What better way to spend our 14th Wedding Anniversary as husband spent an hour being seasick and I was turning green but grittedly staring at the horizon as we sailed from Tobermory to Ulva.
The day had started well with the exchanging of cards and a hearty breakfast.
Then we had a great visit to the bridge as Captain Alistair showed us all his instruments and I even got to steer the boat quite a bit (not as hard as it sounds as it only entailed moving a button five clicks to the right every now and then). As it started to get a bit choppy we went back down to the saloon at which point most people sitting there had already turned a bit pale.
A call from Bertie sent me outside to the covered and enclosed area where the seats were dry but there was fresh air and a good view of the land. I gripped the table and willed myself to be well. A fellow passenger groped her way out and sat the other side but conversation was light as we focused on not being seasick. I was thinking about how Husbant might be faring but didn’t chance a move from my spot.
Finally we turn up into Loch Tuath and the sea calmed. As soon as I was able, I went back inside but Husbant was nowhere to be seen. One fellow passenger had fallen asleep, two looked very grey and everyone was quiet. I made my way down to our cabin and there was Husbant sitting on the bed and saying “I have been seasick a few times”. With the boat now longer lurching, I got him to put on a few layers and took him up to sit at the front of the boat in the fresh air. Within minutes he had perked up and we sat in the lovely sunshine admiring the beautiful views.
Everyone had recovered their appetite for lunch which was a delicious spread of hummus, feta and pepper salad with quinoa, lamb meat balls and handmade flat breads with garlic butter from the garlic leaves we harvested yesterday on the walk.
After lunch we all boarded the rib and motored up to a slipway where we disembarked for a walk around Ulva. It was very muddy in parts and a couple of our team slipped and stumbled, with one full fall but into mud so no bones broken. I fashioned a walking stick from a dead branch which seemed to help the situation. It did feel a bit like a walk of the “halt and the lame” – a phrase my mum uses a lot about some of the people who attend her church. But we made it round and sadly didn’t see any herons nesting but we did see some highland cattle and we heard some Scottish pigs.
Back to the boat where a glass of prosecco and a very moreish chocolate cake awaited us – with a card presented to us from the crew for our wedding anniversary and a toast. Such a lovely gesture.
Just having a rest before dinner which looks great. Here’s what’s on the menu:
Husbant and I have already agreed a swap – I can have his beetroot and he can have my sticky toffee pudding (let’s see how that pans out…)
Anyway – I saw a white-tailed eagle this morning so that was the sighting of the day. Am very happy to be celebrating 14 years with someone I love very dearly who makes me laugh every day. Thank you, Husbant.
Snoo's kitchen 