Island off an Island off an Island

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove down to the harbor to take in a bit more of our surroundings. Having arrived in the dark the night before, we had not gotten the full effect of Tobermory’s charming waterfront. It was nice to see it again in the sunlight (which we were very glad to see peeking through the clouds – promising a day of decent weather).

The drive from Tobermory to Iona, our next destination, took about and hour and a half, with a few stops along the way to take photos of the landscape (and the sheep!). Similarly to Skye, Mull is a place of rugged island beauty. The hills were not as green at this time of year, but they were still impressive – shrouded in mist, silent, haunting, proud.

We stopped in the middle of the road to look at these sheep - they seemed just as interested in us as we were in
them! They kept getting closer and closer until they were right up against the car. Some of them even ran down from the hills to join the party!

We reached the ferry to Iona just in time to cross. We thought it ran every ten minutes but discovered that this schedule only applies in the summer. At this time of year, the crossing is hourly. We were fortunate to arrive when we did, as our time on Iona would have otherwise been cut significantly short.

Iona seen from the ferry

Liam enjoying the ferry ride!

Iona is primarily a place of pilgrimage. Its resident population is only about 125, but it sees over 140, 000 tourists a year. Fortunately, we were the only visitors on February 5^th! I’m glad for that, as I think something of the island’s spirit would be stifled by hoards of tourists milling about.

Iona’s Christian story begins in the year 563, when St. Columba (an Irish monk) founded a monastery there. Tradition has it that Columba is responsible for the conversion of much of Scotland to Christianity. With the founding of the monastery, Iona was to become the spiritual hub of Scotland, and a renowned centre for learning and artistic excellence. The art of stone carving was perfected here, many examples of which can still be admired in the abbey and museum.

Iona Abbey

Detail of St. Martin's Cross (this cross has been standing for over a thousand years)

After the Scottish Reformation of 1560, the abbey and nunnery gradually fell into ruin. It was not until the 20^th century that the abbey was reconstructed (the nunnery remains in ruin). Today the abbey is used as an ecumenical place of worship, and is home to the Iona Community.

Nunnery

Brendan and I both took the opportunity to spend a moment in prayer during our visit to the abbey. The word that impressed itself upon me at that time was “purpose”. The history of Iona is steeped in a sense of purpose. Whether or not all the stories of St. Columba are completely accurate, he did play an important role in the spreading of Christian faith in this country. God assigned Columba a task, and set a purpose for this tiny isle. We too are assigned a task – our lives also have purpose. As I prayed in the abbey, I was moved by the fact that the same God who gave Iona its place in history ordains the purpose of my own life. Brendan and I don’t know what is in store for us and for our family, but we do know that our lives have meaning, and that God has a purpose for us. Our task is not of the same magnitude as Columba’s but it is still important – our faithfulness still counts. I felt inspired by this reflection to remain as open as I can to God’s guidance and to the opportunities he sets before me. This inspiration was later confirmed when B and I talked about our time of reflection and realized that our thoughts had overlapped.

We left the abbey to find that it had started raining again. Not much was open in the way of shelter, so we ate our lunch in the entrance of a closed gift shop. By the time we finished eating the rain had stopped (Scottish weather at its finest!), so we climbed part way up the island’s highest dun (hill) to enjoy the view.

View from the top of the dun

We had to catch the 2:30pm ferry off Iona in order to make it in time for the 5pm ferry from Mull to Oban. From our picturesque viewpoint we thought we had plenty of time – as it turned out, we had to make an epic sprint to catch the ferry! We started down the dun at a good pace, but when I saw how close the ferry was to shore and how far we were up the road, I decided to run. Chris followed suit. As we approached the ferry, we noted with dismay that it was already pulling away from the dock. Fortunately the crew spotted us and lowered the ramp so we could embark. We told them that B and Liam were not far behind (B couldn’t run as fast with the extra 18lbs strapped to his chest!), but the crew decided we would have to leave without them. Chris and I were just about to get off the boat when we caught sight of Brendan. We gestured wildly for him to run. The ramp was lowered again and he got on, flushed and winded, but glad to have made it! So it was that we left the Isle of Iona, off the Isle of Mull, of the Isle of Great Britain – an island off an island off an island!

That night we stayed at a hostel in Oban, a port city known as the gateway to the isles. We went to Mass at the Cathedral of St. Columba the next day, had a quick cup of coffee at a local pancake place (the menu featured Canadian pancakes with “maple flavoured syrup” – they don’t know what they’re missing!), and then headed towards home. On the way we stopped at a hiking trail to walk in the woods for a bit – it wasn’t raining and the walk was very enjoyable. I took advantage of the woodsy scenery to get some practice with the manual settings on the camera. As a result I trailed far behind the others, but they didn’t seem to mind. It’s nice not to be rushed.

Oban

Chris dropped us off at home early evening, in time to put Liam down (who, incidentally, rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time that evening!!!), eat dinner and watch a movie before calling it a night. Yet another great weekend in Scotland. 

Liam on his 5 month birthday