A Peedie Adventure: Part 2

Ello Mates, welcome to Orkney! Here comes the second installment of my Peedie Adventure to this wonderful island. This day, this entry, may just represent the best day of my life thus far, possibly second only to climbing the pyramids of Tikal in Guatemala. So please do enjoy, because I certainly did.

Friday 15 March 2013

7:21 AM

Orcades Hostel room # 1

My eyes groggily opened as my ears caught the wheeze of the TARDIS. My morning alarm was going off, and despite still being rather tired, I was very eager to start the day. My eyes scanned the light yellow walls, brilliantly illuminated by the early morning sun. It was going to be a beautiful day. This changed things.

Originally our plan was to explore the area around Kirkwall during the day today, and then head to our hostel in Stromness that evening. Then the following day we would walk to see Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stenness, and Maes Howe. Since today was beautiful, and tomorrow was supposed to be rainy. I made the corporate decision to reverse our day’s activities to better account for what’s we’d be doing inside and outside.

I then went to the bathroom which was adjoined to our room and tried the shower. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t turn on. This was rather disappointing, and to be honest surprising considering how modern this place looked. Either way, I threw on some deodorant and new clothes.

When I left the bathroom, Amber was just getting up. I told her about the showers, and she said she’d give them a try, while I went upstairs to see what could be done about breakfast. Orcades hostel does not provide breakfast, but it does provide a kitchen in which one could be cooked. The kitchen, if I might add, was quite nice – so much so that I could gleefully see myself cooking there. I quickly found an assortment of spices, and most importantly, tea, sugar, and powdered milk – the proper start to any breakfast in the UK. Since I had come prepared, purchasing a box of Apple Pop Tarts before I left, we had ourselves a meal. Your standard box of Pop tarts comes with six packages of two pop tarts. Since Amber and I were here for three mornings and there were two of us, my mental math calculated that we should have one package each per morning.

Feeling content as to how well that worked out. I made up two packages of pop tarts and began boiling hot water. Amber soon joined me in the kitchen and we had a really nice little breakfast.

According to the note that come with the room key, we wouldn’t be able to check out until 9:30, which left us with about an hour to kill in the lounge area. Here we found a book on bus times around Orkney. As it would turn out the next bus to leave Kirkwall for Stromness wouldn’t depart until 10:30 anyway. So we looked up walking directions to the bus stop, and waited to check out of the hostel.

When half nine rolled around we were packed and ready by the front counter. We officially and briefly met Eric, the guy with whom I had arranged the key drop a week ago. He explained to us that there was a switch outside the bathroom which had to be turned on in order for the showers to work. It was too late to do anything about it now, but it would have been nice to know earlier.

Afterwards, we made our way through Kirkwall until we found the Tesco. If I haven’t mentioned it before I will now. Tesco is Scotland’s Wal-Mart. Since Kirkwall is the capitol of the Orkney Islands, this Tesco was full sized and had exactly what I needed: New Shoes. Looking back, they were well worth the £14 that I spent on them.

From Tesco we continued on to the Kirkwall Travel Centre. We were about 15 minutes early for the bus. Since Orkney is so rural, 15 minutes is a good waiting time. We would later find that 30 minutes to an hour is more common. However at the time, it felt like an eternity.

There are two distinct differences between the buses of Orkney and the Buses of Edinburgh. The first is that in Edinburgh all bus fares are the same regardless of the distance between pick-up and drop off. In Orkney the fare is dictated by the distance travelled  Also in Orkney you can actually hear conversations going on regularly, as opposed to the generally silent locals in Edinburgh. I suppose this second difference comes from the fact that on a small island one is more inclined to know a good number of the people on the bus.

Either way, £2.80 and 35 minutes later, and we were in Stromness. I think I instantly liked Stromness better than Kirkwall. There was something quirky about it. Stromness seems to be terraced. It’s on a hillside in the south western corner of the mainland, and each street away from the ocean is substantially higher than the one before it, making it a theatre city.

Brown’s hostel was easy enough to find, after moving past the town square and walking down the main road for a minute or two. The roads in town were strange little one lane streets with passing zones frequently alongside buildings. Truthfully this is more or less pretty common here, but it really is an alien concept compared to back in the states.

Sylvia Brown is a lovely woman, who cheerfully showed us our room. There were no keys. Nothing was locked up. Why would they need to lock anything up? I feel like the saying goes, that a good thing is always spoiled by one person, and I have to say it made me feel good that, at least here, that one person hadn’t come along yet.

We left our stuff in our unlocked room, and began walking north out of town. It wasn’t long before the road forked, and we had a choice. We could go left and walk the eight miles to Skara Brae or go right and Walk four miles to the stones of Stenness. The plan was then to make a large loop one way or the other. Amber chose and chose wisely to walk to Skara Brae first.

It was a long yet beautiful walk. There’s something about Orkney that honestly reminded me of the area surrounding Berlin, Wisconsin. The rolling hills of farm fields, and the scent of livestock was ever so familiar. However, the stone walls outlining the farm fields gave the area a rustic look that was completely foreign. And it was this strange blend of familiar, rustic, and foreign which kept my mind occupied, as we walked along the beautiful sunny countryside.

There was one fatal flaw in this grand plan of mine. We didn’t have any food with us, and we hadn’t brought a drop of water to drink. If we had eaten a proper breakfast or really any sort of lunch at all we would have been fine. Since we did neither, we were incredibly hungry. All that aside, this wonderful eight mile walk took us a little over three hours. Every time we would pass a sign telling us how far to Skara Brae, we would rejoice in self congratulations. My ankles were starting to hurt from force breaking in new shoes, and Amber was getting tired, but eventually we found the gates which said Skaill House. We’d made it to Skara Brae.

I couldn’t help but to feel so incredibly accomplished with myself as we walked into the visitor’s centre and I saw the most beautiful words in the world “Skara Brae Café.”

One of two women came out to greet us, asking how she could help us. I responded, “First and foremost, we just walked all the way from Stromness without eating lunch; we would like to get something to eat.”

Initially they were surprised that no one had given us a ride. However, we’d simply never asked. Our American stigma against hitch hiking was so deeply rooted that the thought of hitching a ride had never crossed our minds. The woman ended up taking pity on us, giving us large discounts on some baked goods and extra hot water for the tea. I had a biscuit of sorts that was made from a type of local grain and fruit, and man was it good. Sure I was really hungry, but even still it was delicious. Anyway, three cups of tea and two biscuits later, we were both feeling rather good about ourselves.

It wasn’t until this point that it dawned on us that in order to actually see Skara Brae, we would have to pay. To make matters more depressing, it was £5.90 to get in. If I hadn’t just walked eight miles to get there, I might have turned down the opportunity to see it. However, Amber saw this as a good opportunity to rest, before we continued onward to the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness. So I took Amber’s camera and purchased my admission ticket.

I walked in and watched a peedie video on Skara Brae. Getting in video form, all the information I already knew, from having researched the site before hand. After the video, I followed the passage way into a room filled with artefacts from the site along with plaques describing these artefacts'  various functions. Under normal circumstances, I would have spent a good deal of time meticulously reading all the information and looking at every artefact  However, since I knew Amber was waiting on me. I quickly snapped a large number of photos trying to capture everything. I could go back and read over the pictures later.

The artefacts room, ended with a door to the outside where before anything else there was an exact replica of Skara Brae house 7. Keeping the same mentality as before, I took as many pictures as fast as I possibly could. I had been told well before coming here that there were little runes inscribed around the bed posts, but I was in such a hurry that I didn’t even look for them.

I continued on through a gate marked with a sign that read: And now you will journey back 5,000 years. As I walked through the gate and along the gravel path, I noticed that there was a cement slab on the ground to my right that read: Man on the Moon 1969. A little ways further there was one that read: America Declares Independence 1776. A ways after that the first Crusade, then the Fall of Rome, the Birth of Christ and so on all the way back to Skara Brae 3,100 BC.  A short ways down the path there was yet another gate where a short blond woman about my age in a black poofy jacket was standing.

My immediate thought was: Ohh great. A guide. Now I won’t be able to get really close to anything. Ever since hopping the fence at Urquhart Castle, I’d felt particularly rebellious around ancient sites, and the simple fact that there was a guide there restricted that possibility. I sighed and the asked if I needed to show her my admission’s ticket. She said that wasn’t necessary. So I walked in the gate and there was the magnificent village of Skara Brae.

Before she began to give her tour, I pointed out houses 9 & 10 in the back, asking, “Now are those houses in the back the older houses that were built over?”

“Umm, Yes they are,” she responded rather surprised.

We continued down the path that surrounded the village, and all the while I would point out things and ask questions that identified exactly what they were, until the tour became less of a tour and more of an archaeological discussion on a place we were both rather familiar with. This apparently is not a common occurrence at Skara Brae.

Rachael was so impressed that she took me inside. We were just walking along one of the buildings when she unchained one of the blocked passage ways into the complex and signalled for me to come on. Here I we continued our discussion of the various aspects of the site. I was through the moon. This was an honour, a privilege, beyond anything I had ever imagined.

When I climbed the pyramids of Xunantunich and Tikal, I was filled with a feeling that is truly hard to put into words. I was standing in a place where people who were long dead and forgotten had stood. I was in their footsteps. It’s a strange powerful sense of nostalgia. When I was standing in Skara Brae this feeling was tenfold. The builders of Stenness and Brodgar had crouched (because of the then low tunnel) where I now stood.

I suppose for me this was a true moment of Self Actualization. Here I was in this magnificent place, and I had gotten there by my own hard work and determination. As an archaeoastronomer, this was a moment where I was really living out my career. If I had any doubts, they were gone. This is what I wanted to do with my life. I was on the right track. I was in the village of Skara Brae, and I was here because I had earned it, or at least I felt that way.

We eventually left the inside of the complex, and continued onward around the village chatting away about what life would have been like here in its heyday. To be honest I completely lost track of time. Rachael’s shift was done and Skara Brae was closing for the day, and so we walked back, arriving an hour and fifteen minutes after I had left. Luckily, Amber had really appreciated the break and didn’t mind waiting too much.

Rachael also thought it was odd that we hadn’t gotten a ride and offered to share her taxi with us. Amber and I were very keen on this because this meant we didn’t have to walk to the ring of Brodgar which would have easily been another four mile hike. So after a few minutes the three of us left for Brodgar. On the way I began to describe to Amber the astronomical significance of this stone Circle, and Rachael remarked how I should really work for Historic Scotland. If that was a serious offer, I wouldn’t have gotten on the ferry on Sunday morning.

Anyway, Amber and I were dropped off in the car park near the circle. Waving goodbye, Rachael rode away in the Taxi towards Stromness. Ignoring the stupid thoughts that were certainly in my head, the two of us crossed the road and walked into the monument.

If only I could have seen it in its prime. The Ring of Brodgar today consists of twenty some standing stones, but originally consisted of 60 tall stones. The stones themselves actually do very little for solar alignments. The main function of this circle, which measures exactly 125 megalithic yards across, is to mark out the intricate lunar patterns that can only be seen at the latitudes of Orkney and the Hibernian Isle of Lewis.

Archaeoastronomical Note: A megalithic yard (my) is theoretical unit of measurement proposed by the late Dr. Alexander Throm. He derived this unit by statistically analysing the circumference between several different stone circles to determine common multiples. In more understandable terms: 1my ≈ 2.72ft. Dr. Throm’s research has received a substantial amount of criticism by archaeologists and science historians. This is primarily because his research continues to imply that these Neolithic peoples had unlocked the Pythagorean Theorem as well as several other somewhat complicated mathematical feats. As an Archaeoastronomer, I personally have yet to take a stance on Throm’s research. I do think it is a mistake to under estimate the knowledge and ability of these people. However, it is an equally grievous mistake to super impose our understanding of the universe upon our interpretations of another culture’s innovations. I am unlikely to form an opinion on this until I’ve conducted serious research on this for myself.

Anyway, Amber and I wandered about the ring of Brodgar for the better part of a half an hour before making it down the road towards the standing stones of Stenness. On the way we passed the Watch Stone. A several meters tall imposing monolith which once stood opposite another stone known as the Oden stone (unfortunately the Oden Stone was blown up by a crotchety farmer in the 1800’s because he was tired of tourist attraction it brought). 

We continued on to the Stones of Stenness, which according to Rachael are what remains of the oldest standing stone circle in Europe. Today there are only three remaining proper stones each of which are almost as tall as the Watch Stone. There are a few smaller stone fragments also standing in what was once a twelve stone circle measuring 10my in diameter.

After we were done here, we continued walking until we reached the main road. By a sheer stroke of luck, the bus arrived within thirty seconds of us reaching the correct side of the road. We hopped on and rode the rest of the way back into Stromness.

I wasn’t exactly hungry yet, but we would have to do something for dinner soon. Our plan was to find a grocery store, and to then buy enough supplies to make the next two lunches and dinners. We ended up wandering about the whole of Stromness before coming across a grocery store. We were able to buy a loaf of bread, Peanut butter, raspberry jam, grapes, 6 pork chops, a bag of carrots, and two packages of instant rice for £14. We’re really good shoppers.

This was enough for us to have 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each (two per lunch for Saturday and Sunday) as well as a proper dinner of pork chops, carrots and rice. When we made it back to the hostel, I went to the kitchen to inspect what was available to cook with. There was virtually nothing.

Now I’m a fair cook. If you’ve ever had my food you’d probably agree with that. However, these spices made it challenging. Somehow, I pulled together a meal of steamed carrots, rice, and pork chops seasoned with powdered bay leaves, salt, and stale granulated garlic. Believe it or not, it came pretty good. The rice and carrots were horribly bland, but the pork chops were pretty tasty.

After the dishes were washed, it was time to get some sleep. From our calculations, we walked at least 12 miles that day. It was time for a rest. We’d definitely earned it.