The Sacred Isle

Hello dear ones!

Wasn’t expecting to have a chance to post this weekend, but God provides! I am in a hostel in Oban, Scotland, having gotten away for the weekend and had the time of my life. Only, I think I’ll be leaving a large and rather important part of my heart here. I love Scotland…

In the last 3 days, I’ve taken 6 different forms of transportation…taxi, public bus, train, feet, tour bus, and ferry…*phew*! It was a lot of planning to get this weekend away organized, but 500% worth it. Saturday my traveling companions, Alison and Alyssa, and I went up to Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, and Inverness. We’ve had incredible sunny weather this weekend, and picnicked in some of the most amazing places imaginable–on the wall of a ruined nunnery, on the shore of Nessie’s hangout, and…well, the public train 😛 But when you’re traveling across Scotland, even that is an unbeatable view! No monster sightings, but we did sit on a grassy knoll outside the castle and read Scene 1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream…*sigh* how could life be any better? We watched the sun set across the ‘sea lochs’ on the bus back. The view never gets old–all the islands overlapping, always changing with new angles and new light. And castles are everywhere! The girls say I have highly sensitive castle radar 🙂

But today was even better. I can’t even describe the island of Iona to you. I never wanted to leave. I actually considered abandoning the British Isles tour group and just losing myself there forever. I’ll quote you a bit from my travel journal to give you the best idea I can.

‘The water is unbelievably clear–it’s a stunning, Bahamas turquoi8se blue, with powdery white sand on the Iona shore. It made me feel like I was in a little Mediterranean, in the wrong hemisphere. Stepping off the boat, it was like entering a dream. The island has very limited cars, so the air is serene, and often silent, in a way you can’t get in a city, or even a regular town. This is a sacred city, an island wholly devoted to worship and prayer. It is like a cloud away from earth–a place of solace, a haven and sanctuary from the world. There was an ineffable grace about it that I can’t even describe. It made me want to weep and sing and stay forever. It is not just a city, but an island of God.’

Sorry to presume to quote myself, but I’ve tried so hard and so futilely to put words to the experience this afternoon that my brain is tired of trying to come up with new descriptions. It was simply magical, and yet more than that–a stairway to heaven? My companions and I had only 2 1/2 precious hours to spend on shore, but they were beautiful. We had a picnic in the garden of the ruined nunnery, with butterflies on the hyacinths and daffodils in the sun. We walked through the ancient graveyard, where it is said Macbeth is buried (though I tried in vain to find his headstone), and I had the privilege of praying in a 900-year-old chapel. I just about died with delight. The abbey has ancient Celtic crosses in front of it, and peaked windows that let in shifting patterns of light. Sheep graze all about, and it makes sense that the Lord is our shepherd…candles burn in the windows, and I saw prayers rising like incense. It is truly a place of peace, an island so practiced in worship that it is almost a scent you can breathe in on the air. And to see gardens blooming beside ancient stones–there’s something here that is out of my reach to express, but that touched me deeply. It’s not even worth asking if it was worth it to take 6 forms of public transportation to get here.

Well, we’re back in Oban tonight (a beautiful town all unto itself–so beautiful it’s ridiculous! Swans swimming among fishing boats as the sun sets behind the distant isle of Kerrera…is this real??!!) British food, however, is not magical, and so we were pleased to find an Italian restaurant whose waitresses had Scottish accents and fed us green salad and pasta 🙂 Then, by a bit of a long story, we ended the day by going to a memorial at a local church–we sang hymns with the congregation and the pastor had an accent like the Scottie dog in Lady and the Tramp 😛

What more can I say? I love Scotland! Here are some pictures for your enjoyment: one of me by a castle (!!!) right in Oban, one of one of the sea lochs at sunset, and two of Iona: the abbey, and the Mediterranean coastline. Beautiful! Love and hugs!