We got up at 7:00 and had breakfast, about the same as yesterday. We walked around town taking pictures of our guesthouse from the other side of the harbor, getting sandwiches at the grocery store and then stopping at the Tourist Information to ask about hiking. They were not very helpful. We decided to call the two places in Elgol that do boat trips. The first line was busy and the second place told us the weather was too bad to go out today. We assumed the other line would not be running either. We decided to drive to Elgol anyway as we wanted to see the Cuillen Hills. We collected our car from the bank parking lot and headed south the way we came to Skye.

We stopped in Sligichan (SLIG-a-cun) at the hotel to use the restrooms and ask at the desk about a hike on the road to Elgol . The young man at the desk was very helpful and gave us the directions to do a hike in Kilmarie, three miles before Elgol. He also told us we could use the restrooms for a donation to Mountain Rescue. So we did. While we were parked at the hotel, we crossed the road and went over an old bridge to hike a little ways up the river. We saw a roadside marker that showed the peaks of the Cuillen Hills that we were seeing which were the red cuillens. On the trail there was a small hill that was covered with rock cairns and a circular relief map of the Cuillen Hills. As we started up the trail my feet got wet as it was quite boggy so I headed back to the car to put on my hiking boots. Erin and Larry continued on the trail. By the time I got my rain pants and my hiking boots on, it had started to rain and Erin and Larry were headed back to the car.

We headed south again to Broadford where we turned onto the road to Elgol. This was another one track road with passing places . Erin was driving today. It was pretty scary when you couldn't see what was coming around the bend or over the top of a hill. We stopped at a place where there used to be marble quarry, Skye marble. There was also a ruin called Cill Criosd or Christ Church. It had no roof but a very interesting church yard and cemetery with a war memorial. We stopped several times to take pictures of sheep, cattle, Angus I think, and the beautiful scenery that was shrouded in clouds today. The road took us over moorland with bogs and marshes, past farm land and timber land, around lochs and through little hamlets some of which did not even have names on the road map. It was only about 17 miles from Broadford to Elgol but it took about an hour with all the stops and slow downs because of passing cars, trucks and caravans (campers).

When we got to Kilmarie, it did not have a sign but we recognized it from the description of the man at the hotel. We decided not to hike it at that point as it looked like it might rain and the hike did not look that interesting from the parking lot . Elgol is a small village located at the end of a peninsula and is a scattering of houses at various levels on a very steep, hilly and winding road. We spied a parking lot with restroom just where you could see the boat companies down at the beach. After a restroom break, we went down and parked where you catch the boat trips. Larry and I were looking at birds when Erin went to the Misty Isle Boat Trips office and found out they were still doing trips but we could get on one until 3:45 and it is a 3 hour trip. We were so glad because so many people said it was the best thing to do on Skye. So we signed up. They called and cancelled our dinner reservations for us. Once we left the path between the houses we were on what looked like sheep paths which were very wet and muddy. We had to keep going up higher than the main path to stay out of the wet. We hiked until we came to a ravine between two hills that looked like a very boggy place. Erin had on her sandals and Larry had only tennis shoes so we decided not to proceed . We did walk down a little closer to the shore and spent some time on a big rock just enjoying the quiet and watching the gannets dive into the ocean for fish.

When we got back to Elgol we went to a little tea room and had tea and scones. Erin and I had rooibos tea and Larry had Earl Grey. Erin had an apple and cinnamon scone, I had a sultana (raisin) scone and Larry had a pear and ginger scone. The scones were delicious. Then we went to a little shop and looked around for a little while. It was very small and had a bit of everything. Then we went down to the pier to wait for the boat trip to Loch Coriusk. We got our tickets and when we saw how soaked the people coming off the last trip were, we donned the ponchos offered to us by the Misty Isle Cruise Company. We got on our boat, the Eilean a' Cheo (key-0). On the way over we saw lots of gannots, this time from below as they dove into the water to catch fish. When we got to the other side of the bay there was a colony of seals lounging on the rocks . Then we headed into a cove on the bay where they dropped us off. It was a beautiful spot where a river empties into the bay. They dropped us off at 4:25 and said they would pick us up at 6:00. We hiked up the river surrounded by the Black Cuillen Hills. When we rounded the bend in the river we could see Loch Coriusk surrounded by towering mountains with an island in the middle. It was very beautiful and remote. There were only six of us staying the whole time and the other three took off ahead of us. I slipped and fell and skinned and bruised my knee. There were no paths and I didn't take my hiking poles. Larry and Erin continued on over the rocky terrain while I headed back. Larry and Erin got back about 10 minutes after I did and five minutes before that it began to rain. Then it rained harder. The boat arrived on time and we got on board and under cover and then it poured. We have sure been lucky not to get caught out in a downpour. Before we left they served drinks, hot chocolate, tea etc . and shortbread fingers. It sure hit the spot. On the ride back I visited with the man from Germany who was with his twin 17 year old sons. His sons sat in the uncovered back of the boat where they got soaked from the rain and even more from the spray of the boat. We got back about 6:30, used the restroom and headed back to Portree.

When we got to the other side of the island the weather was much better and when we got to Portree there was sun. We parked at the bank at the top of the hill, took our stuff to our room and then walked back to the Fish and Chips take away shop for our supper. We each got an order of fish and chips and it was probably the best I have ever had, especially the chips. After supper we walked to the Isles Inn for the evenings entertainment, This time there was a band with a guitar, violin (woman), drummer and a young blind man who played the accordian, the flute and the bagpipes. We got seats and ordered drinks beers for them and a Strongbow cider for me. We sat down and waited for them to finish getting set up. When they began we knew we were in for a treat. They played traditional Scottish and Irish music as well as country western, especially Johnny Cash. It is so strange to hear American music played in foreign bars. Everyone was clapping and singing along with the music. It got rowdier after they took a 10 minute break. We sat with two couples from the UK. They were so friendly and full of fun. One couple has a son in DC because he married an American girl. Some people started dancing and believe me there really wasn't room for it. By the end, everyone was up on their feet, sliding the tables and chairs out of the way. I think they did three encores and were still playing when we left after midnight. We were so hyped up that it took a little while to settle down enough to go to sleep.