36 - The homeward journey

Tuesday 30th May – The homeward journey

The terminal carpark was not such a good place to sleep. The ferry kept its generators running all night and they were irritatingly noisy. My 5 am alarm informed me it was time to stop trying to get a bit more sleep. The loos were in a portacabin, tucked behind another dock building out of sight. The shower, £1 for 2 minutes, didn’t entice me; my own cup of tea did.

I was outside the ticket office by my intended time and was the first in the door when it opened. I expressed my keen wish to be on the next ferry. After a pause for face-pulling and teeth-sucking: “We’re very busy this morning…. You’ll have to be on stand-by…. Well, maybe…. Hmm.”

Then from me, “Its only 4.5 metres - no bigger than a mid-size car.”

“What sort is it?”

“It’s just there. That blue 1980 Toyota Hiace – it’s smaller than a VW camper.”

“Hmm…. OK…. well, you’ll definitely be the last one not to be on stand-by.” Details were taken and a ticket issued.

I went straight into the minibus/camper lane – the second in the lane, and then was second vehicle onto the ferry - squeezed into a diagonal space at the front of the wide articulated trucks lined up down the side of the deck – a space the trucks couldn’t use while still being able to steer forwards off the front ramp. I was glad it was a smooth crossing, so I didn’t need to think about a row of heavy trucks rolling forwards, crumpling my little van. 

A small camper menaced by juggernauts?

The passage was calm, with a slight side to side roll; the cloud-cover dark over the Western Isles – halfway down the small hills; dark over Skye and the mainland, but some brighter patches over the sea in between. Harris showed as a dark, navy-grey line between low mid-grey cloud and a steely grey sea. There was not a lot to see, with the cloud masking the land and the dull lighting. Then a couple of dolphin fins appeared, so I went up on deck. There was a splash, followed by another and then another leaping out and landing with a side-splash. A shoal of about 15 dolphins appeared jumping out of the water – clean and graceful jumps – smooth exits and entries – the combination of each glimpse gave a clear indication of their full shape and colour markings – sickle-shaped dorsal fins, pale undersides and stubby beaks of the bottle-nosed dolphin.

On arrival in Uig, it proved a bit awkward getting my van out, with a bulkhead in front and a truck very close behind, but I had to get out first to allow the whole line to disembark. With a crew-member to guide me forwards and backwards a few times, I was in the second vehicle off and exiting straight onto the A-road south; Broadford for fuel; a one-hour lunch break, reaching Moffat Camping Club Site by 7:00 pm; beans, sardines and couscous – a quick and ‘novel’ meal; the Porta-potti was emptied and thoroughly cleaned out, and 26 days’ worth of bristle shaved off.

Wednesday – 31st May - Home

Awake at 4:10 am, I had a lie-in until 4:50 am, listening to a massed choir of birds; had a shower, a cup of tea and sorted my gear – making sure that I made no sound that would be heard over the bird-song. Then I had breakfast, soaking up the morning sun, which shone in through the open sliding door. I was in no hurry since site-rules forbad starting vehicle engines before 7:00 am. I kept to that rule, to the minute, then chuntered slowly off for home.