Yet another day of fine weather! The morning was quite
windy, but it did not cause enough waves to affect the ship as we at lunchtime
sailed into Storm way on the Isle of Lewis. We went in large numbers on an
afternoon excursion to see the impressive Callanish Stones, a prehistoric site
rated second only to Stonehenge. This was a mound with many tens of stones 2-3 times
taller than man, placed in circular and rectangular patterns, the meaning of
which is still not understood.
Many of us were perhaps even more fascinated to be inside a black
house, which is the name of large houses where poor families lived until only a
century ago or so. The houses were – as other houses on the island – heated by
the burning of peat, but these had no windows, only a small opening in the
thatched roof directly above the permanent-burning fire. Gave a new meaning to
the expression “smoke gets in my eyes”. These one-story stone constructions
were relatively large, to give space also for their animals, and had “central
heating”.
This was our second day visiting an island with no native
trees. We understood why when the locals informed us that they could have winds
of up to 90 miles an hour. It was a regular occurrence for schools to be closed
on such “wind days”. Such information made us even more appreciate our luck today
of sunshine and near-calm.