Up at 6:15, showered and at breakfast before 8:00. We dock at Kirkwall, the Orkney Islands at 8:30 this morning. Our excursion coach departs at 9:15, headed north along the Mainland Island (seems common enough to name the main island in each chain as Mainland) to get a view of the Orkney Islands. Our guide today is an archeologist by training, recently from Portsmouth (8 years on island.) The Orkneys are an archeological goldmine. Since all the Neolithic civilizations here used stone rather than wood for their structures, much remains in tact. Carbon dating is harder, as, unless their is some wood or other carbon based material available, estimates of age are broad.
As we tour the landscape, the same themes are repeated; no trees, eroded hills and stunning sea cliffs eroded by the sea. We first journey to the Italian Chapel, built during WW II on the site of a prisoner of war camp by Italian POWs. En route we pass the Churchill Barriers, which the POWs constructed across small channels to keep German U-Boats out of the harbors following one disastrous German raid that resulted in the loss of a ship and 1,200 men and boys.
Next on to Yesnaby, and view the towering cliffs and pounding sea. 3,000 miles to the west lies Canada, with nothing in between.
Next, on to the Ring of Brodgar stone circle, a henge estimated to be nearly 5,000 years old. A henge is a circular ditch surrounded by an embankment. Often (as at Stonehenge in Wiltshire England,) there are standing stones in the center of the circle. This one at Bodgren is 100 meters in diameter, the largest in U.K. It retains 27 standing stones from an estimated 60 original stones, some as tall as 3.5 meters.
Near the same site we stop to tour another henge, the Standing Stones of Stenness. Each of these sites is integral to its surrounding environment, sited in each specific spot to take advantage of the landscape. Although the original meaning is lost in time, theories abound as to their use: funeral areas, monuments to the dead, astrological or solar calendars, ceremonial rites?
We return to Kirkwall around 1:15 and re-board our ship in preparation of a sailing at 2:30 towards our next destination - Newcastle Upon Tyne. A leisurely dinner this evening, followed by an invitation to our table mates' suite to crack their complimentary bottle of champagne. They are on the top deck, occupying one of the two Royal Suites on the ship. They have a huge cabin, with sitting and sleeping areas, a walk-in closet, and a full bath with jacuzzi; also a walkout balcony. We enjoy the champagne and some hors d'oevres from their refrigerator. The sunset from the balcony is stunning.
We bid good night, stop at our favorite lounge for a listen to the violin/piano stylings and then retire at 10:00.
