Day Two: Trip to Jura

The second day of our adventure of the Island of Jura was full of highs and lows. But all-in-all it was the best time I have had in ages, and I am so grateful for both Graeme and Camden's company :D Especially when I was at my wit's end and Graeme came to take my backpacks to relieve pressure <3 

We then made porridge for breakfast. I went out to get some water from the stream for tea, and when I came back Camden made a joke about Graeme putting Swiss stock (which has vegetables in it) into the porridge. And upon tasting it I realised that in fact it was not a joke ;) So I had some interesting porridge for breakfast ;)

Outside when I went to the stream to wash the bowls from breakfast

View from our bothy to the sea. After we had finished breakfast I noticed a yacht in the sea, which was unusual because we hadn't seen any other human being on the island. A few minutes later a large tourist group came along to see the bothy, and so we chatted with them for a while, and after that group of tourists left for a quick exploration of our side of the island, a guy (we don't remember his name, so for the purpose of the blog we will call him Tom) who had been hiking for a while. He was going to be staying in the bothy in another room then for a few days. So we gave him some of our left-over porridge. 

After tidying up we set off for a shorter hike than yesterday. Probably half of the reasoning was because we were so tired from the hike the day before and ended up having a longer morning, and half because this was supposed to be a somewhat relaxing trip ;) We had thought about going swimming, but it happened to be a rather 'dreich' day (Scottish word for a gloomy, wet and grey day), and it was predicted to start raining in a few hours. So we decided to go and explore some caves nearby.

The first cave we came across. We had to climb up a rocky bit to get there, but it was pretty cool to see a little cave at the top

Not to mention we got a great view of the little inlet of sea!!

We then walked along this beach area to see some caves on the other side. The area was a treasure haven for people who like bits and bobs. We named it "The beach of boys (buoys), where girls can visit." Graeme wanted to name the beach "Bob". It is a name that he names practically everything that he doesn't remember the name of, and I guess it was somewhat logical because there were bits and 'Bobs' littered all over the shore ;) 

Finding lovely flowers on the beach. Graeme informed me that they are called "Sea Pinks"

Walking up to a cave, where we found the remains of a dead deer :(

Looking down into a cave ;) We thought it was probably best not to go down into the rainforesty-looking, slippery and dark cave, which I decided I was extremely happy about :D

Amazing stone structures on the beach that we were trekking over

One of the few trees on the island of Jura. Practically a celebrity ;) 

It then started to rain so we decided to head back to the bothy. We were also getting quite hungry for lunch ;) 

Graeme leading the way through the high grass

A ruined house next to the bothy. We stopped to see what was inside, but there was just some rubbish and lots of weeds.

When we got back we started making lunch using all the things we had left-over, so for starters we had a vegan fry-up using all the vegetables left. This was because both Camden and the new guy Tom were vegans. Afterwards Graeme and I fried up a steak to get our protein. We were sooo full by the end of all that food ;) 

We then packed everything up, said goodbye to Tom after telling him about all the quirks of the bothy and the fire place, and mustered up the energy to set out in the 'dreich' weather towards the beach to be picked up by the dinghy to take us to the warmth of the yacht. To be honest, I felt exhausted already at this point. 

I remember walking through the high grass in my sneakers, because my other shoes were already wet. After the high grass we came to a stream. I decided to take my shoes off so that they wouldn't get all soaked in the water. But when I took my shoes off I discovered that it was even harder to walk over the slippery stones on the stream bed, not to mention that it was freezing. It was also very windy, and I could really feel the wind blowing my off-balance because of the two big backpacks that I was wearing, one on the front, and one huge one on the back. So I was really trying to muster up the energy, while feeling like crying. Graeme came along, my knight in shining armour, to take both my backpacks so that at least I had nothing making me fell off-balance. I prayed a quick "God I need you" prayer crying out for a burst of energy, and walked without feeling my feet for the last few metres to the shore. That was definitely the walk of courage. Pushing yourself to the limit shows you how strong you really can be!! 

Once at the shore line we just had to wait for the dinghy to come and pick us up. First Camden and I got on board, and then Graeme came with all the luggage. When we were all on the yacht we discovered that we were soaked through, low on energy and totally ready for the comforts of civilisation!! But ...  the adventure did not stop there!! 

The yacht we were on, finally :D 

I told you about the third largest whirlpool, right? Well, we sailed right over it. It was VERY choppy seas, and I started feeling slightly seasick :o But it was pretty amazing!! Our seasickness left us when we discovered that we were on the path of a pod of dolphins!! 

 

It was so magical seeing one dolphin after another jumping out of the water in pure joy. One of the guys there said that anyone who was depressed could not see the dolphins and still be depressed. I guess it is such a spectacular sight that you can't help but be overjoyed at the sight of such beautiful creatures. 

When we finally got off the boat, and said our farewells to the amazing yacht owner, we set off for the car. Yay :D Warmth!!! 

Driving in a nice warm car was such bliss after our adventures. 

And we were soon to realise that our adventure was not over yet! Nope. We got a flat tyre from a really treacherous road that the Sat Nav (called Zoe) took us on. So Graeme bravely went out in the rainy weather to change the tyre, leaving Camden and I in the warmth to chat about Australia. It was lovely, but I was feeling bad for Graeme out there in the cold. 

After we arrived at the Drovers Inn, which is where Camden works and stays (where we first met her), we all had a lovely dinner. I got a nice hot chocolate as well to give me lots of sugar to stop shaking from the cold :D We were all so tired, and so we talked mostly about the photos we took from our adventure and how appreciative we all were for our amazing company. And perhaps we might have thought about where we would like to go next, but I can't quite remember. Who knows, we might go somewhere even more wild than Jura? 

Till next time,

Laura xx (edited by Graeme)