Sat., May 17th continued… We head up (with far too many roundabouts as mentioned before) through lovely Leith and Elgin and have lunch in Helmsdale and reach Gill’s Bay on the Pentland Firth where we catch our ferry to St Margaret’s Hope (named for a 13th c Norse princess who came to marry an English prince. Hope however means bay, not hope as in hope chest.) Rain spits at us but the ferry ride–about an hour–is uneventful and unthreatening, even for those without proper sea legs. The first thing to know about Orkney is that it is indisputably Nordic. It may be part of Scotland today but nearly all its place names and much of its culture is Norse, not Celtic. When it became part of Scotland the islanders were culturally much closer to the lowland Scots than to the highlanders. Gaelic was never spoken here, but Orkney Norn. There’s very little in the way of pipe bands, tartans and all the Sir Walter Scott rigmarole found in Scotland
. 
From South Ronaldsay we head across the causeway to Burray and then across two more causeways to Mainland. To our left is Scapa Flow, famous during both world wars as the base of the British Home Fleet, the famous Churchill Barriers constructed in 1940, and for visitors, the site of the Italian Chapel built by Italian prisoners of war who were held there and employed in the Barriers’ construction. The chapel, which is simply two Nissen huts, end to end, with an elaborate Italianate facade was designed and executed by an artist Domenico Chiocchetti who said many years later to the assembled Orcadians, “The chapel is yours, for you to love and preserve. I take with me to Italy the remembrance of your kindness and wonderful hospitality. I shall remember you always…[and I thank you again] for having given me the joy of seeing again the little chapel of Lamb Holm, where I, in leaving, leave a part of my heart.” It is a touching place and the trompe l’oeil, restored not long ago, is quite amazing
. 
It is much cooler and windier as we arrive in Stromness, a little appendix at the southwest corner of Mainland
. 
Very narrow streets, eh?
? 
Here is the Stromness Hotel right down by the harbor.
Our cottage, discovered so fortuitously by Jill online, turns out to be a real gem. It is one of the self-catering Anderson Cottages should you be heading our way. This one has three bedrooms and two and a half baths. It’s on three storeys (UK spelling again!) First floor has a kitchen and dining room, the second the master suite and a sitting room with fireplace and up top two more bedrooms and a bath. The kitchen is fully stocked (we had been advised to bring our own spices and herbs; fortunately we didn’t take that advice to heart as everything is right here in the cupboard.) The theme is nautical and cozy and a bit fluffy but so comfortable. Michael of course gets his own room with bath (the good shower, I am forced to point out; ours is rather unreliable though we have a very large tub to compensate) and closet, Lynn and Jill bunk in together and I get the third bedroom…logic here as follows: I normally share a double bed with a dog, two cats and Bob; they both live alone, hence deserve some company. I get the luxury of my own room and I’m not about to fight that logic! We go off on foot down the narrow stone streets to the co-op for our first grocery shopping…a very decent place with plenty of choices. We stock up on all the essentials…tomatoes, string beans, onions, garlic, beer, lettuce and spinach, potatoes, meats, Orkney bacon (Yummm), coffee, milk (don’t need teas, there are about four dozen already in the cupboard along with a plethora of instant coffee choices which we eschew), bread, wine, hot peppers, bell peppers, shortbread, ice cream, another bottle of wine and two more Orkney Dark Island beers, butter, double cream, yogurt, one more bottle of wine (keep in mind that only Michael and I really drink, the others just pretend, for our sake, to partake), mushrooms, and Coleman’s mustard.
The Orkney Rovers’ Stir-Fry Chicken
1 entire head of garlic, skinned and sliced
1 largish onion sliced and diced
2 medium-hot red peppers chopped fine
2 bell peppers sliced
8 to 10 mushrooms sliced
2 c fresh string beans
6 oz package of spinach
6 small skinned and boned chicken thighs
1 jar (10 oz perhaps) korma sauce found along with many more condiments, rice, cereals, three types of sugar…and of course Marmite.
Served with rice and a bottle of a mediocre red wine and that was that.
It’s the best we can do on our first day. It’s excellent none the less and leaves us ready for a game or two of Spite & Malice, which Michael of course wins. (But the worm will turn soon!) And so to bed, dear reader!
