Eshaness

I am writing to you today from the Braewick Cafe near the cliffs of Eshaness. There are amazing views from here.

I am staying in the Wigwams here at the caravan park.





And it comes with a great view of the cliffs:




I was bummed when I arrived here as it was rainy and gross. But the sun came out for about 10 minutes last night and I was able to snap a few photos.
















It looks like the clouds are going to break here soon and I might just get a bit of sunshine afterall!

I'd like to talk for a minute about bus culture here. First off, the bus system confuses the crap out of me here. But more on that in another post.

Let me begin by showing you the bus stop in Bigton where I hopped on to get up to Eshaness.





Nobody really knows how it got there, but one day it just showed up. I'm told there is a famous bus stop up on the island of Unst that has it's own website and cult following. I am going to have to investigate that the next time I come to Shetland.

It's funny on the bus systems here. Everyone knows everyone else. The bus from Bigton was pretty sparse, but there were a couple of adorable elderly Shetlanders who were on there shooting the breeze.

As we were waiting for a connecting bus, a man drove by in a really old car (like 1920s) and the following conversation ensued:

Elderly man: Aye, der goes Peter in his old buggy.

Elderly woman: Aye, so it is.

Elderly man: 'course I remember when ya only had a car when yous had lots of money.

Elderly woman: Aye

Bus driver: Aye

Elderly woman: Of course roond aboot those days you only made it to Lerwick aboot once a year.

Elderly man: Aye, once a year. If e'en that! You'd be exceptionally lucky if you had a motor bike back in those days.

Elderly woman: Aye, moost likely youddah had a push bike.

Bus Driver: Aye

Elderly Man: Aye

They continued to talk about the old days for quite some time. I've found that the older a Shetlander is, the stronger their accent is. The island is filled with dozens of different dialects, some easy to understand and some nearly impossible. I think the more remote the location they came from (or perhaps the farther they were from Lerwick) the stronger the accent because they were so cut off from the world back then. They still are by most other country's standards.

It should be noted at this point that my favorite thing that a Shetlander or a Scottish person says is: Rroond Aboot (around about). It's awesome.

I'm finishing up my tea, as I type this. I love tea here. It comes in its own pot and comes with whole milk and sugar. It really is the best way to have tea. I don't think I will everbe able to have tea without milk again.




I'm going to go out exploring at Eshaness today and I am really excited about it. I am sure I will have more photos once the sun comes out to play again! Which, hopefully, will be momentarily. But, as everyone says here: wait 10 minutes and you'll have different weather.

Location:Braewick Cafe, Eshaness, Shetland