Day 8 & 9 Orkney Islands

Day 8 was at sea, I did laundry and read a book on the top deck of the ship bundled up since it was not nice out. The sun would break through the clouds every so often. Grease played on the big screen outside while I read.

Day 9 Orkney Islands

Orkney Island is known as the Viking Town. On this adventure we had the best guide so far on the trip. He knew so much knowledge and history about the places we saw. He was captivating.

This was my second favorite spot on the trip, Skara Brae an ancient, remarkable site of a village that was exposed after a storm came through and tore up the grass. Underneath revealed the ruins of a village. You could see the tiny paths that led to different rooms; one looked like a kitchen. It reminded me of hobbits and if I recall right that is where the idea came from. The area had a path that circled the village from above while you looked down into the ruins of the village. It was fascinating. It was at the edge of the sea where the wind blew. It is hard to put in words what I saw so I will leave you to the pictures and the link to find out more about the history.

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/

Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar is a series of stones that were raised and placed in a circle similar to Stonehenge. There were originally 60 stones and only 27 are left standing today. The year that it was build is uncertain and it is third biggest circular henge after Stonehenge and Avebury. We were able to walk the path that went around the circle next to the stones. The henge rested on a slight hill up from the sea. It didn't resemble Stonehenge at all, the stones were spread apart and no stone rested on top.

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/

We also visited a Cathedral. I can't recall anything about this one, so I leave you with pictures. They leave poppies for those that have fallen.