Iona

The crossing over was to say the least scary! As it wasn't a large ferry, the wind plucked her around like a toy, and I opted to stand outside where I felt I had a better chance of jumping and swimming out than cooped up inside. Liz reluctantly joined me, as it was very cold, but she fortified herself by puffing up one cigarette after the other.
We were quite wet when we arrived at the other side, but the relieve of standing on dry ground again was so big that I didn't even bother about it.
It was quite a steep walk up to where the Abbey stood keeping watch over the island, and Liz's nicotine invaded lungs gave a bit of trouble, so we had to stop frequently, but there were always something to see, so it didn't matter too much, except for the fact that we were told that the last ferry would be in one and a half hour's time because of the weather. Iona, and the faith that st Columba brought to the island, was called 'The morning star of Scotland's faith, and later stretched to all over Scotland, North East Enland, and later, through the Vikings to Skandinavia, and all along the rhine valley of Europe.The Monks on Iona, besides the bringing of their faith to this Pagan land, were quite militant, but also very practical, and taught a lot of skills to the local people. Their knowledge of building, carving, and agriculture helped a lot to better the lives of the people, and their was also a family called Beaton, who were famous for teaching the art of Herbal medicine making, and this family conducted a whole medical service from Mull, throughout the Hebrides.
There are lots of pre-Reformation chapels all over Mull, and it is believed that during the days that lawlessness were at it's height, with a lot of bloodshed as a result, this influence from the monks of Iona kept civilization on the islands alive. I loved the Nunnery best, and stood with goose pimples just thinking of the hardship this nuns went through when they were banned from Ioana, and had to flee their beloved island.