Cycle: 43.96km//2hr 46min//15.84km/hr
Thursday September 19th
We awoke to rain coming down in hard relentless sheets. It rained like this throughout the night, and the magical waterfall next to our campsite turned into a roaring monster that threatened escape its regular path and wash us over the cliff edge into the dark brooding ocean. The sound alone was deafening. The rain didn't seem to be letting up, so we decided not to wait for it. After packing up all of our wet gear we climbed back to the road and set off again along beautiful countryside/cliffside/oceanside. Although beautiful, things were dampened by Jenn's persistent problem with sopping wet, and consequently cold, feet. A new pair of neoprene booties didn't do the trick, nor did Sealskin socks. Her cycling shoes have too much mesh in them, good for venting in the summer, bad for letting in water in downpours. We made our way to Craignure, accompanied at most times by the rain, and sadly missed the 1 pm ferry to Oban by 10 minutes. We waited for the 3pm ferry drinking hot chocolate and mochas at a cafe nearby, and were overjoyed to get out of our completely drenched clothes.
Oban was quaint and cute coming in from the ferry, most definitely a tourist hub. We didn't spend too long exploring as we needed to find laundry (at our camp ground). The tourist information center was full of people asking questions and planning their touristy excursions but Jenn bee-lined for the counter with specific requests: food, shelter, bike shop and a place to buy cheep wellingtons. We made it to camp, unpacked everything in a brief stint of sun, and then got to work setting up camp, doing laundry, and making dinner. Tomorrow we take the ferry to the Outer Hebrides. Honorable mention goes the the hairy highland cows than ran beside us for a while on Mull. They didn't seem bothered by the rain, I suppose they're used to it.
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| There really are Highland Cows walking around Mull, apparently loose. |
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| And of course, the ubiquitous red box can be found here as well. |
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| There are some very steep grades on Mull. |
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| The lighting on the clouds and land was incredible. The rain was less fun. |
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| How much space can a soaking wet cycle tourist take up? This much. |
