Page 174 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

Carl and I hopped a shuttle bus to nearby St.
David's, where we had visited in 2007, return-
ing to the massive cathedral and enjoying the
gorgeous green scenery.
Other stops on the cruise included Rathlin Is-
land, Northern Ireland (popular with bird en-
thusiasts; six miles long, one mile wide;
population 140), the aforementioned Iona
(three miles long by 1.5 mile wide, population
177; more about that in a minute), and the Scot-
tish island of Hirta, St. Kilda, (3.3 square miles,
population 0; largest seabird colony in Europe),
Stornoway (population about 5,000), and the
whisky island of Islay (“eye-la”--featured on “60
Minutes” in 2015, population about 3,000); the
Isle of Man (which we loved), and Isles of Scilly
(“silly”), which I had visited in 2012.
Back to spiritual Iona: We had tendered in on
a Zodiac RIB, figuring if an 89-year-old using a
cane could get on and off the bobbing “boat” so
could we (with help of the youthful Expedition
Team). Our ship was anchored just off the coast.
By the time we returned to the pier three
hours later, I could see in the distance a few
other passengers wearing the bright orange
parkas, milling around. A crewmember must
have seen my panicked expression and called
out to us: “The ship has moved!”
Due to high winds, the ship had pulled anchor
and sailed around to the other side of the is-
land.
“You can walk to the beach to board the ten-
der or we have called for a taxi, if you want to
wait,” he said.

174 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022