Tuesday 8/5 - Armandale to Portree via Elgol and a boat ride

Awoke in Armandale to leaden skies that turned to an earnest rain exactly at the time we had planned to start our 31-mile bike journey to Elgol, where the plan was to board a Zodiac boat and tour the west coast of Skye from the water.

The weather improved almost instantly as we pedaled out of Armadale and soon we were all stripping off our rain gear, arm warmers and long-fingered gloves.

Magnificent vistas at every turn on the island

The scale of the landscape is unimaginable until you are there - unfortunately pictures do not do the drama any justice, but at least it's something to remind us!

Those of you familiar with Experience Plus bike tours and our past trips know that the premier feature is the arrow system - we never really need to consult a map (but we do have them) - and the guides take great care to warn us of various hazards such as cattle grids, loose clippings (aka gravel) and rough pavement - but this warning was my favorite of the tour:

The triangle-exclamation point warns of gooey cow poop in the cycling lane - whew, that would have been BAD. Hugely appreciated that chalking!

Once again an amazing, vast vista of magnificent mountains - we felt very, very small and we were.

Guide Craig chalks us a Scottish congratulations for making it over the last of 3 climbs. We totaled nearly 2,000 feet of climbing in the 31 mile ride today.

We reached Elgol and the visitor's center in time for lunch - the sandwich was "squat lobster" and note the haggis-flavored chips!

After eating and leaving our bikes and sundries with Guide Lucy, we were "kitted out" with waterproof gear and sent down the pier to board our private Zodiac boat for a seaside tour of the west coast of Skye:

Well suited and life-preserved

Somehow I felt like Gumby in the boating gear - it was cool!

This west coast of Skye is almost inaccessible by anything but boat or mountain climbing!

We were taken to a cove to disembark and walk up to one of the inner lakes, which also brought us right by a gathering of harbor seals. They are absolutely fascinating to watch and are completely unconcerned with big boats - but kayaks make them a bit skittish:

Walking up the rocky, peaty path was very interesting. Guide Craig gave us lots of good info on the geology, flora and fauna of the area.

Mountain outflow waterfall

Posing with the dramatic backdrop - note the tiny people way to the right-center of the scene! A vast landscape.

All the views from the boat were captivating - we watched gannets and cormorants flying and also could see shadows of the Outer Hebridies - it was amazing!

June and fellow cyclist Joy get windblown - loved flying by 40 miles of coastline in the Zodiac!

We made landfall just outside Talisker where Lucy and the ExPlus van picked us up and brought us to the Talisker distillery for a whisky tour (again!) - this is a very modern outfit making the famous super-peaty tasting spirits. 

After touring - and tasting - we went to our hotel for a night on own own to dine and take a short spin around Portree before calling it a day - another very BIG day! 

Tomorrow is our last day of biking. The weather report is a bit ominous so we will be playing it by eat whether to bike, van to the Highlands Museum or just hang out in Portree.  Hoping to get at least a big of riding in to cap off an amazing tour!