Thursday, September 11, 2014

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland: Home of the Shetland Ponies

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland, Home of the Shetland Ponies


9-11-2014;  Let's not forget what happened 13 yrs ago. We were attacked by Islamic extremists who killed over 3000 Americans. They are still trying to kill us after all the sacrifices made by US Military.

Early this morning (Thursday) we entered the waters off of the Shetland Islands. There was a dense fog outside and it looked like it was raining.  As things turned out, it was just  the thick fog. I had gotten up early and gone to the Piazza for coffee and some quiet time with the Lord.  By the time I got back a couple hours later, Mary Alice was up and at 'em.
We both enjoyed our daily coffee delivered to our door before we go to breakfast which, by the way, was great: eggs to order, English bacon and all the extras.  Our tour left at 9:30 so we headed to the Explorer's Lounge, got our tickets and waited for our group to be called.  It wasn't long and we were directed to one of the waiting shuttle crafts alongside the Ruby Princess.  The Shetland Islands has no dock big enough for a cruise ship so passengers are shuttled to in the port of Lerwick, pronounced "lerik". There we met out guide Jim and bus driver John and then set out to explore "Northernmost Scotland".

The tour would take us north into the mainland of Shetland Island crossing Mavis Grind, a narrow isthmus separating the Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea.  We stopped at a small museum and then on to the Braewick Cafe where we were treated to English tea and homemade cookies. 







Our next stop was at the cliff top of Eshaness where the sea meets a dormant volcano. MA kept reminding me to not fall off the cliffs! Later when we got back to port, we checked out a couple of local shops.  I was looking for a fishing knife for my brother but then got to thinking the ship wouldn't let me take it aboard.  The thought counts I  hope!

Princess thinks of everything (most of the time).  In this case, they served hot tea to all of us who were waiting in line to board tenders back.  Once aboard the ship, we had Cappuccinos and a light snack. All in all it was a good tour and great day.  The weather was cool, no rain, partly sunny, something that is not so common here.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and Saturday we get to our first of three ports in Iceland, really the main reason we chose this trip.









3 comments:

  1. Sounds like the two of you are having a good time

    Norman and Jan

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  2. Good to hear from you, you must be having a great time and as usual the photos are great.

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  3. I like your photo of the Eshaness between the two cliffs. I was not able to get that photo. I think that I was too worried about falling off the edge! Now that I see photos of the two of you, I remember you from morning coffee in the Piazza. I was an early riser and enjoyed that quiet time aboard ship.

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