The morning was spent in Achmore with Magaidh Smith, crofter, storyteller, historian. When she was growing up everybody knew everybody. They knew where everyone came from for several generations  “We worked together and exchanged labor: planting and harvesting crops, gathering the sheep on a wider pasture and cutting winter fuel. Whatever anybody had, whether it was fresh milk or eggs was shared about and if there was somebody who was older and didn’t have any support the community would cut their peat for them or make sure their sheep were sheared.”

Magaidh is a gatherer of stories – memoirs of the culture from which she comes.  A warm and friendly woman, she is a native Gaelic speaker and passionate about preserving the language and the culture, which is deeply rooted in the land. She runs a bed and breakfast on her 13 acre croft where sheep and chickens roam.

After my visit with Magaidh I headed to Tolsta north of Stornoway and was rewarded with more spectacular views of the beaches along the Minch.  The beaches here in the Hebrides are unspoilt and border seas whose turquoise  color  appears to be an anomaly when the temperature is 50 degrees and the shoreline is ringed with rocky cliffs.  Tolsta  is known for its beautiful Traigh Mhor beach that stretches for 2 kilometers along the rocky shore.  The weather was not cooperating as the closer I got to Tolsta the more clouds covered the sky but it made for a moody picture.  Working my way back to Stornoway I stopped at another stretch of beach that also took my breath away. This time there was sun shining on the sands and ocean. This is an area I would like to revisit.  Another hour and I was back in Bhaltos ready for the next adventure.