but I can see how such time could be life-changing for people seeking a renewal of their faith.

There are several crosses leading up to the abbey, and on the ground of the sanctuary. One dates from the 1500's and is still standing, five centuries later. Others have fallen, and the pieces of those crosses are displayed in the museum. One of them broke immediately after being erected, as the arms were too long, so the sculptors added a circle around the intersection of the cross, which was later copied all over Scotland, and became the cross used now by the Presbyterians.
I don't think there are more than 200 people on the island, and that may be an overestimate. In fact, many who work there live on Mull. As one of them told us, Iona is just one ferry too many from the mainland.

While at the abbey, we had a short service led by Rev. Ben Seller, and it was touching and meaningful. He spoke about the Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, relating that mandate both to St. Columba and to our world today. It was excellent.

In the afternoon, we caught the ferry again and took the bus to Tobermory, the other larger community on the island. The town is known for its distillery, and for its buildings being painted in multicolored hues. It is actually very picturesque. We shopped the main street for an hour or so, before returning to our hotel. While shopping, we stopped in a grocery store, and I bought some potato chips, flavored "Prawn Cocktail." They weren't bad, but I don't think I would order them again. I could have ordered Fried Chicken flavor, among others. Denise got the Pickled Onion ones, but I didn't get to taste any of hers.

Because of the roads and the swaying of the bus, I now know how it must have felt to ride in a stagecoach. I'm hoping my head will stop spinning by tomorrow. Dinner tonight was much better than last night. I had the pickled mackerel appetizer, which was much better than it sounds, followed by the Laird's Pie, made of venison, carrots, mashed potatoes, along with a puff pastry top. Now, I would not usually try venison, but this was amazing, and tasted more like beef than anything else. There was only one bite that had a minimally wild taste, and it was prepared such that it was much more tender and succulent than venison usually is.

Following dinner, we walked down to the bay and skipped stones on the water. Denise picked up shells, as well, which will be coming home with us. After the walk we sat in the hotel lounge and talked until after 10 PM. The sky was still bright enough to read outside when we returned to our room.

Tomorrow, we head north to Fort William, with a side trip to Glencoe.