Day at Sea

We slipped out of Belfast at dusk and headed north towards Mull. The aim is to cruise round Mull today and then head up to Ullapool for tomorrow. 

Have had an hours walk on the promenade deck and seen two seals poking their heads up to see what's passing. 

The weather is atrocious and I'm so glad I brought my full length waterproof - it's been used in anger already and is hanging over the back of my chair dripping as I tap.

So, time passes and the rain comes over in waves. I've retired to the section of the pool deck which is under cover and am watching the Caledonian ferry pass us up the sound as we approach Tobermory. We've followed the sound today and the views have been spectacular. 

Apart from a few Canada Geese I've not seen anything since we entered the sound, but we did sight Wally the walrus out on his travels and I had the delight of spotting a couple of common seals, gannets and of course the rafts of shearwaters.

The sound is a major highway for all types of vessels but I suspect the cruise ships are the largest.

I saw quite a bit of logging on one side of the sound and the trunks were waiting to be ferried across to the other side for processing. 

What's the sound like? Soft heather covered hills to the edge of the sound with splurged of red from the "fireweed", leading up to mountains in the blue haze. Salmon farms dot the edges of the water and small villages nestle into the lower, more protected slopes.

I've seen sheep and cattle farms, all small and probably family run.

As the day wore on the weather improved so by dinner I sat with my back to the sun. It was lovely to feel its warmth.

reflections of the lido deck as I wandered around before dinner.