"An t-Eilean -- The Island" a Isle of Skye Travel Page by RhineRoll

O great Island, Island of my love,
many a night of them I fancied
the great ocean itself restless,
agitated with love of you
as you lay on the sea,
great beautiful bird of Scotland,
your supremely beautiful wings bent
about many-nooked Loch Bracadale,
your beautiful wings prostrate on the sea
from the Wild Stallion to the Aird of Sleat,
your joyous wings spread
about Loch Snizort and the world

from Sorley MacLean's poem "An t-eilean"

The Isle of Skye will take your breath away. It is the largest and best developed island in the Hebridean archipelago. If you were a Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye -- "An t-eilean Sgiathanach" and somebody asked you where you are from -- "Co as a tha sibh?" -- You'd simply answer: "Tha mi as an eilean" -- I am from the island. And everybody will know that you are from the Isle of Skye. Go figure!

Despite the fact that there still are some Gaelic speaking villages and areas, the Skye of today is run by incoming people, the so-called "white settlers". Portree, the islands "capital", is quite a busy little town with a wonderful harbour and a charming atmosphere -- as long as it isn't overrun by tourists. This happens especially in July and August, on a Saturday morning or generally when the weather is bad and people come from all directions heading for the pubs and restaurants.

Another famous part of Skye is the Trotternish peninsula just north of Portree. The landscape is spectacular and in a way almost other-worldly. The picture was taken from the small road between Staffin and Uig, traversing the Trotternish range. There's a parking lot on the road's highest point that's very popular with hikers and sightseers. When I visited in July 2003, there were cars all over the place and it took me 20 minutes to find a place to park my car and get out.

Most of Skye's coastline is rugged and rocky. The pic shows a famous spot -- Mealt Falls and Kilt Rock which produces a howling sound when the wind blows along the rocky ridges.

Please don't confuse Mealt Falls with Lealt Falls, even though they are not really far apart.