But I will share two misadventures that I had today on my long walk back from the Eshaness Lighthouse to where I am staying.
Along the way I ran across a pack of four Shetland ponies. They were not scared of me and came up close when I got near. I was taking a photo of one of them and when I wasn't looking one of the other ones bit my toe through my shoe. Just as I was realing from the shock and pain of what had just happened, another pony bit my jacket that I had tied to my waist and was trying to rip it off of me.
Item #1 of things I learned today: Shetland ponies are shifty, bitey bastards.
But they sure do make for good photography (following the next bit).
No sooner had I recovered from my traumatically-hilarious encounter with the ponies and had carried on enjoying the sites, when I apparently lost my footing and literally faceplanted on the road. I was trying to save my camera, which I had around my neck as I fell. I didn't do a good job. It got dinged up pretty bad. As did my knee. I popped up quickly, having just past about 3 houses after no houses around at all the entire rest of the walk...and I didn't want to be caught in embarrassment so I got up and ran. ha. Makes sense, right?
Anyway, short of those few things, it was quite an amazing walk among the sheep and ponies.
I stopped into the Tangwick Haa Museum in Tangwick. They have a great collection of artifacts and photos of crofting in the area back in the day. But I got to talking with the two people working behind the counter, Evelyn and Sarah, and had a blast talking with them about stories of the area and the dialect. I was really glad that I stopped in there (I had debated not doing it since it added on 1.5 miles to my walk...and, in retrospect, it would have prevented me from faceplanting) I ended up talking with them for about an hour or so!
Anyway, without further ado, I bring you the best of the best of the photos from the day.
In the photo below it the rock/island thing has an official name (I can't remember what it is) but locals call it "Drinking Horse" you'll see why in a later photo.
This is an old Croft house...they are ALL over the island. You literally can't go a mile without seeing a similar broken down old croft house.
There was a sheep skeleton in this particular croft house.
This is "Drinking Horse." Do you see it?
It was clear that humans don't own the road in these parts.
And then I came upon this shady cast of characters. That brown and white one on the left is the bitey bastard that tried to snack on my big toe.
If you look closely in this next one, you can see it is actually a self-portrait...
And here's the view from the cafe. I had an orange soda when I got back and nothing has ever tasted so good in my life.
Location:Eshaness, Shetland, United Kingdom
At least they were ponies and not deer chasing after you! I love the picture of the sheep with a bird perched on its back...that photo belongs in a magazine! I love the sheep with the curly-cue horns and the self-portrait photo in the pony's eye...great! Are those ponies rastafarians? Boy, their manes are something else! The cliffs and monoliths are truly amazing with the many colors...and the view from the cafe is unbelievable! Exactly what is a croft house? Who used to live in them and how old are the structures? Thanks for posting all the fantastic photos!!
ReplyDeletehaha they do look like rastafarian ponies! lol defintely had some wild manes going on.
ReplyDeleteA croft house is kind of like an old farm house. They were where crofters lived...people who lived off the land.
very cool photos. those croft houses look eery. how old are they? hope you (and the camera) are ok.
ReplyDeleteDude, those ponies are so cute that it's no wonder they're so shifty and naughty! It's been my experience that the cuteness of an animal (i.e., Heike, wild Shetland ponies, etc.) is directly related to their general naughtiness...
ReplyDeleteYour pics are SOOOOO good, so I hope your camera is doing OK after the fall...
Matt...croft houses were from the 1800s mostly. They used to have a thatched roof, which is why it looks so eerie without it.
ReplyDeleteha...Yeah, Margaret, Shetland ponies do distract with their cuteness...but, as is also the case with deer, they can't be trusted.
Miraculously, my camera did survive the fall! Yay!