2020-What a year!
Yellowstone National Park (WY not?), Fair Isle, Scotland, (Shetland) Dover, England (White Cliffs) via Orlando (Disney) and South Florida.
It started with Christmas and New Years sailaways on Disney Cruise Lines in The Eastern and Western Caribbean. Then Covid hit, and travel changed forever...Yet we managed to finish the year out on Britain's most remote inhabited island, population 45, taking physical distancing Uber seriously.
Yellowstone National Park USA
It was the best of vibes. It was the worst of vibes. We
waited for 2020 to have that perfect vision.
Nobody could predict what they'd be seeing and doing this year- washing
their hands, wearing a mask and social distancing because of the global
pandemic. Normally, we would be sailing in the Norwegian Fjords, The Baltics
or through Alaska's wildlife super
highway, Glacier Bay.Tis the season but all fleets have come to a grinding
halt.
DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP. or the goal of taking a vacation- ..You can't deny gravity, or the gravity of the situation, and traveling these days will never be the same. I'd have to get resourceful, resilient and drive somewhere long distance in an automobile.
I rented a land yacht, a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander (my
protective bubble from the Covidiots who refused to take the virus seriously
enough to follow some basics) and drove from Palm Beach to Jackson Hole, WY.
Planning a road trip now is like trying to build an airplane as you're flying
one ... data changes constantly..so I avoided airports, public transport
and took my chances in a SUV, and hit
the interstate freeways. Three days (daze) later I rolled up on The Grand
Tetons. I've sailed the seven seas, and visited every imaginable port of call,
but being double-land locked would be a first.
Fair Isle, Shetlands UK
Britain's most remote inhabited island. We flew in this
morning. It feels like we are walking into a painting. Think Norway meets
Hawaiian islands and Father Time and Mother Nature have a field day.
No man is an island, as John Donne wrote, but, north of the border, you can live on one. Scotland's. The Shetland's is good like that, with 15 inhabited ones to choose from. We are here in Fair Isle. Britian's most remote one. It feels like we are moving through paintings as the ever changing weather lights the landscape in unique and splendid ways.
Thanks to the popularity of the TV Series Shetland, we have
had it on our radar as places to visit
this year.
Of all the 115 islands
in the archipelago, just a few- 15-
are inhabited ones. We are at to Britain's most remote island, Fair Isle.
First, Sarah and I flew into Lerwick, Shetland's mainland via Edinburgh, Scotland. Next, we got a PCR test for Covid (Think Positive Test Negative).
Then, we followed-on
to Fair Isle, population 55, now 57! What a place to
self-isolate during the global pandemic!
There are two choices for transport to reach the island - take it or leave it.
The first involves a 20-minute straight run aboard a 'puddle jumper, 7 seater fixed-wing
plane from the mainland of Shetland –
a twin engine prop plane-
heart-in-the-mouth flight- up-close and personal with the pilot and his control
dashboard.
Thankfully, that link was not cancelled, due to fog, wind or just plain bad weather, then it would have been a ferry, actually a converted fishing vessel, the only other alternative, a notoriously 2 hour rough crossing aboard the island’s ferry, the Good Shepherd IV. Sometimes the North Sea is even too rough for the ferry.
Living Of The Grid And Living On The Edges
Fair Isle is not connected to the National Grid. Energy is generated in the island by the Fair Isle Electricity Company (FIEC) using wind turbines and solar and this is stored in a battery back up system. We brought Torches, flashlights, as there is zero light pollution or street lights.
South Lighthouse Josie and Dave's place
 |
| South Lighthouse Josie and Dave's place |
Disney Cruise Lines -Port Canaveral, FL/CARRIBEAN
 |
| Castaway Cay |
Last night we celebrated onboard the Disney Fantasy.
When it comes to Disney royalty, you can’t get much cooler
than Elsa and Anna. We started the evening with the movie Frozen 2 and its
takeaway of ..when under pressure, do the next best thing, was noteworthy.
Later...
We all had our own fireworks display to bring in the New
Year, Setting things on fire on a ship? Yep.
2020 Trip Reports
Things Started To Take Off In Shetland - What a
Year-2020
- Flight
From Fair Isle To Shetlands
- Checking The
Flock
- South
Lighthouse Fair Isle
- Malcom's
Head Hike Fair Isle
- Fleece
Navidad Fair Isle
- Given Day
- Ice
Bath In The North Atlantic
- Sheeple
- Fair
Isle-The Baaaahamas Of The Shetlands
- Atlantic
Grey Seals Spotted Today
- Sunday On
Fair Isle
- Shetland Turf
- Fair
Isle-WW2 Plane Wreckage Spotted
- Lighthouse
Walk-Fair Isle
- Fair Isle
101-Living Off The Grid
- Fair
Isle Windows 2020
Fair Isle And My Sheeple
Sarah AT The White Cliffs Of Dover-Disney Magic
In the background
ST Ninians'Double Beach, Mainland Shetland 
WY, MT,ID-The Grand Daddy Of National Parks - The
Power of New Is Now-It's About Time
- Around
The World In 80 Ships
- Old
Dog-New Tricks
- United
Kingdom-Time Millionaires
Love This Blue Nylon Mask-Matches My Hat 
Disney Dream Docked at Castaway Cay-Disney's Private Island
 |
| New Years Eve 2019 Onboard The Disney Fantasy BC Before Covid |
