Day 19: I thought it was going to fly at my head

Today started on a sad note because we had to leave our extremely comfortable flat in Lerwick, our home for the last 11 days.  No one really wanted to go, but we did want to be welcomed back in the future so everything was tidied within an inch of its life.  Despite the tidying, we somehow wound up with an extra half hour to spare before our ride turned up.

I think the tidying wore out Dad.

Our landlord, James, arrived at 10:30 to pick us up and drive us down to the Sumburgh Hotel.  Mum has said for the past year that she really wanted to stay here an it is directly across from the airport, so I booked us rooms for our last night in Shetland.  Mum and Dad's room is on the ground floor and more accessible.  Mine is one the first floor with a great view.  Actually, we both have great views.  Here's Mum and Dad's:

And here's mine:

Our rooms are like the opposite of our rooms at The Albert Hotel in Orkney.  This time Mum and Dad have the two-sectioned room with two TVs, and I have the smaller but perfectly formed room.

Once Mum and Dad were settled in, we met Marina for lunch.  She must be magical because we were so busy talking, I forgot to take a picture!  It was a lovely lunch, with lovely company and we learned the restaurant at the hotel is extremely popular so we smartly booked for dinner.  When I say smartly, what I actually mean is we were told to do so by our server and I went dashing to the front desk to make our reservation.

The Sumburgh Hotel offers some interesting amenities.  One of them is a complementary shuttle to the airport which is just outside my parents' window, and the other is a ride up to Sumburgh Head for a very nominal fee.  We decided to take advantage of both and booked the morning shuttle for 11am and then headed up to the lighthouse to try and find more puffins for Dad.

Like our tour around Noss this year and last, our trip to Sumburgh Head was vastly different.  Last year, we had many, many puffins.  It was also very cold and very windy.  This year, we got different birds, particularly kittiwakes, razorbills, and one bonxie (skua).  I only got pictures of the razorbills, which I will share later.

Dad briefly reviewed the display about the lighthouse, because if this blog has taught anyone, anything, Dad likes lighthouses.

Unlike last year, there was another side room open where we found what was labeled as a Marconi, but what everyone in the family immediately recognized as a HAM radio.  My grandfather (Mum's dad) used to rebuild them and Mum and Dad are both licensed operators so we know what one looks like.  For the record, Mum's call is VE3DMN and Dad's is VE3BYZ.  They inherited their calls from Mum's parents.  

While out at one of the observation points, we saw a few planes take off, but all I could manage to take of them were blurs, so I won't inflict them on anyone.

Also unlike last year, the cafe was open and Dad found a caramel and mincemeat tray bake so we had to stop, get some coffees, and give them our money so we could have snacks.  The cafe is run entirely by donation so I was all take my money please.

Outside, I tried to take pictures of Mum and Dad with Fair Isle in the background, but like Brigadoon, it was slowly being eaten by the mist.

I swear, that slightly darker blur in the background is Fair Isle.  One day I will make it there.  One day I will also master the so-named knitting.

I had better luck, picture-wise, with other directions.

At another observation deck, I was reminded of the opening of Shetland, with the cliffs and waves.  Cue the music.

Finally, we went out to the best place to observe puffins.  Most of them must've been gone fishing, because we could only get the profiles of them far below.  (How do you tell a puffin from other birds so far away?  Look for the most awkward fliers.)  On the other hand, there were some razorbills being cute and giving us a show.  At on point, one scratched its head like my dog does, so that was adorable.

It was while watching the razorbills a lone puffin came flying right at us, literally.  I was absolutely certain it was going to collide with my head when at the last second it dropped into a burrow about two feet below where we were standing. I was so taken aback (as in, I actually stepped back) that I didn't get a picture but it was quite a show.

Moving about ten feet farther up, Dad was pleased to see there were still a few sea pinks hanging on this late in the year.

We were just about to give up on seeing another puffin when one landed in the same close spot one landed last year.  I would not swear in court that it wasn't the same puffin, since it was at the same spot.  Also like the one last year, this one gave us both profiles like he was showing off.

Happy with our two puffin sightings, we headed back to the hotel for a rest.  Luckily, the hotel transport had just brought up another set of visitors, so we were able to hitch a ride back 15 minutes earlier than we had originally scheduled.

Dinner tonight was overlooking Jarlshof, which is a little like Skara Brae, but covers all 5000 years of history.  Mum and Dad also looked refreshed, though Dad and I did indulge in more coffee.

Considering how busy the restaurant was, I am relieved we were told to make a reservation.  As one table left, another group walked in.  Sadly, as much as we wanted to try dessert, we were far too full, so we returned to Mum and Dad's room so I could do this blog.

We're up not so early, thank heavens, tomorrow, have our ride all booked, and are getting to bed at a reasonable hour.  What is this madness?  Where's the oh-my-god-we're-leaving panic?  We're settled in semi-watching a Bake Off, and watching rabbits cavorting outside. Who replaced us with calm and prepared people?  Who are we?

Stats:

Shetland Ponies: 18

Puffins: 2

Bonxie: 1

Kittiwakes: 20 (at least)

Razorbills: 14

Rabbits: 6