We drove to Harris, and found it a very lonely and deserted looking island, maybe because it was raining and cold, but the moonlike landscape did not do much to lighten the overall feel. But after some driving around we came to a beautiful beach that stretched away to both sides, and the dogs were ecstatic to get out of the car and have a good run.
We took a long walk, and it was such a pleasant surprise when the sun suddenly peeped from behind the clouds, and changed the dreary grey sea, and the sand into an almost water paint like image - beautiful. But that did not last very long, and then the rain came down with a vengeance, as if it was cross for having let us see that the grey sea was actually green, and the sand was almost white and so clean, and we did a creditable sprint back to the car.
That night we decided to leave the islands on the following day, actually it was me that wanted to leave, as I felt that I was wasting my precious time sitting counting my fingers every day, until one or sometimes two, when Liz was ready to go.It would have been no trouble if there was anywhere but the wee road to the lighthouse to go, but if your feet stepped of a bit, chances are that you would land in a muddy hole.
So we packed in haste, and the next morning Liz was up in good time, as I think she was very tired of my moaning, as she just could not believe that when on holiday, anybody would want to get up before at least eleven.
We had to wait at Tairbeart for quite some time before the ferry arrived, and luckily it wasn't full, so we went back to Skye, where we were going to try and find a room for the night, and then decide what to do. We went to Portree, where the guy at the cafe we bought fish and chips to eat outside on the wharf, told us about a woman that has rooms with twin beds, so after filling our tummies to bursting point, we set off. The woman was full, with just one room with a double bed, but I was bally well not going to sleep in the same bed as the snoring Liz, and Benny with his killer breath.
The woman then phoned her sister, who apprently catered for guests now and then, and she had a room each for us, and I was smiling again. If somebody had not smelled Benny's breath before, he would never be able to even imagine how bad it really was, even after Liz gave it a jolly good brush.
The rooms were quite clean, but oh my heavens, the bathroom was a slimy mess. I wanted to take a bath, as there was no shower, but when I wanted to adjust the little mat that stopped one from slipping in the bath, I found it was pulling kind of slimy threads, and my fish and chips rushed up from my tummy, and I made a run for my room, where I sat panting for a while before my food went back. Liz thought me full of nonsense, and took her pajamas, and with a last reproving look at me, disappeared down the corridor to the bathroom that was shared with another room. It wasn't long before I heard Liz rushing past my door, and she was making real funny noises, so, being a bitty ugly sometimes, I went to have a look, and gloat a bit!
Now, I was not too sensitive, but Lizzy was one very precise, and very neat and clean in her house, person, and of the two of us, I think she had the weakest tummy, and the poor thing looked ghastly where she sat wretching in front of the window. I thought it best to keep my mouth shut.
I could not face that bathroom again, so I fetched a glass of water from the kitchen, and brushed my teeth by the window, spitting on the flowers. Shame.