Day 78: Rigg - Duntulm

What a slanted night! We slept on a slope fit for a ski run, but as always, I managed: I curled up like a snail and drifted off to sleep. The odd thing was that Dad also slept quite well, even though not even the leveling ramps could cope with the parking lot's gradient. In the morning, we saw Janice and Douglas, the Gibraltarians who were in the same parking lot. We already knew they were there, but we didn't see them last night.

We got up in a hurry (by our standards, of course), because we were going to do the Old Man of Storr trail with Len, May, Janice, and Douglas. Five well-motivated humans and a dog in a raincoat! By quarter past nine, we were already on our way and went in convoy to the parking lot. We paid five pounds for six hours, even though it was already quite full.

The walk is short, about five kilometers return, but it's very well prepared: gravel paths, stone steps, and views that... well, we could barely see them because there was so much fog and it was drizzling. Dad put my raincoat on me, but I still got a little wet. Luckily, good humor doesn't dissolve in water. There were a lot of people, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the walk. The silhouette of the Old Man, outlined against the clouds, looked like an otherworldly figure. I tried to sniff out its history, but it only smelled like wet sheep.

Upon returning to the car, we dried off a bit, and I stayed in the camper, resting like a lord while Dad Edu went to Len and May's motorhome to have coffee with them and the Gibraltarians. Coffee, a chat, and something sweet they didn't even let me sniff, of course.

An hour later, he returned. We ate in the camper and made the most of the parking time, like good practical Andalusians: if we've paid, we use it until the last minute. Then we got back in the car and headed north to the Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls parking lot. It's also paid, but the views are visible directly from the edge of the parking lot, so Dad just took two quick photos: one to the left and one to the right. Click-click, and off we went!

We went back a couple of miles and parked for free on the side of the road. From there, we did another trail, this time towards Brothers Point. It was short, barely a kilometer and a half there and another back, but beautiful. There were very few people, the trail passed among sheep, and the arrival at Brothers Point was spectacular. The rocky point jutting into the sea looks like something out of a tale of druids and invisible lighthouses. It's beautiful from the coast, but if you climb up – as we did – the views are breathtaking.

With our bodies content, it was time to find somewhere to sleep. We tried our luck near Quiraing, where there are many lay-bys and paid parking lots, but the weather was awful: dense fog, no phone signal, and no place convinced us. So we continued west and found a perfect spot between Hungladder and Duntulm. Facing the ocean, alone, with open views, not a soul nearby... except for some recycling containers ten meters away, which give it that touch of civilization that is so appreciated when you have to throw away the cheese wrapper.

Here we stay. Let's hope the sky decides not to soak us so wildly tomorrow.