{"id":17064,"date":"2019-07-15T22:24:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T20:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/?p=17064"},"modified":"2021-01-22T10:00:40","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T09:00:40","slug":"exploring-harris-and-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/exploring-harris-and-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Harris and Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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It is still raining when I start hiking at 11am. I must go otherwise I will take root at Am Bothan Bunkhouse. Today is the beginning of my second part on the Hebridean Way<\/strong><\/a>. Leverburgh looks sad under the rain.\u00a0The path goes up in the bog between the hills but since it has been raining for two days, I decide to follow the road instead. I do not want to wade for hours in the middle of nowhere. Clearings are expected around noon but for now the rain is at its peak. Two kilometers later, I give up. The road is narrowing and walking next to cars is not very nice. And I am soaked. Such a nice way to start the day!<\/p>

I hitchhike and a car takes me a few minutes later. My driver is a (male) nurse taking care of patients with dementia around the island. He comes from Stornoway, the big city of the Hebrides and has a patient to see in the area. He drops me off a little further away, in Northton, where I take refuge at the Temple View Caf\u00e9, a tiny little round stone cottage, waiting for the rain to pass. In the mist I distinguish the surrounding hills overlooking the place. The meadows is just by the sea and despite the gray weather it is very beautiful.<\/p>

An hour later, I leave the place, the rain having calmed down a bit. I am back on the road for a few more kilometers before joining the path. White sand beaches gently appear through the mist. A car stops and offers me a lift! I only have one kilometer to go along the road but I accept. In Scarista, back on the trail, I start a small climb through the meadows to gain height. The ground is waterlogged and my shoes that must not be so waterproof anymore are slowly becoming soaked. The signposts are scarce and I squint my eyes at the landscape every ten minutes to find out where to go. The landscape is dotted with large white pebbles giving a slightly lunar atmosphere to the hills. Streams flow everywhere and I my feet are completely soaked. The Little Borve River even forces me to take off my shoes in order to cross it. The progression is a bit difficult on the hillside but after taking a last shower from an unhappy cloud, clearings finally appear! I feel much better and in the end, I realise, I have great fun crossing this soggy moor.<\/p>

The sun illuminates the landscape at times making the place beautiful. I distinguish Horgabost and Sheileboist and the famous Luskentyre beach, apparently the most beautiful of the Hebrides. Large white sand beaches with turquoise waters surrounded by small mountains. It changes me a lot of landscapes crossed previously and I am very happy.\u00a0In the end of the afternoon, I leave the path to reach the Horgabost\u00a0campsite along the beach. The place seems heavenly if not for the hundred of tents and caravans who have taken up residence at the campsite. Still, the evening is quiet. I thought that maybe I could attend a sunset but not tonight. The sky is covered again and after a little tour in the dunes I retreat to my tent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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