10 Days in Scotland: Part 3

Old cemeteries fascinate me, and Scotland is full of them.  One day, I’d love to make a book full of photographs of old cemeteries.        

A gravestone on Iona.  Interesting Fact: Macbeth is supposedly buried on the island.

The building on the left hand side of the picture is our hostel.  The building on the right hand side is the jail.  The graveyard is in between.  Our room that night faced the jail and overlooked the graveyard.  I was convinced I was going to wake up in the middle of the night and find a ghost walking around the room.

I didn't realize until I was editing this that the gravestone in the foreground belongs to the wife of William Wallace, a.k.a. Braveheart.

One of the most profound experiences for me was our hike up a mountain in Glen Nevis.  I’d tried hiking up a mountain once before in Arkansas and had such a hard time breathing that I had to turn back early.  This time, I was determined to make it to the top.  When was I going to get an opportunity like that again?  The hike up was magical in and of itself.  At one point, the trees were so thick and dense yet so perfectly placed, I found myself thinking, “It’s like someone planted them that way.”  I can’t be sure, but in the stillness of the mountain air, I could swear I heard someone whisper, “I did.”  

A "Heeland Coo!"

  Near the top, I could feel my lungs beginning to burn out on me, but with the help of one of the sweetest kids in our group, I managed to join everyone else at the summit.  The view was breathtaking.  Everyone knows what it’s like to stand in the shadow of a mountain.  Looking down at the shadow is an entirely different experience, something I’m not sure any combination of words can accurately describe.  That’s something I love about photography.  It shows the things that words can’t tell you.  Like the color of the water on Iona.  In a million years, I’d never be able to come up with a description that can do the beauty of those waters justice.  A photograph is nothing compared to the real thing, but it at least gives you the general idea.

2000 Feet.

Eye Level with a Mountain.

This picture was taken at almost 10 o'clock at night.

We took a few moments to sit in silence on top of our mountain.  It’s pretty hard to worry about anything in a place like that.  It really puts things in perspective.  The things we think are important in everyday life, the things we spend our time on, none of it really matters.  Yet at the same time, everything matters.  There’s a purpose for everything, even if we don’t know it.  Even if we never figure it out, life is not some random thing that just happened. 

Needless to say, the hike down was a lot easier than the hike up.  When we finally reached the base, Jeb, our fearless leader, announced that it was almost ten o’clock in the evening.  The sun had barely begun to set.  It was cool.  I sort of felt like I was in The Twilight Zone.   

I saved Iona for last because, well, it’s truly the most magical place on Earth. Sorry Disney.  I will always love you.  Promise.

A Lighthouse on the way to the Isle of Mull.

First sight...

Iona is known as St. Columba’s Sacred Isle.  I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t exactly remember much about the history.  That probably had to do with all of us girls being so distracted by how cute our tour guide was that we didn’t actually pay attention to anything he was saying.  Yes, he was that cute.  I’m not going to post a picture of him because let’s face it, that’d just be creepy.  Even creepier than admitting I have a picture of him.

"St. Martin's Cross.  This Magnificent Eighth Century Cross Stands on the Site it Has Occupied for Over a Thousand Years."

Iona Abbey.  I'm nowhere close to getting married, but if I was, I would want to get married here.

Interesting Fact: According to the historians on Iona, the circle on Celtic crosses such as this one were added because the structure of the original crosses could not support the weight of the crosses arms. 

Iona isn’t the kind of place that comes to mind when you think “Scotland.”  Before this Pilgrimage, whenever I thought of Scotland, I thought of Eilean Donan, gray skies, and mountains.  Iona, with its crystal cerulean waters and white sandy beaches, is beyond anything I could have imagined. 

Funnily enough, one of my favorite memories of Iona isn’t of walking along the beach or watching the sunset over the waves (both of which I enjoyed immensely).  It actually took place in the small living area of our hostel on our second night there.  After dinner, we were all lounging around on the couches, at the dinner table, reading, talking, what have you.  While we sat around, Jeb broke out his guitar and started playing a bunch of radio hits.  To this day, I can’t hear the song “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” without thinking back on that moment. 

Of all the places we visited in Scotland, I think Iona is the one that I miss the most.  There’s a sense of warmth and tranquility there that’s hard to come by in big cities.  It’s probably as close to Heaven that any place on Earth can possibly be, and I think about it all the time.  It’s just one of those places.  And I can’t wait to go back.        

“Don’t say we have come now to the end.

White shores are calling.

You and I will meet again.”   -  Into the West (Howard Shore, Annie Lennox, Fran Walsh)

 *All photographs © copyright by Jacqueline E. Smith.