The fact that our b&bs roof was moving most of the night told us that the wind was still strong. By mid morning though it had backed off a little giving us some hope that a) we could cycle in a forward direction b) our ferry would not be cancelled because of rough seas - apparently a real threat !
First though we had to negotiate our way through an even greater problem i.e. how we were going to eat our way through a massive home cooked breakfast that comprised 4 sausages as well as bacon, beans, eggs , tomatoes and mushrooms ! Wash this down with cereal, fruit juice, tea and toast and there was a real danger that we may not even make it out the front door !
We said a grateful goodbye to our hosts with Murdo proudly pointing out his near lifetime supply of locally farmed peat while giving me a personal demo of his peat farming tool.
We cycled back towards where we'd taken dinner the night before giving thought to requesting that desert we believed was owing to us although how we'd eat it in the rain was beyond me.
I made a mental note at this point to next time check for prevailing wind direction when planning a cycle trip as 99.9 % of cyclists that we'd passed on the Outer Hebrides were going in the opposite direction. ! It was though with some sort of sadistic pleasure that I noted that this morning those cyclists were doing it much tougher than us !
What a delight it was to cycle the last 6-7 kms into Lochboisdale ! Who cared if it was still cold and overcast and threatening to rain at any moment - the fact that the wind was behind us made us deliriously happy !
After arranging our ferry tickets we had tea in what has to be the smallest tea shop in the UK - it was that tiny that if one person moved in the shop everyone else had to as well !
We were relieved (or at least i was):to see our ferry roll into the Lochboisdale Harbour. For Monika though it was another 5 hours of nausea as we pitched our way across the waters to the Scottish mainland and the bustling port of Oban
It took us a few minutes in the rain to find our b&b after disembarking at Oban in fact we cycled straight past it as on the outside it looked like a derelict building - yep & on the inside we confirmed it was in fact a derelict building !. Still it was cheap as I continually reminded myself while carrying our bikes up 2 steep level of stairs !
We quickly washed to head straight back out hoping to catch up with fellow adventurer Ruthy M and her partner Steve (I'd cycled twice previously with Ruth in Peru 2011 & the Indian Himalayas in 2013)
Unfortunately not all went to plan with the ferry running late and the European Cup final on TV meaning the pubs were packed causing us to postpone our meet till the morning.
In the interim it was some Rick Stein recommended fish & chips (recommended back in 2002l to help us make it through the night !
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