Sleeping on the train was fine, if a bit crowded, before we knew it we were pulling into Glasgow. A steward came around with coffee (for Beth) and orange juice (for me) just before we arrived. Taking the Caledonian Sleeper was another unique experience on this pilgrimage of ours.We needed to change train stations to catch the train to Oban, so a quick cab ride, and we were boarding another train (this time just sitting, no berths). It quickly became apparent that the Americans sitting close to us on this train were also travelling to Iona. As the train made its way through the Scottish countryside we were interested to see boats left to rust along the shorelines. Beth said it was like old farm equipment left in tractor graveyards on the prairies.
Next was a short ferry ride from Oban to Craignure, we didn’t pay attention to how short it was and I ended up wolfing down my food. From the ferries we loaded onto some buses (two full buses heading across the Island of Mull to catch the ferry to Iona - there were a lot of pilgrims that day.
Once on Iona, we walked up to our Bed & Breakfast, which was not too far from the ferry terminal, but required us to walk a short distance down a gravel road - no rolling our suitcases over that terrain! There was no one there when we arrived but we were greeted with a note left for us by the owner. We settled in and breathed a sigh of relief, we could finally take it easy after a long journey with many transfers. There were sheep all over the place, a very pastoral setting, we were certainly not in any city anymore.
Once we had caught our breath we went to look at the ruins of the ancient nunnery (literally a stone’s throw from our B&B). After that we went to the Abbey, which is not in ruins because George MacLeod, a 20th century Scottish minister, set about restoring it and developing a new Christian community within it. At the Abbey we got a guided tour, which was helpful because there is so much history in that little place.
We were both getting hungry but had a hard time finding a restaurant that was open - there are only three on the island, and it was too late for Tea, and too early for Dinner at two of them. Fortunately for us the Martyrs’ Bay Restaurant was open - I had scallops, Beth had prawns (for more about this read the next post).
Following supper we headed off for a walk to the south part of the island, we got as far as the golf course (which had the most natural hazards of any course I‘ve seen as it was populated with sheep and cows), We saw the spouting cave off in the distance (spouting water of course), and we found some cool rocks on the beach (including ones with unique green colouring, like nothing I’ve ever seen before).
We made our way back to the centre of the Island because I wanted to attend the 9 PM Welcoming worship service at the Abbey (the Iona Faith Community runs its programs from Saturday to Saturday - that was why there were so many people heading to Iona on that particular day). The service was not as impressive or moving as I had hoped it would be… but there was a message for me in this service (reminding me that the Spirit moves in mysterious ways). The preacher, a young woman from the Iona Community, talked about expectations, and the dangers of letting our expectations govern us rather than accepting what is and learning to see God's presence in the moment. She even said the phrase “expectations about travel” in her message - I think that was directed exactly at me! So it wasn’t an amazing service, but it was an amazing service - part of the mystery of Iona... it isn’t exactly what you expect, but it is more than you expect.
Following the service we retired to our cozy little place and went to sleep quickly, a little food and wine, and a lot of fresh air helped. Tomorrow would be our only full day on Iona I wanted to be rested for whatever would come.
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