camasunary

Today I decided I wouldn't leave the hotel too early like I did the day before.  I decided to have breakfast with the other hikers and holiday makers in the beautifully Victorian dining room of the hotel.  At first I was very glad that I did because it was delicious, and by far the best meal I had on Skye.  My experience of food here has been ... meh.  Mostly, everything is extremely expensive and very average.  Frankly, folks around here really ought to spend at least as much time making stuff taste good as they spend making it look good.  And FYI, I don't approve of serving food straight out on a slab of wood.  I couldn't help but wonder how many other people's wedges of deep fried Brie melted all over it before mine.  Unhygienic.  Ick.

So, after my very nice breakfast off I went to the Fairy Pools, getting there about 9:30.

Gorgeous, right?

Well, you and I will both have to take Google's word for it because I couldn't get anywhere near it.  The car park was absolutely rammed.   Huh.  It seems I shoulda ordered the packed breakfast and got there at 7:30am.

So I moseyed on down the hill to the river Brittle for a couple of photos, waiting

a few minutes for someone to leave the car park and make some space.

When I got back there it was even worse.  So I got in the queue of cars waiting for people to leave and make some space.  But then more cars came, bypassed the queue and jammed everything up so no one could get in or out.  Utter madness.  I managed to turn around and get out of there.  I did find another place to park about a half a kilometer up the road, but I saw a poor lame lamb there who broke my heart so I couldn't stay.

That's the Fairy Pools struck off my list.  Maybe next time.

Onward south I went, headed for what was described as a "single track road between Broadford and Elgol" and the beginning of a hike to a remote beach tucked down below the Cuillin Hills.  Hills!?  Sheesh, what does it take to get mountain status around here?

As the road wends its way through the Cuillin, the scenery was predictably spectacular the whole way.  I was the crazy person who kept slowing down to stick the camera out the window of the car to capture what I could see through the windscreen.  Some attempts were more successful than others.

 

When I got to the start of the hike, the weather wasn't promising.  Or rather, it was promising - promising rain.   And it got progressively worse as I made my way up the hill.

About 10 minutes in I was hobbling and wishing I had taken my old, beat up, super-comfy hiking boots with me on this trip instead of the super-stiff ankle-supportive pair that I thought would be useful on the uneven ground I expected to meet on Skye hikes.  They were super-supportive all right, all over my bruised ankle.   I had a couple of carrier bags in my rucksack for my muddy boots in case I ended up somewhere my boots would be too disreputable for.  I twisted one into a rope and poked it down into my boot around my ankle to try and relieve some of the pressure on the bruise.  It worked surprisingly well.  That and a couple of ibruprofen and I was off again. 

Eventually I reached the summit, from which my guide notes promised increasingly impressive views of the Black Cuillin Hills.  Hmmm.

I battled on, determined to get to the beach down the other side, even if I did get soaked in the process.  The one couple I met on the way warned me that there were no views and that the rain was coming into the beach horizontally.  It's true my first views over the Camasunary weren't ideal, but they were pretty dramatic anyway with the clouds down over the hills.

But here's the thing about weather and these magical places.  If you acknowledge the spirits of the place, treat them with respect, maybe make an offering, then they just might bring out the sun for you.  Or at least stop the rain. 

On this beach I actually broke the hiker's code of take nothing and leave nothing.  The guide notes spoke of a bothy on the far side of the beach.  I was looking forward to seeing my very first one.  This one was supposed to be quite old and with two open fires.  As I made my way down the beach I gathered some driftwood for the bothy fire.  When I got there, however, I found it had been shut up after being damaged by a storm a couple of years ago.  There was a little pile of driftwood by the door that I guess other people had brought and then left behind when they found it closed.

So I gathered up all the driftwood and carried it over to the new bothy at the other end of the beach.  I got to look inside and I sat outside to have my lunch.  It didn't have an open fire inside, but it was still really lovely with one common room and one bunk room.  It was in terrific condition and so well cared for by the hikers who passed through. 

Lunch with a view

Driftwood wasn't the only thing I took away from that beach.  I dug out my other carrier bag, filled it with plastic rubbish I found on the beach and stuffed it into my rucksack and lugged it out with me.  Sadly it was merely a drop in the bucket of plastic trash on that beautiful beach.

I was damp through and pretty soon I started to get a chill, so I retraced my steps back over the hill to the car.  I was very pleased that the really hard rain only started as I climbed behind the wheel to head back to Portree and the hotel. 

beach & woods

Around about this time every year a bunch of southwest Lappy nuts meet up for a beach walk.  Some years the weather is wet and miserable and typically November-ish.  Other years it's freakishly warm (like the year it was 17C).  This year it was chilly but sunny - perfect.

Whatever the weather, the Lappies always have a really fabulous time, sleep like logs that evening, and the people are vacuuming up sand for days after.

It's usually a great opportunity for me to get some family photos, and this year was particularly good as there were a couple of sets of siblings present who are not often in the same place at the same time. 

Thanks to Emily for taking this photo of Neka with a selection of her kids.

L-R: sisters Kaija & Maija from litter 2, Neka, Taika from Neka's first litter

Taika (middle) with her kids Usko (left) & Minna (right)

Tuuli (middle) with her kids Talvi (left) & Kaito (right) - & the beautiful view behind us!

And a few close-ups.

Siblings Talvi & Kaito

Kaito was a bit excited to see us

Somehow I managed not to get photos of Emmi & Jaana, who I am lucky enough to get to see more often.  But a couple of weeks ago there was a walk in the woods and an opportunity for pictures of Emmi with her mum and half-brother, and we got some great shots.

L-R 3 generations: Neka, her daughter Keksi & Keksi's daughter Emmi

Middle: Neka & Keksi with Keksi's kids, half-siblings Kuura (left) & Emmi (right)

The whole gang L-R: Jaana, Neka, Tuuli, Emmi, Keksi, Kuura (Photo: Jane Treasure)

growing up pups

The Pippuri puppies are almost 3 months old and growing fast.  Pretty soon they will be sprouting new adult teeth into jaws not quite big enough to hold them yet (and the chewing will ramp up - yes, it does get worse before it gets better!)  At the same time, their legs will shoot up and their noses will shoot out.  Do you get the impression it's not a very attractive phase?  At some point soon their ears will go up too (one hopes).

Fiia at 10 weeks modelling her smart hi-vis harness

Kai practicing being cute at 10 weeks

Kaito at 10 weeks... on the sofa, no less

Talvi having fun in the park

And, finally, a little video of Tito having fun with the boys his first time at the beach.





Meanwhile, the extended family visited last week, and Jaana, too, is growing up.

walkies

In the days leading up to Tuuli's due date we have been taking the dogs on all their favorite walks.  Actually, they are our favorite walks too.  Tuuli will have a boring puppy-centric time once they arrive, so out we have been going for lots of good fun. 

There was some beach fun and, as you can see, even just days away from popping, Tuuli might have slowed down a little, but she is still running, jumping and even horning in on other dogs' games (not pictured as she always runs miles for this embarrassing stunt). 

And there have also been several woods walks in various places which, for Tuuli, always includes a paddle or two.  It will be interesting to see whether these puppies resemble their dad who prefers to keep his paws dry and pristine or their mum who is a complete water baby. 

And perhaps when the puppies arrive there will be space on the sofa for a human or two.  You can see Keskiyo in the doorway wondering where he's going to fit.

And, finally, we turfed Gink the cat out of the whelping box that he was convinced we installed for his benefit.  Tuuli is wondering what this giant cat bed has to do with her.

Weston beach walk

On Sunday we met a bunch of old friends and new friends-to-be with a rather large group of Lappies for a walk at Weston-Super-Mare again.  I have to say that I'm pretty unimpressed with the council for charging such extortionate parking fees.  Even in the middle of the winter the minimum charge was £2.50 and when we went there in November it was twice that.  So I don't think we'll be troubling their lovely beach again with our half dozen cars and twice the number of dogs.  There are lots of nice places to walk that don't cost the earth in parking.

The weather was incredibly kind to us, if chilly - the forecast was for cold & wet but we only got the cold.  Phew!  Even those who were threatened to be homebound by snow managed to make it.

Thanks to Mark Treasure for the great photos, as always.  Most of these are his, the poor phone shots 1st & last are mine, as usual.  We didn't manage to remember to get a group shot of everyone there, but if my memory serves correctly, we had 12 Finnish Lapphunds and about twice that in people.

That sign beyond which everyone is walking?  It says something like: "DANGER beyond this point."
Yup.










Much running & playing.
L-R: Kaija, Miika, Kesa, Taika
It's anyone's guess who is running to catch up in the distance, but my guess is Minna.  She is not one to miss out on a good game of chase.











Case in point:
L-R: Minna, Kaija, Taika, Miika

Even Keksi did a little bit of running, but mainly she stayed close to the humans' legs (and pockets full of treats).
L-R:  Keskiyo, Keksi

Neka, the eldest in attendance, had a wonderful time, racing around like a dog half her age.

And this tells the story of later that evening.  Evidence of a very good day.