Long
Way From Florida
The
Isle Of Skye, Scotland ~ by Rita Shannon Koeser
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| “For
nobody born in any other parts of the world will choose this country for
their residence...” said Dr. Samuel Johnson about the Isle of Skye
in his book, “A Journey To The Western Islands of Scotland” published in
1775 after his famous trip there with his biographer, James Boswell. I
often thought of this after I moved to the Isle of Skye from Florida.
Yes, I was born in another part of the world, quite a different part
of the world. But with all due respect to Dr. Johnson, I
did choose the Isle of Skye for my residence and never regretted it.
One of the
world’s most beautiful and remote islands, the Isle of Skye is located
off the northwest coast of Scotland. Part of the Scottish Highlands,
it is the largest of the Inner Hebrides islands, and it is renowned for
its dramatic scenery, historic castles and clans, and a unique way of life.
There are more sheep than people living there, and though not as
remote as in Johnson’s day (he would write from Skye, “I have now the pleasure
of going where nobody goes, and seeing what nobody sees”), it is still
off the beaten path. The Gaelic language is still spoken as a first language
by many of the inhabitants, although everyone speaks and understands English. |
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Scottish Gaelic,
an offshoot of Irish Gaelic and once the dominant language of these islands,
became a different dialect around the 13th century. Once a dying language
, Gaelic has in recent years been undergoing a renaissance and is taught
in the schools. The road signs are in both English and Gaelic. The
pace of life is slow, and the tranquility lacking in so much of today’s
world is still found here.
I was captivated
by the Isle of Skye from the very first time I saw it. So different from
anything I’d ever known, it had a desolate and wild beauty, almost totally
treeless, with stark mountains shooting straight up out of the sea.
I had been to beautiful places before, places celebrated for exotic beauty-Jamaica,
Hawaii, Tahiti, Rio de Janairo, tropical paradises all, but I had never
seen anything like the Isle of Skye. It was on vacation in the summer of
1987 that I was first introduced to the Isle of Skye. When I was
widowed a year later, Russ, my 12 year old son and I pulled up stakes
completely from Florida, USA, and moved to the Isle of Skye. We were
in for the start of 3 years of fun, adventure, unbelievable wild and crazy
weather, and the start of a love affair with this island that would give
Skye a permanent place in our hearts.
My Florida
friends were inclined to agree with Dr. Johnson that nobody born
in other parts of the world would or should live here! After several months
on Skye, I started thinking back to the warnings I had had from
these friends when I told them that we were moving to Skye. “To the
Isle of Skye, where the gales are always raging?” asked good friends Linda
and Bill incredulous that anyone would want to leave the tropical climate
of Florida for the wilds of the Hebrides. “To Scotland, where it is always
so cold?”, asked Nancy, a friend from Boston, who had always been jealous
of the fact that I had lived in Florida most of my life. “The latitude
is higher than Moscow. You will be snowed in all winter.”, warned another
friend.
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Another
shot of the Black Hills
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The area is notorious
for its rainy stormy weather. It’s name in Gaelic is “Eilean A Cheo”
which means “Misty Isle”. But during the summer, especially in the months
of May and June, there can be lots of sunshine and little rain. Because
of the latitude, the summer days are very long and are often glorious with
an average of 18 to 20 hours of daylight. Considering the latitude (north
of Moscow) the winters are amazingly mild. This is because
this western part of Scotland is warmed by the currents of the Gulf Steam
in the North Atlantic. My Florida friend was wrong about being
snowed in. We were never snowed in because there is very little snow.
The weather is part of the magic of Skye because the mist, the cloud formations,
the changing colors of the sky and the mountains, and the magnificent rainbows
make a beautiful sight. Sometimes, at this latitude you can see the
Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.
When we arrived
on Skye in the autumn of 1988, we found many people willing to befriend
the two Yanks who showed up in their midst to live amongst them in the
village of Portree, capital of the Isle of Skye. A lot of them
had a hard time believing that we had moved from Orlando, Florida to join
them on their windswept island. Constant questions in the little
shops of Portree and from friends and neighbors were “How do you like it
here?” and “How long will you be on holiday?” It seemed
to take a while to sink in that we were really there to live, and we always
assured them that their weather was refreshing and invigorating compared
to the heat and humidity of Florida. We had no trouble feeling at
home and rented a little white stucco bungalow on a winding hill a mile
from the center of Portree. Russ entered Portree High School, quickly made
friends and did well. I also made friends, and we became part of the little
community of Portree.
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View
near the town of Portree
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In a typical
demonstration of the friendliness and hospitality of the people of Skye,
a stranger knocked on my door one morning and asked if we were OK. John
Angus Campbell , a short, ruddy faced man of about 35 with smiling eyes
and a gentle manner said he was worried because my elderly next door neighbor,
Mrs. Cullen , had said “There is an American lady living next door with
her son. I wonder if they are OK?” John Angus, who lived up
the hill in the back of our house with his wife and two children, had gone
to check on Mrs. Cullen after 4 days of incredible weather. The island
had been battered by strong winds, gales, and even a small hurricane.
The village had run out of food, as the ferries couldn’t cross from the
mainland. This was in the days before the bridge that now connects
the island to the mainland. The electricity had been out for days.
Of course, we hadn’t had mail for days either, as that also
came over on the ferry. Although Skye has changed a great deal since then,
its famous visitors, Johnson and Boswell, would recognize the weather
very well. Johnson has a lot to say about it in his book! The
people here were used to the gales that come in off the North Atlantic
and rage all winter long, but this had been unusual even for Skye. People
traditionally looked out for one another here, so I wasn’t surprised when
this stranger came to my door. John Angus and Dolly Campbell and their
children, Heather and Gavin became good friends as well as neighbors.
We would call on them many times, and we all still laugh about the
time I found a mouse in my house and John Angus came to our rescue by trapping
the mouse and plugging up the holes through which the creature had come
. Or when my water heater burst and my house was flooded. But that’s
another story!
Russ was a
big celebrity at Portree High being the only American to ever attend
the school. Most of the children accepted him, were fascinated by his American
accent and were intrigued by the fact that he was from Orlando and had
been to Disney World at least 7 times. However, there were always
a few trouble makers trying to get the best of someone different.
One day a schoolmate chided, “The Americans lost the war in Vietnam.”
Russ retorted “Yes, but they won the Revolutionary war against the British.”
That was the end of that conversation. I was proud of the way Russ
handled that and didn’t know if I could have handled the situation any
better.
I found it
easy to make friends on Skye because of the famous hospitality of the Scottish
people. I also met other “incomers” (as people who are not
from Skye are called) on the island. Maria was from Germany, and
had moved to Skye 7 years earlier with her son after her divorce.
In addition to teaching aerobics, she took up some of the traditional Scottish
crafts....weaving and spinning and she also kept some sheep on her small
farm. Incomers did whatever they could to keep body and soul together,
as we often had professions we couldn’t transfer to our island. Maria
had been a teacher in Germany. I had also been a teacher and was now doing
private tutoring, writing and even some baby sitting. Janet, originally
from Glasgow, had married a Skye farmer, a man with a large farm on the
south of the island. She lived in Portree and ran a Bed and Breakfast
establishment down by the pier during the week, and on the weekends she
would join her husband on their farm. Her son, Martin was the same age
as Russ. The boys were good friends and were in scouts together.
Janet and I would often meet in the cafes and discuss the problems
of the world. She had a great sense of humor and we had a lot of laughs.
It was with my hairdresser Katherine that I would discuss, not the problems
of the world, but the problems with men!! Katherine, who owned one
of the two hairdressing salons in Portree and was so perky and full
of life, was recently divorced. She and I would commiserate with
each other about men and other subjects in her little hairdressers shop
on the square in Portree and in her lovely home. Shirley, another friend,
was originally from England and had moved to Skye with her husband and
children several years earlier. Shirley’s son was the same
age as Russ, and the four of us would often go walking in the area surrounding
the Cuillin Hills.
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The Cuillin Hills,
the famous and spectacular mountain range that forms a backdrop to the
island draws walkers, climbers, and nature lovers from all parts
of the world. The main group of hills, called the Black Hills, are the
most remarkable mountains in Britain. These steep, jagged hills are
composed of grabbro, a dark colored coarse grained rock. Climbers from
all over the world and all abilities come here to test and challenge themselves
on these amazing hills. Alpine rescue teams train here. The second range
of hills, known as the Red Hills because they are composed of a reddish
granite are more gentle sloping hills. These hills are good for walking
and rambling. From anywhere on the island, when there is no mist
or rain, you can see these magnificent mountains standing sentinel over
the island. It’s part of the magic of the “Misty Isle”
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Most magical
of all are some of Skye’s castles associated with the history of the great
clans of this part of Scotland. The clan system originated here in
the Scottish Highlands in the 13th century. The great clans of Skye
are the MacDonald and the MacLeod clans. The 750 year old Dunvegan Castle
on the north of the island and the Armadale castle in the south give evidence
today of the past importance of the MacLeod and the MacDonald clans.
Dunvegan, perched on a rock overlooking a lake, was and is today home of
the chief of the MacLeod Clan. Armadale, the ancient home of the
chief of the MacDonald clan, is now part of an award winning visitor center
which explains the history of this clan. There are other castles
on Skye and the surrounding islands, some of which are in ruins now but
still can be visited. |
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After three
years on Skye, I was much more inclined to agree with the sentiments
of Sheriff Alexander Nicolson than those of Dr. Samuel Johnson. Sheriff
Alexander Nicolson (1827-1893) who was born on Skye was a Gaelic scholar,
a poet, and a journalist. He was an acclaimed climber in the Cuillins
Hills, and in 1873, he became the first man to climb the peak which
is now named after him in Gaelic, Sgurr Alasdair. Nicolson would
write about his beloved Skye:
Jerusalem,
Athens and Rome
I would see
them before I die
But I’d rather
not see any one of the three
Than be exiled
forever from Skye
To contact
Rita Click Here
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