Archive for July 2021

Holy North Atlantic Mackerel

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Our good neighbor not only caught these, but perfectly filleted them as well for us. Delicious!

The weather changes so abruptly. In the timenit took to take this sunny photo, clouds came in for the second shot

Sir Mows A Lot

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She thinks my tractor's sexy.

Lots of grass to cut. The sheep have a head start.

Sarah and Skyelark meeting the plane that we were supposed to take last week-finally got weather clearence

Walking Skyelark down by The South Lighthouse

Sarah bought me this hand-made tartan mask made by a local resident

Windows 2021-As As the self-appointed custodian of the Nurse's Hus (house), Cut the grass behind the kitchen window with Sir Mows A Lot. Sheep were unavailable for the task. Tended to the tomatoe plants with help from Skyelark.

Fair Isle-Alive On Arrival

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Flightseeing To Fair Isle Today

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Weather has closed in and we are below limits both on route and at Fair Isle. This afternoons flight is now cancelled...but we are in the air! And Skyelark is in the hold.

For those who have never experienced island life, the day to day realities of living in the middle of the north sea during winter can seem mysterious, and sometimes even a little intimidating. Yet, despite being in the Arctic Circle, and because of the gulfstream, the December 2020 Winter. we experienced here was rather mild.

So the opportunity to fly out here during a heat wave (Down South In England), we expected no weather issues...maybe some wind, since Shetland is famous for wind speeds... But precisely because of the heat wave, the fogbank came in today, along with rain and some lightning while we were midair. Oh well, looks like we will be taking the Good Shepherd Ferry tomorrow.

downtown Lerwick, with a visit from a cruise ship today:

Shetland Mainland

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The next episode...We were here in December 2020, when the wind, moisture and lighting were golden. The Summer offers a green and clear color palate. Both seasons offer their beauty.. It's savage and free range.

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Aberdeen to Lerwick By Ferry

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"Looks like lamb is back on the menu" gonna find me some sheep

I woke up early to get a head start on the strenuous idleness that the Shetland winds, weather and wounds will enevitably bring.What a savage and beautiful country lies in between.I don't think less of city life, but I do and will think of it less here.

"Looks like lamb is back on the menu" gonna find me some sheep soon...

Here’s the thing about Shetland: there are no wrong decisions, only decisions to be made. No matter where you go, you’ll be awestruck, inspired, and have your breath taken away—after spending last December there, I’m willing to guarantee it.

On The Edge Of Britain-Shetland

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Where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean...

Collected these memories in our trip reports: Not So Fair Isle. Click Here to access the stories and images and recollections.

2020 is hindsight and was also the middle of the global pandemic. Yet that didn't stop us from traveling. We took social distancing to the nth degree and self isolated on Britain's most remote inhabited island , Fair Isle, population 45.

Here is a look back at our first trip back during the :

Fair Isle, Shetlands UK

We flew in this morning from Shetland Mainland, on a 7 seater puddle jumper single prop plane. The 20 minute ride was smooth and fast. 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).

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Then, we followed-on to Fair Isle, population 55, now 57! What a place to self-isolate during the global pandemic! At first I thought Fair Isle was- the Faroe Islands (That's Danish and in the sub Arctic Circle). The Shetland Isles are located in the North Atlantic, Closer to Norway than to Aberdeen. Go Vikings!

FAIR ISLE Are we there yet? Being there.

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

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.

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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.

Disney Cruise Lines -Port Canaveral, FL/CARRIBEAN

Castaway Cay

New Year (January 1, 2020) and a day in The US Virgin Islands. After a mile walk around the deck we witnessed the sun rising against the Caribbean blue ocean. Spectacular. As we bring in the new day, still thinking about the souvenirs from YESterday.

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.