Day 1 in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland
I had heard about the beauty of “Isle of Skye,” so I took the Citylink bus 917 from Inverness to Portree early morning and got there in 3.5 hours.
Beautiful bridge view from the bus on our way to Portree.
The month of August is a very busy time in Skye with heavy tourism and Portree is the perfect town to stay in because of hiking options, hotels, cafes, restaurants and boutiques. Most of the hotels and B&Bs were fully occupied when I searched online, so I went old school. After calling 6 to 8 hotels, finally I was able to find accommodation at the Rosedale Hotel for 3 days.
When I got to the Rosedale hotel in Portree, I was super happy, because I did get lucky with the ideal location. My hotel was on the Portree Harbour and the view from my room was simply breathtaking. What else could I have asked for!
Laura at the reception was super friendly and provided me with all the information about Portree, nearby hiking options and recommended the day tour. Since I had no plans for the next few days, I decided to book the Skye Day tour. More about the tour later.
When I got to Portree it was raining. After checking in, I headed out for lunch. Most of the restaurants were super busy and had a long waiting time. I finally found a table to share with an older woman at “The Granary,” in the Somerled Square. She was on the Highlands tour with her sister, but today she was flying solo because her sister was not feeling well. It was nice to chat with her and hear about how she and her sister meet every year for few weeks and they go on a trip somewhere. That’s true sibling bonding! I love it!
As she left, she told me, “May the sun shine on you!”
And, so it happened. When I left the cafe, it had stopped raining and the sun came out.
Room with a view 
Rosedale Hotel 
Sunny Portree
It was wonderful walking around the harbor and soaking in the view of the sailboats and the colorful hotels around the bay.
Later, I took the Ceim path trail through the mountain to get to the lump. Had a very spiritual experience walking through the path and enjoyed sitting on the rocks and meditating listening to the sounds of the Raasay.
In the evening, I headed for dinner at 5:30pm because I had made no reservations in advance, so the chances of getting a table was more likely if I got there earlier. Also, only couple of restaurants were open on Sunday. I was able to get a table at “The Isles Inn” for 6pm. The staff were super friendly and did have my first taste of the yummy Veggie Haggis with sweet potato koftas.
After a yummy meal, it was time to burn those calories by hiking through nature at the water’s edge and catch a glimpse of the sunset.
After walking though the seaweeds that was washed onto the rocky beach, I found a swing tied to a tree, so yes I had to let my inner child out. This was truly my “happy” moment 🙂
