British Isles & Iceland – Day 4

British Isles & Iceland – Day 3 can be found here.

Hello Shiant Isles!

We were up again early at 6 am to find some beautiful weather at the Shiant Isles. We again elected for breakfast in our cabin, but went for less-elaborate options of pastries and yoghurt. That worked very well, and we were able to get ready for our planned Zodiac cruise departure at 7:30 am.

Unfortunately, it was around this time that I discovered that I had managed to break my glasses – one of the screws had fallen out, likely the result of having hiked with the glasses in my pocket. Fingers crossed that the Boutique will be able to repair them – I did manage to find the tiny screw that fell out, though I had quite the time recovering it after dropping it on the bathroom’s marble floor.

The Zodiac cruise, however, was truly exceptional – we were right in the midst of massive flocks of puffins and guillemots. The puffins came within just a few feet of the ship, and we were warned to keep our mouths closed when looking upwards. There were also some small, white jellyfish just underneath the boat.

Fun Puffin fact – they apparently have special spines on their tongues that let them catch sand eels, which are their preferred food. Puffins can fit as many as 61 sand eels in their beak at a time, though most get closer to 10 in a single beakful.

We then proceeded through a rock tunnel – a rare treat, as they are not able to go this way in low tides or rough seas – and then out the other end, where we saw some of the Shiant’s sheep, some swimming seals, and even an eagle chasing the puffins. Definitely need to get a better camera for next trip…

An eagle, chasing the puffins

More seals

We went through another cavern into a secluded little cove, where we found a spring dripping down the cliff face down into the water below and wildflowers clinging to the wet rocks. Absolutely beautiful – pictures definitely do not do it justice.

The cruise then ended – 90 minutes later, but it felt like just a few moments. While we’d initially been disappointed about missing the Old Man of Storr hike, this more than made up for it.

Once back on the ship, I dropped off my glasses for repair (again, fingers crossed) and went to La Terrazza for a delicious brunch. This to me is the biggest argument in favour of the Silversea expedition ships – the combination of top-notch expeditions with comfort and luxury.

We spent some more time in the observation lounge. The ship then got underway for Shetland, and we went down to the room to see if we could pick up some goggles and check on my glasses. Good luck on both fronts – Prince at the Boutique was able to fix my glasses at no charge (how incredible is that?) and they had a nice snorkel set that would work for our daughter.

We then went back to the room and got changed for a swim. Despite it being an ‘at sea’ afternoon, the pool deck was fairly quiet and we had no issue finding space to swim. The kids knew that they had to share the pool and not splash or be loud, and they had the pool largely to themselves. I had a Reuben sandwich – delicious and less filling than the burger – and then went back to the room for a power nap.

After my nap, we went back to the Panorama Lounge where we had drinks outside on the back deck and took in the views before my son and I peeled off to go play some trivia. As suggested by a commenter, we asked to join a nearby group and they were more than welcoming to us. No luck with winning – tough questions this round – but we made a valuable contribution to the team.

I’ll be heading back to the Explorer’s Lounge shortly to get the latest update on tomorrow’s expeditions, then we’re off to the Grill for dinner tonight.

The expedition briefing was relatively straightforward – we would be berthing this time, so we could just walk off via deck 5 rather than using Zodiacs. (Though I must admit I was a bit disappointed by that, as we’ve come to quite enjoy our Zodiac trips.)

Our excursion would be leaving at 8 am the following day so it was to be another early wakeup for us, though they had moved the opening of La Terrazza to 6:30 which would mean we could dine in the restaurant rather than order room service.

We then went off for dinner at the Grill, where we cooked the food ourselves on the hot lava rocks. That was a really fun experience, and the kids had a blast – though we were the ones who flipped their steaks when the time was right.

Our 7 year old daughter managed to demolish a 6 oz. Filet mignon, while I had both the filet and the prawns. These were the same prawns as they used in the previous night’s curry, though I enjoyed them much more when they were cooked on the lava rocks, as they were immensely tender when cooked this way.

The meals were served with our choice of sauce and side – fries and ketchup for the kids and baked potatoes and peppercorn sauce for the adults. No pictures, unfortunately, as I completely forgot to take any until after the meal had been demolished. Clearly we need to go back for a second time…

Tomorrow’s Chronicles: