My experience on the Isle of Mull actually begins in a bar in Ireland. At a small local pub in Galway I had a conversation with an older local man over a pint of Guinness. He had been asking about my travels and how I was enjoying Ireland. When I told him I was going to Scotland next his face lit up, his eyes widened, and his smile grew from ear to ear as he said, “Scotland is magic. Absolute magic.” One week later I was sitting in a pub on the Isle of Mull in Scotland writing this entry. I had left my large backpack at the hostel in Oban and purposefully left my journal in it, not thinking I would need it as I hadn’t written in it for days. Ironically, I had to go to the post office on the Island to buy a notebook because all I wanted to do was write. Sitting here, enjoying a pint of McEwans, I drifted off with a smile recalling the events of the last two days… As the bus pulled away from the ferry terminal the driver introduced himself and happily told us a little about the island. He told us that Mull is a very special place, a small island with just over 2,000 inhabitants. He continued that it is a choice to live on Mull, but once you’ve discovered its magic you would understand why people make that decision. There it was again, that word magic, is all I could think. Arriving in Tobermory I was shocked by the size of the town.
The main street, aptly named “Main Street”, consisted of no more than 25 bright colored buildings, half of them were bed and breakfasts with attached restaurants. Just in front of Main Street was a bay filled with just as many boats as there were buildings. Sitting above the harbor and Main Street was a scattering of houses dotting the beautiful hillside. Welcome to Tobermory. Just before sundown I headed for a walk to the local waterfalls. Walking along the cliffs for just over an hour my mind began to wonder. Just before reaching the falls themselves I realized all of my thoughts had been directed inward and I was lost in a bit of a soul search. It was here in these thoughts that I first began to find the magic.
Once at the falls, I stopped for a bit to take in their energy and relax a little before heading back to the hostel. Returning to my room I was amazingly calm, refreshed, and most importantly, I was content. Later that night I enjoyed a walk along the bay. I slowly strolled along simply taking in the clean crisp island air, the clear night sky illuminated by an almost full moon, and again fell into reflective thought, losing myself in the deafening silence that surrounded me. Returning to my room some time later, I climbed into my bed, which sat directly in front of a window overlooking the bay below, and decided to leave the curtains open so I could wake with the sun. As the sun came up over the bay I too rose out of my bed and got ready for a hike to the lighthouse. Just before reaching the lighthouse I found an old stone bench with an inscription from 1936. The bench was a memorial to a man whose favorite spot this was to come and sit, and I imagine, take in the magic of Scotland.
Sitting on this bench, I tried to imagine what John of Staushouse used to ponder as he stared out passed the lighthouse to the scattering of islands created by thousands of years of volcanic eruptions then carved out by the glaciers as they receded at the end of the ice age. I myself drifted into thoughts of my mom and more appropriately for today, of my stepfather Steve, whose birthday it would’ve been today. Lingering on these thoughts for some time and after shedding a few tears I continued on. From here the path continued up a hill high above the lighthouse that gave way to an over 180 degree view of the Isle of Mull.
Standing here, on top of the highest peak in sight, I once again found myself in awe of the beauty before me, and could only think of one word; MAGIC. Returning to town, quite hungry, I decided to find something to eat. I decided on fish and chips from a cart that was situated directly on the pier just above the fishing boats that had pulled the fish in that very morning.
Sitting on a bench just above the waterline, I enjoyed what were by far the best fish and chips I have ever had in my life. I have to note here that I am not trying to say that every time I have had fish and chips on this trip they are “the best I’ve ever had”. In actuality there have even been a few I haven’t even mentioned. More importantly, the fish and chips have simply gotten better and better as I have travelled from London, to Ireland, and finally here in Scotland. But here, on this little island in Scotland, they were without question the best I have ever had! After lunch I headed to the Tobermory distillery to sample a whisky from one of the oldest distilleries in all of Scotland.
Here I enjoyed a tour of the still working and producing distillery, finished off with a drum of whisky in the very building it had been created in. Returning to the bench I had ate my fish and chips on, I sat and simply appreciated the Magic. Who would have ever thought I would be sitting on a bench, in the freezing cold in Scotland, wearing a thermal, two jackets, and a beanie and could not be happier?! Definitely not me. Something about this place just simply made my heart smile and my soul sing. After some time I headed back to the hostel, made some dinner and went to my room to read, write, and get another good night’s sleep. I once again decided to leave the curtains open, but this time I set my alarm so I could wake before the sun and head back to the lighthouse to watch the sunrise. Walking up at nearly 4:30, I packed on the layers of clothes again, grabbed my camera, and headed out for the lighthouse. Much to my surprise it had snowed over night and a little snow was still falling.
I sat again on John’s bench and watched the sky slowly pass from a deep midnight blue until it finally reached an illuminating light blue. I didn’t actually see the sun rise, but I did have yet another magical moment on the Isle of Mull. I wouldn’t have wanted to change a thing.
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