Island of Iona: Day 2
Today was our first full day on Iona. We had a lovely sunrise with an early morning boat ride to the Isle of Staffa to see Fingal's Cave. Felix Mendelssohn wrote part of his Hebrides overture after seeing and hearing the water flow in and out of the cave. It is quite a walk to inside the cave as you are walking on ancient magma basalt hexagonal pillars. There are handrails built into the rock.
We also were able to go up on top of Staffa and our boat captain let us know that seals and their pups were in the next little cove over from the jetty. What a treat to see them.
After lunch a small group of us then set out for the longer hike to Columba's bay, where Columba landed in 563 AD, exiled from Ireland but would then spread Christianity to much of the British Isles and beyond.
It was raining lightly when we started and gradually increased rain and wind! We crossed the 6 hole golf course on the island, complete with sheep and cows. But we made it to the bay and to find some of the rare green stones called Columba's or Mermaid tears.
One of the great joys for me was while searching for the green stones, I happened on an area behind a large rock where a seal was bobbing in the water! The picture of the waves and surf attached here shows a small dark grey spot which is the seal. It was very close just floating around in the waves. By the time we returned we were soaked thru and thru and my step counter had registered 18,700 steps for the day!
https://youtube.com/shorts/7st5NnSLnhg?si=JkeBnNXy9t7eRLsy
