After fort William and the Jacobite steam train, we spent two nights on the Isle of Skye. If you ever want to know how to get from Mallaig on the coast to Portree on the island, Google transit directions have you covered. It did take a while, though: any given bus route on Skye runs maybe three or four times a day.

Portree was our base to explore the island. It reminded me of Mahone Bay, or another waterfront Nova Scotia town that sees a fair bit of tourism. The harbour is beautiful, surrounded by highland hills. We ate plenty of good seafood while we were in town.

We hired a local taxi driver to take us around the island (see my comment about above the "frequency" of island busses), and she was an able tour guide, taking us to places we knew we wanted to see, like the Fairy Pools, and place we didn't even know about, like The Old Inn, which, according to a t-shirt dad bought, is "probably" the best pub in Carbost.

We'd talked about renting a car instead, but in the end I'm not sure I would have wanted to drive on Skye's single-track roads with their scattered passing-places and occasional sheer droops from the shoulder. "Keep your distance from the tourists driving", said our guide. "Treat them like sheep on the road."