Over the sea and far away

Davie and I have arrived in Barra after rather a long journey. It took two hours and twenty minutes to drive from Cambuslang to Oban with a quick stop at the Real Food restaurant in Tyndrum to pick up some chips which were very nice. The scenery was lovely and of course very familiar as we went up Loch Lomond side, but after Tyndrum we turned off towards Oban. This was much less familiar territory, it must be years since we've been to Oban. It was a pleasant drive. David didn't remember it at all and was amazed at what a good sized town it is, considering that it is so remote. We didn't have long to wait before we boarded the ferry and soon we were pulling out of Oban for our five hour journey to Barra. It is an incredibly long way along the Sound of Mull before reaching more open water. When we did pass Coll there was quite a swell on the sea, which made walking about feel very strange. Davie said it felt as if gravity was increasing and decreasing! We amused ourselves by going out on deck a couple of times and visiting the shop and restaurant. I finished my current book (Tipping the Velvet) and had a nap. I was woken by the sound of a young child vomiting very loudly! We arrived in Castlebay and drove straight to the cottage, it was only a couple of miles. The cottage is very nice, however the layout inside was very different from the way I remembered it from our previous visit in 1999 - the mezzanine floor is at right angles to what I remembered, I think I'm mixing it up with an apartment we stayed in years ago in Belle Plagne which also had a mezzanine! Funny how the memory can play tricks. Anyway it's spacious and nice & clean. So here we are feeling a bit tired, about to watch The Tudors as the wind howls round our little cottage far far away.