British Isles & Iceland – Day 1 can be found here.
Up early today – we’re still figuring out the ship’s routine, so we went to the Panorama lounge for a 6:30 breakfast only to discover that they just serve light fare and pastries. So it was down to La Terraza for a proper breakfast at 7 am. We stuck to the buffet – yoghurt, berries, eggs, sausage, freshly baked baguette – and then were quick out the door so as not to miss our Zodiac.
We weren’t sure what to expect with the Zodiacs, and were ready to fully dress in wet weather gear before embarking. But the weather was fine and we stuck to our regular hiking clothes. About 5 – 10 minutes on the water and we were docked on Portrush and then onto our coach bus headed for the Giant’s Causeway Hike.
After about a 20 minute bus ride, there was a short stop at the visitor’s centre so that we could take a brief bio-break, and then we were dropped off on a hiking trail about 5 miles away from the Causeway. Terrain could be a bit difficult at times – slippery steps, inclines, close to the cliffside, etc. – but generally it was a very pleasant and extremely scenic walk. Took us about 3 hours to make the trip.
I won’t go into all the details around the Causeway, but I will point you to some of the geological information – The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast – British Geological Survey (bgs.ac.uk) – and some of the fables – Giant’s Causeway’s history | County Antrim | National Trust – around its creation. I found it interesting to learn that there’s apparently a Scottish counterpart to the Causeway, Fingal’s Cave. Going to add that to the list for a future visit…
Giant’s Causeway:
The Causeway itself was very busy, but no problem finding a quiet spot to take in the views and snap a few pictures. We didn’t have long to stay, though, before we needed to get back to the visitor’s centre. There was a shuttle bus available (extra charge – 1 GBP) but due to the crowds we decided to walk it back instead. But despite the somewhat tight timeline, we all made it back to the bus for 12:45 for an on-time departure. Short bus ride back, and then immediately back on the Zodiac and back to the Silver Cloud.
First impressions – we really, really like the ‘expedition’ model being used by Silver Seas. The Zodiacs are letting us get into ports that this vessel would otherwise not be able to dock at. It’s all extremely well run and safe, and there’s very little lost time spent waiting. Lots of thoughtful touches – coaches are large and air conditioned, included water and bananas, and our great local guide, Jennifer.
Once back, we headed off to the Grill for a quick lunch. Service was truly exceptional with most of the guests still off the boat. No pictures, but we got the chicken Caesar salad, Silver beef burger, and the hot dog – that has to be one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time, and I’m not easily impressed when it comes to burgers.
We had no further excursions planned for Portrush beyond the Giant’s Causeway, so we spent a leisurely afternoon reading in the observation room.
My son and I also took part in trivia for the first time – and I was pleasantly surprised that we managed to get more than half the answers right, despite being a group of two. This first attempt was just an experiment, but I think we’ll try again and will attempt to join a larger group next time.
After, I went to the expedition briefing for the next day. I’ve mentioned that our planned trip to Dunvegan had been shortened to the point where we would not be able to make the Old Man of Storr Hike. Now, instead of Dunvegan, we would be making a trip to the Shiant Isles, where we will be doing extended Zodiac or kayak trips.
The Shiant Isles are private islands that were originally purchased in the 1937 for the sum of around a thousand Pounds. They are now the home to a great deal of wildlife, including seals and seabirds. The history of them is quite interesting, and several books have been written on the topic – more can be found here: Shiant Isles | Archives
Unfortunately, this meant that we would need to cease our efforts to make the Old Man of Storr hike on our own and cancel the preliminary plans we’d made with Donda at Dunvegan Taxi – Home (dunvegantaxis.com). Donda was very responsive and the prices quoted seemed very reasonable, so I would highly recommend trying them for any private tours you may want to book on Isle of Skye. We’ll certainly try them again next time we’re there.
That evening, we had been invited to dinner at La Terraza with Hilman, the expedition coordinator. He was incredibly friendly and great with the kids, and had some great stories about his time in the Antarctic – as well as some amazing pictures. I also enjoyed talking to him about Indonesia, where he’s from – I’d gone there on a school trip when I was 14, and it really solidified my love of travel.
(I know, what kind of school trip takes 14 year olds to Indonesia? Was this some sort of fancy private school? No… I think our teachers were just very, very bored of visiting Europe year after year. Amazingly enough, no one died and they managed to bring back the same number of children that they started with.)
Also, it turns out that I still remember a bit of Indonesian from that trip almost 30 years ago… either that, or Hilman was being very kind.
Looking at Hilman’s pictures reminded us how much we’d love to do an Antarctic cruise at some point, and we’ll definitely be considering Silversea for that trip. From what we’ve heard from some of the other guests, it also sounds like it’s best to include the South Georgian Islands on that trip if possible. Very much tempted by the one that goes from Ushuaia to Namibia via Antarctica. We’ll have to do some thinking as to whether the kids would be able to handle a 40 day long cruise…
La Terraza menu and antipasto plate:
It’s going to be another early start tomorrow as we’ve once again signed up for the long hike option. We’re all adjusting to the later dinner hours. Normally the children would be in bed around 7:30/8:00 but with dinner starting at 7:00 it looks like it will be more like 9:30 for this trip. We’ve put in an order for room service to see if that let’s us sleep in a bit longer.
The sun again sets on the Silver Cloud
Tomorrow’s Chronicle:
Continue reading British Isles & Iceland – Day 3 here.